New Honorary Consul welcomes Dutch Ambassador

The Executive Dean of Leeds University Business School has been appointed an Honorary Consul to the Netherlands.

Professor Julia Bennell welcomed the Dutch Ambassador Paul Huijts to the University of Leeds campus to mark the start of her new role.

The new Honorary Consulate will be part of the Dutch diplomatic network in the UK, representing the North East of England.

As one of 11 Honorary Consuls, Professor Bennell will represent the Netherlands at official activities and ceremonies.

Supporting business and culture

Her role will also include promoting Dutch-Anglo interests, supporting business and cultural work and roles in the fields of science, education and culture.

She will also provide emergency consular support for Dutch citizens in the region.

Professor Bennell's background lends itself well to this role. She has worked as an academic in Business Schools for most of her career and continues to focus on a wide range of optimisation problems applied to transport and logistics.

As well as being Executive Dean at Leeds University Business School, she is engaged in a range of business school networks and sits on the council of the UK's Charted Association of Business Schools.

Exciting role

Professor Julia Bennell, Executive Dean at Leeds University Business School, said: "This is an exciting role and I am honoured to be the first Honorary Consul based in Leeds. I am looking forward to supporting links between the North East of England and the Netherlands promoting business and cultural collaboration.

"It was a pleasure to be able to showcase to the Ambassador some fantastic examples of what Leeds has to offer when he visited the University campus, including the Nexus innovation hub that supports many businesses to reach their potential."

Ambassador Paul Huijts said: "The Netherlands has shared economic interests with the region in key sectors such as finance, healthcare and innovation, and the creative industries.

"With an Honorary Consul based in Leeds, the Embassy team will work together to strengthen our existing trade partnerships and to explore and foster new connections between our citizens, companies, cultural institutions and academia in the North East of England."

Immersive exhibition

During his visit, Professor Bennell showed the Ambassador an exhibition by Dutch artist Boris Maas at The Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery. The immersive installation is divided into two parts - Act I, 'The nightlife series', and Act II 'You Have seen nothing yet', which respond to paintings by Victorian artist John Atkinson Grimshaw.

Part of the Smeaton300 festival, this commission has been supported by LEEDS 2023 (Leeds Culture Trust) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the UK.

At Nexus, the University of Leeds' innovation community, the Ambassador met with Gareth Scargill, Director and Martin Stow, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Business Engagement and Enterprise.

During the Nexus visit, the Ambassador also met with Gerbren Haaksma, Sales and Export Manager from Andel. The company specialises in leak detection, water sustainability, flood defence and environmental protection systems. Gerbren was born in the Netherlands and now works in Leeds.

Later, the group marked Professor Bennell's appointment with a reception at the Queen's Hotel in Leeds alongside representatives from Leeds City Council.

For further information, please contact corporate communications officer Becky Pascoe

Picture credit: Mark Bickerdike

Image caption: (L-R) Martin Stow, Gareth Scargill, Dutch Ambassador Paul Huijts, Professor Julia Bennell.

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