John Jorritsma becomes president of TU/e Participations Supervisory Board

April 26, 2023

Jorritsma served as mayor of Eindhoven from 2016 to 2022.

John Jorritsma, former mayor of Eindhoven, will be joining TU/e in support of tech entrepreneurship. He will become the president of the Supervisory Board of TU/e Participations, the organization that handles TU/e’s participation in its start-ups. In addition, Jorritsma will become an advisor to The Gate, the regional tech start-up help desk.

Jorritsma served as mayor of Eindhoven from 2016 to 2022. His previous positions included King’s/Queen’s Commissioner in Friesland and director of the Brabant Development Agency (Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij, BOM).

Many tech companies are started at TU/e each year. TU/e helps these companies to get underway with support via The Gate and with participation via TU/e Participations. In doing so, the university ensures that more scientific discoveries and innovations can be translated into products and successful companies. This valorization is, alongside education and research, the third core task of the university.

John Jorritsma: “I am very much looking forward to this new role. I have always viewed entrepreneurship at TU/e with great pride and pleasure. The university creates new innovations and start-ups non-stop, all of which have smart ideas for solving societal and industrial challenges. I think that it’s great to be able to contribute to that.”

Robert-Jan Smits, president of the TU/e Executive Board: “We are very pleased that John Jorritsma will take on this role. We know him as an enormously committed and driven board member with a great passion for entrepreneurship. The start-ups themselves will particularly benefit from his extensive network in the Brainport Eindhoven region.”

His appointment at TU/e will commence on July 1 and will last for four years. Jorritsma succeeds Ben Hiddinga in his role as president of the TU/e Participations Supervisory Board.