About
Rotterdam Square

Since June 2022 Ellen Smit is Managing Director of Rotterdam Square. She has a Master degree in Economics from the Free University Amsterdam. She developed her experience in the Life Sciences & Health sector when she was as a Senior Account Manager at Leiden Bio Science Park foundation. “In my current role at Rotterdam Square I use my Leiden experience to set up and build the Life Sciences & Health ecosystem in the Rotterdam region.”

Carola Immerzeel-Goosens has been working at Erasmus MC for almost 25 years, currently at the Technology Transfer Office (TTO). “Within TTO I am coordinator of the support team, patent formalities officer and advisor on finance, grants and communications. I’m also the Erasmus MC Incubator Manager: a lab and office facility for start-ups.” Carola works part-time as Community Manager at Rotterdam Square. “I’m looking forward to strengthen the existing ecosystem and support the start-up companies with everything they need to grow. Rotterdam is the place to be!”

Sharon Mullen has been working in the Life Sciences & Health ecosystem for the past six years and supporting the positioning of the Netherlands as a location for international LS&H companies. Working with many international companies she has helped them successfully establish their business and connected them with the ecosystem for collaboration. “As part of the team at Rotterdam Square, I am excited to share more opportunities for collaboration at the Erasmus MC Campus and see how I can connect the researchers, healthcare experts and industry, so we can accelerate Health&Tech innovations for the future.”

After studying Communications in Rotterdam, Aniek van Rijn is currently working as the Marketing and Communications Officer at Rotterdam Square. “I’m excited to put the knowledge I gained over the past few years to practice. Being part of a new organization is really fun and I’m learning a lot about the Life Sciences & Health sector. For anything marketing and communications related, you can contact me.”

For the past 20 years, Claudia Sprenger de Rover worked for a Cardiovascular Research Organization, where she organized events and supported the Board. Claudia is now Office Manager at Rotterdam Square. “I want to use my knowledge and experiences to work together with our team on the development of this exciting, innovative ecosystem, and to put Rotterdam Square on the map nationally and internationally by organizing events.”

Stefan Sleijfer is Chairman of the Executive Board of Erasmus MC and dean of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. ‘As a society, we see a number of major social challenges facing us in the coming years. Innovation with technical partners and industry is very important for the future of healthcare. With Rotterdam Square, I hope that we can build an ecosystem that makes healthcare more sustainable and future-proof and that we can optimally connect different worlds.’ Stefan is currently Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rotterdam Square.

Angela is the founder of iTanks, an innovation platform for industry that connects and renews. She also co-founded a private company that, at their own expense, develops and markets innovations. The municipality appointed her to look at entrepreneurship and building an innovation network. She currently works as Innovation Manager at Stedin, as Board Member at Blonde Tafel Rotterdam and is member of the Supervisory Board of Rotterdam Square.

Hicham Shatou is the founder and CEO of LeQuest, a company that focuses on patient safety and improving efficiency in the healthcare industry by closing the gap between medical technology and healthcare professionals. He is also a member of the Supervisory Board of Rotterdam Square.