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Marga Hoek

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Margaretha (Marga) Jeannette Elizabeth Hoek (born 1965), is a Dutch businesswoman, speaker, and author. She is a global sustainability thought leader, Board Member, and Chairwoman. Following a career as a three-time CEO, she dedicated herself to sustainable business as the Founder and CEO of the Dutch Sustainable Business Association De Groene Zaak from 2009 to 2017 which later merged with MVO Netherlands.[1]

Throughout that same period, she was also the Founder and Chairwoman of the Dutch Sustainable Science Association Het Groene Brein.[2] Marga Hoek currently serves as a Non-Executive Director and Advisory Council Member for multiple companies in Europe.

Marga Hoek is a business leader. She coined the term “Business for Good” and aims to demonstrate that “business for good is good business,” especially when paired with sustainable technological innovations.

Early life and education

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portrait of Marga Hoek
by Hermien Lam

Marga Hoek, born in the Netherlands, is the middle of three children. Hoek's father was the CEO of a construction company, and her grandfather was the captain of a ship. Politically engaged and part of the resistance movement in the Netherlands during World War II, Hoek's grandfather was an inspiration for her entrepreneurial spirit and drive to become a global influencer. Instilling a sense of leadership in her at a young age, Hoek's grandfather taught her the responsibility that comes with the privilege to lead.

Marga Hoek was a student at the National Ballet Academy of Amsterdam in her early youth. She then attended and graduated from the University of Amsterdam with a degree in Communication Sciences. Hoek in addition received an MBA degree from NCOI Opleidingen.[3]

Career

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Marga Hoek's leadership career began at a young age. Throughout her executive career, Hoek held three CEO roles in the property development and construction sector. In her early thirties, Hoek was named CEO at Thunissen,[4] a mid-sized private construction company in the Netherlands followed by a public role as CEO of Property Development Management at the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, which encompassed the city including Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.[5] She proceeded to become a member of the Board of Directors of the AEX listed BAM for the housing division.[6]

In 2009, Marga Hoek was asked to establish the Dutch Sustainable Business Association De Groene Zaak in collaboration with several front running CEOs and companies, which later merged with MVO Netherlands.[7][8] The mission of De Groene Zaak was to proliferate the transition to a sustainable economy, and it did so by jointly influencing public policies and science. To unlock sustainable solutions and stimulate collaboration between business and scientists, Hoek also founded the Dutch Sustainable Science Association Het Groene Brein, for which she served first as CEO and later as Non-Executive Chairwoman.

Marga Hoek has repositioned herself in a non-executive capacity as a high-level global speaker and author on sustainable business and financial capital.

In 2017, Hoek became a partner with the global boutique firm Chair Mentors International (CMi).[9][10] which leverages the experience and knowledge of global chairpersons to the benefit of newly appointed CEOs and Executive Committees of international companies.

Since 2019, Hoek is a board member of Aegon N.V.,[11] Vice Chairwoman of Mazars Accounting NL,[12] and an Advisory Board Member of Redevco.[13]

Publications

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Hoek's first book was originally published by Vakmedianet in Dutch as Zakendoen in de Nieuwe Economie. It was awarded Management Book of the year in 2014.[14]

The next year, a global version in English was launched in London as New Economy Business. It received fifth place among 15 Wellbeing Economy essential books.[15]

Her second book, The Trillion Dollar Shift was published by Routledge and launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 25, 2018.[16] It was awarded a gold medal by the 2019 Axiom Business Book Awards, which recognizes and promotes the year's best business books.[17] The Trillion Dollar Shift was also explicitly mentioned in Fortune as “required reading.”[18]

Marga Hoek's third book Tech for Good is about how advanced technologies can accelerate the transition to a sustainable world while at the same time improve business profitability, market share, and multi-stakeholder return. Tech for Good launched November 2023.

Articles

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Books in Dutch

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  • Zakendoen in de nieuwe economie: NextGen : zeven vensters op succes New Economy Publications, June 2015 ISBN 9789082378504
  • Zakendoen in de nieuwe economie - Internationale Editie Met 50 businesscases van over de hele wereld Boom, September 2015 ISBN 9789462760783
  • Zakendoen in de Nieuwe Economie e-book boom.nl, November 2015 ISBN 9789462760790

Books in English

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Awards and recognitions

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General and Leadership Awards

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One of the top 30 management thinkers in the world ("Thinkers 50") since March 2019.[21][22]

Fairforce's top 100 Green Board Members in 2020 (ranked 43).[23]

Top 25 and top 50 quotations three years in a row by Trouw's green top 100 in 2015, 2016, and 2017.[24]

Book Awards

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For "The Trillion Dollar Shift":

Gold medal of Axiom.[17]
Required Reading in Fortune 2019.[18]
Number one Amazon Kindle best sellers in 2019.[25]

For e-book "New Economy Business":

One of the 15 most essential books of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance in 2016.[15]

For the Dutch version Zakendoen in de Nieuwe Economie:

Management Book of the Year Netherlands in 2014.[14]

Personal life

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Marga Hoek is a mother of three children, all of whom are entrepreneurs. She currently lives in the Netherlands yet considers herself a global citizen.


References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Take your share of the new economy
  2. ^ Het Groene Brein
  3. ^ NCOI Opleidingen
  4. ^ Thunnissen
  5. ^ Expert in Sustainability & Economy Premium Speakers
  6. ^ Marga Hoek keynote speaker on Expert Sustainability & Economy meet-live.de
  7. ^ MVO Netherlands
  8. ^ Dutch: Interview met Marga Hoek, directeur van De Groene Zaak duurzaam-ondernemen.nl, 25 November 2010
  9. ^ Homepage of Chair Mentors International
  10. ^ Profile of Hoek at chairmentors.com,CMi-partners
  11. ^ Dutch: Marga Hoek en Ger Vrancken nieuwe commissarissen voor Aegon Nederland
  12. ^ ... Supervisory Board now consists of Henk Broeders, ..., Marga Hoek, Managing Director of De Groene Zaak, and ... Mazars, 2 May 2019
  13. ^ Reconnecting at MIPIM and the Trillion Dollar Shift Redevco, 25 March 2022
  14. ^ a b “Management Book of the Year 2014” managementboek.nl,English version 2016 "New Economy Business - Seven Windows of Opportunity"
  15. ^ a b “Reading your way to a wellbeing economy: 15 essential books” Wellbeing Economy Alliance, November 2018
  16. ^ WEF 2018, Davos (Switzerland), 2018
  17. ^ a b “Axiom Business Book Awards 2019” in 'Philanthropy / Nonprofit / Sustainability' Axiom Business Book award, February 2019
  18. ^ a b "America’s CEOs Seek a New Purpose for the Corporation", Fortune, 19 August 2019.
  19. ^ “It’s time for sustainability to get radical”
  20. ^ GreenBiz profile & articles from 2018-2020
  21. ^ Thinkers 50 Radar 2019 Thinkers 50, 2019
  22. ^ “Thinkers 50 Podcast: Marga Hoek and Sustainability” Thinkers 50, 16 June 2021
  23. ^ “Fairforce 100 Green Board Members” Fairforce.net, 2020
  24. ^ “Trouw Green Top 100”, Trouw, #42 in 2017
  25. ^ The Trillion Dollar Shift: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals; Business for Good is Good Business Amazon Kindle edition, May 2019
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