Amsterdam, 23rd December 2021 - Udo Kock, from 2014 to 2019 alderman in Amsterdam municipality, has committed to Larendael, the investment and development company of entrepreneur Wim Beelen.

Udo Kock (1970) studied economics and obtained a PhD at the Free University in Amsterdam, and then worked for the International Monetary Fund in Washington and Jerusalem, among other places. In 2014 he became alderman in Amsterdam whose portfolio includes Finance, Economic Affairs, Port, Schiphol and Zuidas.

In that capacity, Kock gained extensive experience with public-private partnerships in complex development projects. "I was an alderman for Amsterdam for five years. I am looking forward to working at Larendael and realizing challenging projects. Obviously from a different role, but with the same goal, which is to make Amsterdam more beautiful and prosperous."

Larendael founder Wim Beelen: "We are very happy with the arrival of Udo. As a developer we operate in the middle of society and we know how important it is to involve stakeholders in large-scale projects such as the development of the ADM site in the port of Amsterdam. I am sure that Udo with his financial-economic background and his experience as a director will make an important contribution to the development of our company."

Kock and Beelen met in 2019 during the failed negotiations on the sale of the struggling Afval Energie Bedrijf by the municipality of Amsterdam. Kock: "I got to know Wim at the time as an inspired entrepreneur. After the sale fell through we didn't have any contact. When we recently bumped into each other, we immediately started talking about the opportunities in Amsterdam, of which the development of the ADM site is of course a great challenge. What is now largely a port for fossil bulk goods can, thanks to Larendael's ambitions, get an enormous nautical boost. An international campus for design, maintenance and construction of luxury yachts is a great step forward for the transition that the Amsterdam port needs to go through. When it's all finished, Amsterdam will have 3,000 more jobs and an icon."