‘The humane economy is a matter of cooperation’

Although Goldschmeding himself passed away in 2024, at the ripe age of ninety, his spirit is, as a matter of course, still felt in the offices of ‘his’ foundation. And not only his spirit Anyone entering the Goldschmeding Foundation office in Diemen-Zuid cannot miss his prominent portrait at the entrance. ‘This serves to remind us, every time we come in here, of whose legacy we are carrying on,’ says Beun. Since April 2023, he has been chairman of the board of the Goldschmeding Foundation. The foundation uses donations, knowledge, and networking to facilitate projects that contribute to lasting change in the way we work and collaborate.
Beun worked with ‘Frits’ only for a short time, and this only in his later years. But that was enough to leave an enduring impression. ‘He remained sharp-minded until the end. Very observant. He wanted to know what everyone was doing. Not that he interfered in everything, but he listened to everyone and was always willing to share his perspective. A singular experience. A truly passionate man.’

The Goldschmeding Foundation, initially located in Amsterdam’s Zuidas business district, has been based in Diemen since the summer of 2025, ‘in the heart of the Randstad,’ although they do not necessarily want to shout the connection with their neighbors and ‘landlord’ from the rooftops. ‘We are separate from Randstad, we are independent,’ Beun emphasizes. ‘But we are proud of our pedigree. When circumstances forced us to leave the Zuidas district and a space became available here at Randstad Netherlands headquarters, I thought that we should not be foolish. We would be stupid not to take it.’ Randstad is part of our story, and part of Frits Goldschmeding's story. And we are eager to share that story. Moreover, it would immediately answer all questions about what this Foundation was doing in the Zuidas business district.

It must have been a huge transition when such a helmsman passed away?
‘It certainly was. We all immediately felt a huge, heavy responsibility. We talked about it a lot. Not to try to tell each other what Frits' legacy was but mainly to actually live up to that legacy. Fact is, I do not work for ‘Bert Beun NV,’ I work under the name Goldschmeding. It is a responsibility I feel every day, also towards the people who still bear Frits's surname. To them alone, you have an obligation to do the right thing. The name Goldschmeding opens doors, I have noticed. If I, as Bert Beun, try to contact Mayor Jan van Zanen, I might have to wait in line at the back, but if I am calling on behalf of the Goldschmeding Foundation, I can be there within three days.’

What did you personally learn from Frits?
‘In my first few months here, I noticed how powerful the core values ​​we work with every day are. Frits was always focused on ‘the next step.’ Do not judge where we are right now, but ask yourself: where do we want to go and what steps are needed to get there? It is very easy to point out the pain points, the things that are not working, the things that are going wrong. That can make you incredibly busy and displeased with yourself.
But I drew on Frits' core values ​​to turn that around: look where we are already and at where we can go. From a positive attitude. And from shared values ​​and principles. He also taught me what philanthropy is. Philanthropy does not mean giving your money away. It means investing your money. And getting something in return. Value. A better society. You invest to make an impact. It has to yield something.’

You have been chair of the board of the Goldschmeding Foundation since 2023.Before that, you had a long career in construction and education, among other things. Are there similarities?
‘I did indeed have no experience in the world of philanthropy. But there is a common thread that runs through my career. It lies in ‘building,’ ‘people,’ and ‘society.’ Everywhere I worked, I strived to ensure that everyone could participate. And once people participate, they can excel and accelerate. In fact, I try to do the same with this organization. We are focused on people, society, building, and accelerating. Learning together, growing together.’

The Goldschmeding Foundation is one of Management Scope's knowledge partners, among other things also including the theme of ‘humane economy’. Humane economy, what do you understand by that?
‘A humane economy is exactly what Frits Goldschmeding was committed to. It is a concept that is also referred to as broad prosperity. Simply put, it is about taking a long-term view and considering all stakeholders. So, not just about what is good for my company or my shareholders today, but also what is good for the world and what is good for future generations – or, as Frits called it, simultaneous advocacy. It is about working towards an inclusive, future-proof, humane society.’

Is this something that is alive in Dutch boardrooms?
‘It depends on whether you allow this issue to come to life as a director or supervisor. That is a choice. For example, I myself am on the supervisory board of ROC Amsterdam-Flevoland. We are dealing with a shrinking number of vocational students nationally. Am I committed to ROC Amsterdam-Flevoland growing at the expense of its fellow vocational colleges? Or is my commitment to ensuring a good influx of talent into the Dutch labor market with an equitable spread of training programs across the Netherlands and across vocational colleges? That is a discussion we need to have with each other, the board and supervisors. And of course, a company has a different responsibility than an educational institution, but even there, it starts with a discussion about such dilemmas. Why do you do something and why do you not do something? Who benefits from my decision and who does it harm? I think that conversation is definitely happening more and more. But I also notice that directors and supervisors sometimes feel hesitant to act. We at the Goldschmeding Foundation, together with our project partners, can help them with that.’

How do you do that?
‘By working with our partners to offer programs that support directors and supervisors in this regard. In these programs, we want to appeal to them in particular. After all, the tone at the top largely determines how the organization operates. We have programs running on three major themes: future-proof work, an inclusive labor market, and a humane economy. In all these areas, in addition to carrying out the projects, we try to build networks, and to gather and share knowledge.
Our projects usually lie at the intersection of practice and science. We support scientific research. We have, for example, established a special chair in ethics and leadership and a humane economy at the University for Humanistic Studies, and we collaborate with Nyenrode University. In addition to this community of science, we are also building a community of practice, a network of more than a hundred people from management and supervisory boards. With our projects and proven concepts, we want to create momentum. In such a program, we try to work from a theory of change, i.e. to jointly formulate what you want to achieve in the field of a humane economy in the long term and then formulate the steps needed to achieve it. After all, a humane economy is a collaborative issue.’

What kind of projects does that result in?
‘We provide support by offering programs to directors and supervisors, often in collaboration with our project partners, such as Deepened Governance (formerly Discomfort in the Boardroom). The tools from these programs are intended to help directors to find a better balance between their own ideals and business interests when it comes to societal issues. (See also Management Scope #08 2025: Sensitive issues still too often remain undiscussed.)’

And everything is under the ‘Goldschmeding Foundation’ name?
‘On the contrary. That is not what we are about. In our early days, we still had the Frits Goldschmeding Chair, but we stopped using that branding. We are not interested in slapping the Goldschmeding name on everything. Frits would not have wanted that at all. We want to be far more modest.
We care about the content, the philosophy, the ideas. You can see those ideas slowly spreading. If something takes root, that is good. If we can make ourselves redundant, that is fine. We have to be careful that our work does not become institutionalized. It is not about expanding our own organization, it is about the impact: we want to create and accelerate movement.’

What do you hope to achieve with the Goldschmeding Foundation in the coming years?
‘I hope that this organization will be even more widely and better recognized and acknowledged for its knowledge, network, and its power to help accelerate change through donations. We must all ensure that the work we do is well received. That we position ourselves even better. That we establish and expand our knowledge network even further. That we spread Frits' ideas and work towards a humane economy. I see that as an important task.
My ambition is also to achieve more national coverage and recognition with the Goldschmeding Foundation. In the early years, most projects focused primarily on the Randstad – which was not illogical. But we are broadening our scope. There are just as many initiatives in Limburg or Drenthe that we can support and that can, in turn, help us achieve our goals. That is why we have established an advisory board in which each province is represented by about five people. These are people from the business community, education, science, and civil society. In this way, we have a nationwide network of people with antennae throughout society. This expands our network and our impact. One result is that we are now involved in the Nij Begun project in Groningen and Drenthe, which focuses on a livable and social future for the region after gas extraction. In addition, we now have projects in the field of humane economics running at almost all universities in the provinces. And we have entered into agreements on this subject, for example with VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland.’

What else is high on your to-do list?
‘I strongly believe in collaboration, including in the world of philanthropy. I was surprised to learn that our trade association, Fondsen in Nederland (FIN), has 370 members. I was not aware of that. I believe those 370 members could collaborate more and do so more effectively. I am committed to achieving this. If we were to collaborate, we could increase our impact even further. We could take everything to the next level. We are already in talks about this with the Gak Institute and the Start Foundation, with some excellent results. I believe that that is where my strength lies, in seeking collaboration. I am familiar with this from my years in the construction industry. To have a competitive edge in tenders, you sometimes have to form construction consortiums, even with competitors or colleagues. In fact, you have to provide your best project manager, and you will have to share knowledge. For me, that is second nature.’

The big question remains, of course: what would Frits think of all this?
‘I think we have become his legacy. Would he recognize himself in our work? Unfortunately, we cannot ask him, but I am convinced he would. Fortunately, he was around for most of the Foundation's years. He saw how it developed, how construction was done with a sense of entrepreneurship. We have continued along those lines, and I think we are doing well. This was confirmed last year during our tenth anniversary when we received a call from Frits' widow, Petra Goldschmeding. She felt it was important to personally congratulate us on our anniversary and thank us for what we had achieved. That phone call really touched me. She would not have called if she did not support our work.’

This article was published in Management Scope 03 2026.