On October 4, 2022, Feike Sijbesma was appointed as an honorary member of the Dutch Biotechnology Association (NBV). He received the certificate from the president of the NBV, Maria Barbosa. The reason for this appointment is his extraordinary contribution to biotechnology in the Netherlands.

Feike Sijbesma studied Medical Biology at Utrecht University and Business Administration at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. He started his career at Koninklijke Gist-Brocades NV as a strategic planner in the Pharmaceutical Products department. After holding various positions, Sijbesma was appointed division director Food Specialties in 1995. In 1998, Gist-Brocades was taken over by chemical multinational Koninklijke DSM NV, where he took charge of the Food Specialties business group. In 2000, Sijbesma joined the Board of Directors of DSM, and in 2007 was appointed Chairman of the Board. Under his leadership, DSM's focus shifted from bulk chemicals to a producer of specialty chemicals in the field of food ingredients and materials. 

Sijbesma's impressive career can be supplemented with various ancillary positions at the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and the IMF, among others. He was able to use his extensive network when he was asked by the cabinet in March 2020 to act as a special corona envoy to realize sufficient test capacity in the fight against COVID-19.

Sijbesma has been an active member of the NBV and has, among other things, set up a working group on the social and business aspects of biotechnology. In 2020 he gave a keynote lecture during the Dutch Biotechnology Congress.

Honorary members are appointed by the general meeting on the basis of special merits in relation to the association. Sijbesma thus joins a very select group. A video was also made of the presentation of the honorary membership. Check it out on our LinkedIn page.