The Port of Rotterdam has announced the appointment of Berte Simons as Chief Operating Officer (COO).
This means she joins the Executive Board and succeeds Boudewijn Siemons, who was appointed CEO and interim COO in February 2024.
Effective 1 January 2025, the Port Authority’s Executive Board will consist of CEO Boudewijn Siemons, CFO Vivienne de Leeuw and COO Berte Simons.
Berte Simons was selected by the Port Authority shareholders, the municipality of Rotterdam, and the Dutch national government for a four-year term on the Supervisory Board’s proposal.
Chair of the Supervisory Board Koos Timmermans, said: “The Supervisory Board is pleased that Berte Simons wants to bring her extensive expertise as a marine engineer to the Port Authority.
“She brings with her international experience in leading large-scale and complex infrastructure projects in ports and industrial areas, the knowledge and experience we need for a successful and coordinated transition to a fossil-free and circular port.”
Berte Simons started her career in 2003 as a policy officer at North Sea Port, where she remained until 2006.
Simons worked in several managerial roles at Royal Haskoning DHV, an international consulting and engineering business, from 2006 to 2021, managing worldwide projects in mining, heavy industry, aviation, and marine.
Berte Simons is now the director of EBN’s CO2 Storage & Transport Systems business segment.
In this role, she is heavily involved in the Porthos project, which the Port of Rotterdam Authority is working on alongside Gasunie and EBN.
Berte Simons stated: “In the role of COO of the Port Authority, everything comes together for me. The port is a place that is constantly changing and connected to the whole world.
“A place where the activities of industry, logistics and the living environment come together . I look forward to working with colleagues and stakeholders to contribute to the sustainable development of the port in harmony with the environment.”
In October, the Port of Rotterdam announced the new Geofency system to optimise ship movements.