Boards do not need more reports. They need judgment.

The modern board faces a specific and growing challenge: the gap between domestic competence and international capability. A board can be composed of exceptional directors, each with decades of sector experience, and still lack the collective ability to assess a market entry in the GCC, evaluate a partnership in the BRICS, or understand the geopolitical risk embedded in a Belt and Road corridor. This is not a failure of intelligence. It is a failure of architecture.

Alexander W. van der Kemp provides that architecture.

He does not arrive with a template. He arrives with a question: what does this board actually need to know that it does not currently know? The answers are rarely found in a consultant's deck. They are found in the disciplined interrogation of assumptions, the mapping of relationships, and the honest assessment of what is known, what is assumed, and what is unknown.

What He Brings to the Boardroom:

International Commercial Judgment. Twenty-seven years of operating across Europe, the Gulf, Asia, and emerging markets. Not theory. Not frameworks. The scar tissue of real transactions, real negotiations, and real market entries.

Geopolitical and Commercial Risk Assessment. The ability to distinguish between temporary market disruption and structural change. Between a risk worth taking and a risk that will take the company.

Relationship Architecture. The discipline of building partnerships that endure beyond the transaction. The understanding that in markets from Riyadh to Singapore, trust is the currency, and reputation is the balance sheet.

Board-Level Challenge. The willingness to ask the question that others have not asked. The independence to disagree without being disagreeable. The judgment to know when to push and when to wait.

The Long View. The conviction that durable international positioning is built on judgment rather than speed. That the board's role is not to chase the latest market, but to ensure the company is positioned for the markets that will matter in five years, not five months.

The Practical Reality.

Alexander is available for independent board director mandates, advisory board roles, and board-level counsel on specific international expansion decisions. He operates with the confidentiality and discretion that board work requires.

If your board is considering a significant international move, or if you believe your board would benefit from a director who has actually built what others only advise on, the conversation begins with a call.

International expansion done right transforms your entire business, diversifying revenue, reducing domestic market dependence, and positioning you as a global player. International expansion done wrong consumes resources, creates complexity, and leaves you wondering what went wrong.

Schedule your confidential Your Global Market Shift Briefing. In 45 minutes, we'll:

Assess your current international readiness
Identify your highest-potential target markets
Outline a preliminary roadmap for sustainable expansion
Determine if we're the right partner for your journey 

No obligations. No sales pressure. Just strategic clarity.

Get to Know Alexander, and Schedule Your Global Market Shift Briefing →

Empowering mid-sized enterprises to excel in the global marketplace since 1999

ALEXANDER W. VAN DER KEMP

Independent Board Director Candidate | Global Markets, International Expansion & Geopolitical Strategy

Singapore ·  Zurich · Dubai · Brussels | linkedin.com/in/awvanderkemp | vdk.solutions

Board Profile

International business strategist and board-level adviser with more than twenty-five years across Europe, the Gulf, Asia, and emerging markets. Experienced in cross-border market entry, geopolitical and commercial risk, strategic partnerships, and disciplined capital deployment into long-horizon ventures. Has structured and advised on a €200 million cross-border industrial transaction, managed project portfolios of up to €43 million, and built institutional relationships with government stakeholders, sovereign-linked entities, and multinational industrial partners across the European Union, Gulf Cooperation Council, and Asian corridor. Brings the cultural precision and relationship architecture required to challenge conventional assumptions about international growth.

Board-Relevant Competencies

•    International growth strategy and market sequencing
•    Gulf Cooperation Council commercial environments and institutional engagement
•    Geopolitical and commercial risk assessment
•    Cross-border partnerships, joint ventures, and alliance architecture
•    Capital deployment and long-term value creation
•    Governance of multi-jurisdictional ventures
•    Cross-cultural negotiation and relationship architecture
•    Board-level challenge and independent judgment

Board and Advisory Experience

Advisory Board Member · Dutch Committee, Strasbourg, France · 2021–2024
Voluntary advisory seat contributing to strategic engagement with European institutional, diplomatic, and political stakeholders. Supported relationship architecture across European Union member states, informing subsequent commercial engagements in the Gulf and Asia.

Board Leadership · P.B.G. B.V., Arnhem, Netherlands · 2006–2016
Led the governing board of a medical day clinic through expansion, relocation, and organisational transformation. Directed the board on capital allocation, partnership strategy, and long-term positioning, establishing the clinic as a regional centre of excellence.

Selected International Contributions

•    Structured and advised on a €200 million cross-border industrial transaction, the largest single mandate of his advisory career, encompassing production capital, risk-mitigation architecture, and multi-party commercial alignment across Europe, the Gulf, and Asia.
•    Architected a multi-party industrial collaboration framework across Europe, the Gulf, and Asia, bringing together multinational industrial participants in automotive, energy, and advanced manufacturing.
•    Structured five-year foundational agreements with Gulf nations while serving as strategic representative for Blackstone Group LLC in Dubai, strengthening European–Emirati joint ventures in the automotive and aerospace sectors by 24% in deal flow.
•    Built institutional relationships with government stakeholders, sovereign-linked entities, and multinational industrial partners across the Gulf, Europe, and Asia, including engagements with the Royal Office Dubai.
•    Founded and scaled three international ventures, each achieving sustained growth through cross-border commercial strategy and disciplined operational governance.
•    Led and coordinated cross-functional teams of up to 125 professionals across multicultural and multi-jurisdictional environments.

Professional Experience

Founding Principal · VDK Solutions · Singapore and Paris (Hybrid) · September 2016 – Present

International advisory practice providing board-level counsel on market expansion, organisational transformation, and cross-border commercial structuring.

•    Advises boards and executive teams on international growth strategy, partnership architecture, and risk-mitigated capital deployment.
•    Structured and advised on a €200 million cross-border industrial transaction and managed project portfolios of up to €43 million.
•    Architected a multi-party industrial collaboration framework across Europe, the Gulf, and Asia, engaging multinational industrial participants.
•    Concurrent directorship.

International Sales Director · Blackstone Group LLC · Dubai, United Arab Emirates · March 2022 – March 2024

Strategic representative for a Dubai-based group to government stakeholders, industry leaders, and institutional partners.

•    Structured five-year foundational agreements with Gulf nations, establishing an international innovation and entrepreneurship programme.
•    Strengthened European–Emirati joint ventures in the automotive and aerospace sectors by 24% in deal flow.
•    Held responsibility for a project portfolio of €43 million, guiding cross-functional teams through transformational growth.

Regional Sales Director, EMEA · LOMA Wheels · Monte Carlo, Monaco · September 2020 – May 2022

•    Rebuilt and expanded the company's European, Middle Eastern, and African footprint in the luxury automotive sector.
•    Secured a strategic supply-chain partnership with Aston Martin Warwick, supporting high-end vehicle and original-equipment rim production.
•    Led market introduction of an ultra-lightweight alloy rim, achieving an 18 per cent increase in European business-to-business presence within twenty months.

Executive Director, Benelux and France · synMedico Group · Kassel, Germany and Maastricht, Netherlands · March 2016 – April 2021

•    Established the company's Benelux and French operations as the legal and operational vehicle for international growth, delivered through VDK Solutions.
•    Drove a 27 per cent revenue increase through market-penetration strategy and digital product introduction.
•    Negotiated and closed international contracts totalling €18 million, establishing regional leadership in digital dental and medical solutions..
•    Concurrent directorship.

General Director and Board Lead · P.B.G. B.V. · Arnhem, Netherlands · February 1999 – August 2017

•    Built a medical day clinic into a regional centre of excellence over eighteen years, leading expansion, relocation, and operational refinement.
•    Cultivated long-term partnerships with international pharmaceutical companies and laboratories.
•    Directed the full profit-and-loss responsibility, talent strategy, and governance of the enterprise.
•    Concurrent directorship.

Co-Founder and Sales Director · SAVADE Dental and Medical Supplies B.V. · Arnhem, Netherlands · February 2002 – December 2016

•    Co-founded and built a wholesale medical-supply company serving the Benelux and Gulf markets.
•    Conceived and brought to market a carbon-fibre dental turbine handpiece, resulting in the successful sale of the patent in 2016.
•    Drove revenue from €50,000 to €2.7 million.

Education

Bachelor of Business Economics and Management · HAN University of Applied Sciences, Arnhem, Netherlands · 1993–1996
Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering · MTS, Arnhem, Netherlands · 1989–1993

Languages

Dutch (native) · English (professional, C2) · German (professional, C2) · Russian, French, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Danish (conversational)