Management
Board
The Board of Directors of Stichting Den Haag Marketing (The Hague Marketing Foundation) consists of two members: Anja Overhoff (Director-General since February 2007) and Marco Esser (Deputy Director-General since April 2008).
The Board is responsible for the foundation’s policies and all activities organized by Den Haag Marketing. The Board of Directors reports to the Supervisory Board, which is chaired by Martin van Pernis. The Board of Participants, with Pieter den Dulk as its independent chair, serves as a sounding board, and offers the Board of Directors advice and recommendations. Represented on the Board of Participants are the stakeholders of the sectors that Den Haag Marketing works with, enabling direct and targeted long-term contacts with these parties.
Den Haag Marketing’s Board of Directors manages the day-to-day operations of the organization. The tasks of the board are divided in such a way that the Director-General is primarily in charge of external relations (including government organizations and parties such hotels, conference locations, and stakeholders involved in sports and culture.) The Deputy Director-General is responsible for the internal organization, marketing strategy and finances.
Over the past two years, the directors have worked on a new structure, approach and the procedures of the organization, under the motto ‘Customer-oriented and Transparent’. Although in addition to the change in structure a change in organizational culture was required as well, and despite the fact that these matters usually take considerable time, the major part of the restructuring has already been completed. In mid-May the organization moved from the grand-looking building at the Nassaulaan to Sijthoff City at the Grote Marktstraat, in the heart of The Hague’s city centre.
Board Member Profiles:
Anja Overhoff-van der Lem (The Hague, 1953) worked for the Consultation Bureau for Alcohol and Drugs, both during her studies and after graduating as a social worker. After her daughters (1978 and 1980) were born, she made a career change, and started coaching and training volunteers who worked in care for the elderly. Through this job she became active in local politics. In 1990 she was elected as a local councillor for D66. In 1992 Daan Overhoff, Anja’s husband, passed away. In 1994 she became first person on the list of candidates in the local elections and chair of the party. She held the position until 1999, when she became senior consultant with Bennis Porter Novelli. In 2000 she took on the challenge, as the director of Theater Diligentia, of making this theatre, an important part of the city’s cultural scene, ready for the future. In 2002 she also became the director of Theater PePijn, another household name in The Hague. In 2005 Anja Overhoff married Joop van Oosten. In 2007 she became Director-General at Den Haag Marketing (which was called Den Haag Marketing & Events at the time, and had formerly been known as Stichting Promotie Den Haag). Over the years, she has held various managerial positions, and she is still a member of the board of many organisations and a member of numerous advisory councils.
Marco Esser (Voorburg, 1971) studied political science at the University of Leiden and Ohio State University. Esser was political advisor and spokesperson for Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven and Wouter Bos. After that, he ran the campaigns for the PvdA (Dutch Labour Party) in the European, local and national elections. In addition to being Deputy Director-General at Den Haag Marketing, Esser is on the supervisory board of The Hague’s football club NV ADO Den Haag, in an unpaid capacity. As a member of the supervisory board of ADO Den Haag, Esser is responsible for consultations with supporters, external communications and
image improvement. Marco Esser lives in The Hague with his partner and son.
