The event took place at the Jaarbeurs Utrecht convention center. Visitors were welcomed through a tunnel to the registration desk, where they received a badge with their name. After a cup of coffee and a pastry, our chairman Vincent Both opened the event, after which he gave the floor to chairman of the day Hessel Visser. Hessel spoke about the importance of enthusing young people for the logistics sector, which is facing a low influx of new students.
Then it was time for the first keynote speaker, Kees van der Burg, Director General of Mobility at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. He shared his vision of the mobility of the future and explained the program Toekomstbeeld OV 2040. Then the first break-out sessions got underway, with Milan Lamberts of Dienst Vervoer en Ondersteuning (DVO) on the transportation of arrestees, detainees and foreigners, Carl van Roon of Transavia on the use of data science for aircraft occupancy, among other things, and Jennifer van der Zijden and Willem Mulderij of UC Group on diversity in logistics.
The first round was followed by the second round, with Jeroen van Bergeijk, journalist, writer and radio producer, sharing his experiences as an undercover Uber driver, Lara Sijsma and Zoƫ Both of Delft Hyperloop on the revolutionary hyperloop project, and Lizette Cohen-Verboom of Nyenrode Business University on personal leadership. After these informative sessions, it was time for a sumptuous lunch.
In the third and final round, Ismail Amghar of NS, Femke Philipsen of Natuur & Milieu and Lennaert Huijing of Meulenberg Training & Coaching gave their presentations. Ismail spoke about the cooperation between NS and ProRail in case of disruptions, Femke shared her vision on the future of mobility from a sustainability perspective, and Lennaert gave tips on dealing with work pressure.
The day ended plenary with the presentation of the JLN Awards. Jan Kees Steenbergen was named Young Logistics Student of the Year. The award for Young Logistics Company of the Year went to Royal FloraHolland, beating DHL e-Commerce and Boltrics. Finally, Elise Gerittsen was named Young Logistics Guru of the Year, leaving behind Walther Ploos van Amstel and Bart Schoonderwoerd.
On behalf of Jong Logistiek Nederland we would like to thank all speakers and attendees for this inspiring day. Don’t forget to mark the next Annual Conference in your calendar: Wednesday, November 26, 2025.
