Top 100 Non-Executive Directors
Top 100 Non-Executive Directors 2026
As the most influential supervisory board member in the Netherlands for the fourth year in a row, Dick Boer himself thinks it is getting boring. While last year we were still wondering if the list was the prelude to real change, for the first time since 2019, the top three consists entirely of men ‘of a certain age’. We find diversity between the lines, because at second glance, the list is fortunately less homogeneous: the podium is not entirely white, and the percentage of women in our top 100 is again above forty.
(1) Dick Boer
Dick Boer is once again the most influential supervisory board member in Dutch business. The former CEO of Ahold – and later of the merged company Ahold Delhaize – tops the list because of his supervisory roles at Shell and Nestlé, among others. This is the fourth year in a row that Boer has been named the ‘most powerful’, ‘most influential’, or ‘most important’ supervisory board member in the Netherlands. He himself is not particularly interested in these kinds of lists, as he admitted in an interview earlier this year. In fact, he added: ‘It is time for someone else to top the list, otherwise it will become really boring’. Boring or not, Boer stands firmly and sovereignly at the top of the rankings.
(10) Karl Guha
Karl Guha, who was tenth on this list last year, is this year's runner-up. Born in Darjeeling (India), Guha, former CEO of Van Lanschot Kempen, owes his high score primarily to his position as chairman of the ING supervisory board. Moreover, this year Guha was also nominated as member of the supervisory board of Exor, the investment company of the influential Italian Agnelli family (Fiat, Ferrari, Juventus, and a major shareholder in Philips). This underscores Guha's position as a respected, leading international banker.
(3) Lodewijk Hijmans van den Bergh
The third step on our podium this year goes to Lodewijk Hijmans van den Bergh, his third bronze medal in a row in this ranking. The lawyer, a former attorney at De Brauw and ex-Ahold board member, serves on the supervisory boards of Heineken and investment company Hal Holding, among others. But Hijmans van den Bergh scores the most points as Karl Guha's ‘colleague’ on the supervisory board of ING, where he is chairman of the ESG committee. An entirely male podium this year, in other words. This is the first time since 2019, when the illustrious troika of Hans Wijers, Ben Noteboom, and Ben van der Veer still ruled the Dutch supervisory system.
(2) Miriam van Dongen
The female honor is upheld by Miriam van Dongen, who held first place in the Top 100 Corporate Women earlier this year. In this overall list, she drops from second place last year to fourth this year. She lost some of her influence by stepping down from the supervisory board of the Land Registry. Van Dongen is not only the highest-ranking woman on the list; at age fifty-six, she is still the youngest supervisory board member in the top ten. Just like last year, in fact. Van Dongen is one of three women in the top ten, alongside usual suspects Pauline van der Meer Mohr and Annemiek Fentener van Vlissingen.
(5) Koos Timmermans
Just like Dick Boer and Lodewijk Hijmans van den Bergh, Koos Timmermans retains the position he held last year. Timmermans is chairman of the supervisory board of the Port of Rotterdam Authority and also holds supervisory board positions at NN Group, PostNL, and FMO. He is also a member of the supervisory board of KWF Kankerbestrijding.
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Justification
A non-exec is eligible if they hold two or more positions as a Supervisory Board member or Director with the most important businesses in the Netherlands. By this, we mean companies that are listed on the AEX, AMX (MidCap), or AScX (SmallCap) index and unlisted companies with equity in excess of 500 million Euros.
Allocation of points
The Supervisory Board members are awarded points based on the amount of equity held by the companies where they hold a position. Supervisory positions for these businesses are worth more points than executive roles. In addition, the non-executive directors receive points for Chairmanships of Supervisory Boards, Chairman positions on Boards of Directors, and Chairmanships of audit, remuneration and nomination committees.
Finally, points are awarded for supervisory roles for large overseas companies, universities, universities of applied science, hospitals, and other large businesses.
Cut-off date
The cut-off date for the rankings is 1 November 2025.