About Us
On Thursday, March 4, 2027, crisis management professionals from across the Netherlands will gather at De Landgoederij in Bunnik for the fourth edition of the Crisis Management Boost. What began as a small-scale gathering has grown into a regular meeting place for crisis managers and BCM professionals. The goal remains the same every year: to learn from one another, find inspiration, and strengthen the network.
The morning program opens with Frank van den Branden, crisis coordinator and head of emergency response at Erasmus MC. On September 28, 2023, Erasmus MC faced a shooting incident, followed shortly thereafter by arson. For the crisis management team, this meant dealing with two emergencies at once: evacuating, scaling up operations, and making decisions without delay, even though much remained unclear. Frank will walk you through the events of that day, share what worked well, and explain how Erasmus MC has adjusted its procedures since then.
Next up is Christiaan Ottow, CTO of Northwave Cyber Security and a former ethical hacker. AI is fundamentally changing cybersecurity on both sides of the spectrum. Attackers are automating their attacks and making them more convincing, while defenders are detecting threats earlier. For crisis professionals, this means new scenarios, a faster pace, and less time to respond. Because the landscape is shifting so rapidly, Christiaan will finalize his keynote speech just before the event to ensure it provides the most up-to-date perspective possible.
In the afternoon, there will be two rounds of breakout sessions, during which you can choose which topics you’d like to explore in more depth.
Peter Kloosterman, senior advisor for emergency response at Vitens, will lead an interactive session on crisis preparedness at a critical infrastructure organization. He will demonstrate the benefits of a network-centric approach and explore what happens if, ultimately, no drinking water comes out of the tap.
As the incident commander, Peter Schut was responsible for fighting the major wildfire on the Ede heath in April 2025. He explains how leadership was exercised when the plan diverged from reality, and what lessons this offers for rapidly escalating incidents.
Anne Vrolijk shares the experiences of FirstRing, which has been developing an AI system for crisis communication teams since 2024. AI helps teams maintain an overview and set priorities, but it also changes the nature of crises themselves, resulting in more disinformation and fake news. Anne shares what FirstRing has learned in recent years.
René de Jong, co-founder of Merlin Software, spoke with five BCM and crisis management professionals from various critical sectors. Since the Cybersecurity Act and the Critical Entities Resilience Act took effect, the requirements have been clearly laid out in writing. But what really keeps crisis managers busy? René shares the universal challenges, the differences between less and more mature crisis organizations, and a theme that isn’t included in any plan but came up repeatedly.
At the end of the afternoon, the Crisis Manager of the Year award will be presented. This recognition goes to a crisis manager or key figure who demonstrates leadership, expertise, and a demonstrable impact during both the initial and follow-up phases. The jury consists of Ton Heerschop, Tom Compaijen, and Mariska de Gooijer. The day concludes with a plenary session and a networking reception.
9:15 a.m. doors open, 10:00 a.m. welcome, 10:20 a.m. and 11:10 a.m. plenary speakers, 12:00 p.m. lunch, 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. breakout sessions, 3:00 p.m. Crisis Manager of the Year award ceremony, 3:15 p.m. plenary closing session, 3:45 p.m. networking reception, and 4:45 p.m. end of program.
For the full program and all sessions, visit www.crisismanagementboost.nl.
You can order tickets directly through the ticket shop. Seating is limited, so don't wait too long.
