Leen Zevenbergen

Leen Zevenbergen is not the type of leader that bangs on the table, however, in his book 'And now I will grow my beard' ('En nu laat ik mijn baard staan') he indicates it is time for change. As an executive and inspirator, Leen Zevenbergen has developend his own vision on the need for Creative Entrepreneurship and Sparkling Inspiration. People's manager and 'great communicator' Zevenbergen is able to indicate the urgency of revaluating COSI, short for Creative Entrepreneurship and Sparkling Inspiration. COSI is Italian and means: this is the way we are going to do it.

Zevenbergen used to be an accountant, but became an entrepreneur after the foundation of Bolesian. He has led companies like Everex, Trendsoft and Electrogig, and became president of RCC and chairman of the board of Origin. In 2000, he established Escador. This company has developed from an Internet Powerhouse into a growth developer. Zevenbergen and his team form a think tank for Boards of Directors and act as sounding boards, coaches and initiators. He was a partner in investment companies and an a very creative entrepreneur. March 2007, his bestselling book 'En nu laat ik mijn baard staan' was named Managementbook of the year 2007.

Are there too few entrepreneurs in the Netherlands? Or is entrepreneurship a quality that doesn't fit an environment where everybody is taken care of? Do people still dare to take risks? Or are risks, if you fail to make them work, punished so heavily that you won't even consider taking them?

Leen Zevenbergen has founded fifteen companies and led a great number of companies with thousands of employees. He gives lectures on leadership, entrepreneurship, and the importance of being an authentic leader, based on his experience. Keywords such as creativity, entrepreneurship, sparkling and inspiring are important to him. The same applies to questions like 'How to become an entrepreneur' and 'How to make my enterprise more enterprising'.