Royal IHC CEO Derk te Bokkel will hand over his role to Erik-Jan Bijvank with effect from 1 October 2026. CFO Bert-Jaap Dijkstra will also leave the company at the end of October to continue his career elsewhere.
Te Bokkel joined Royal IHC in early 2023 with a mandate to support the company’s restart, reposition its business model and further develop its strategy. Since then, the company has established a solid foundation, a strong market position and a positive outlook for the future. With this important phase now completed, Te Bokkel has decided to focus on other professional and personal interests.
The Supervisory Board expresses its sincere appreciation for his commitment and leadership over the past years: ‘Derk has played an important role in the successful repositioning of Royal IHC. Under his leadership, the organisation has been further strengthened, and a stable foundation has been laid for future growth. We are very grateful for his contribution and wish him every success in his future activities.’
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Bijvank to lead Royal IHC into next phase
Bijvank has been appointed CEO and successor to Te Bokkel. He brings more than thirty years of international experience, gained at companies including Stork and Fugro. Throughout his career, he has built extensive expertise in project-based organisations, asset management and maritime services. Bijvank will join the Dutch shipbuilder on 1 September 2026. With his broad experience and in-depth knowledge of the sector, the company feels he is well positioned to lead the company into the next phase of its development.
Frank Verhoeven, Chair of the Supervisory Board comments: ‘We are delighted to welcome Erik-Jan as our new CEO. His experience, leadership qualities, and knowledge of the maritime and industrial sectors make him the right person to build on the strong foundation established in recent years. With the successful transformation of recent years as a basis, and Erik-Jan joining as CEO, Royal IHC looks forward with confidence to the next phase of its development.’
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Search for new CFO underway
Royal IHC also announces that CFO Bert-Jaap Dijkstra has decided to continue his career outside the organisation. Over the past two years, Bert-Jaap has made an important contribution to the company’s refinancing, the further strengthening of the organisation and the professionalisation of the finance function.
The search for a successor has now begun, and discussions with suitable candidates are already well underway.
Picture: Erik-Jan Bijvank takes over as CEO from Derk te Bokkel (photo by Royal IHC).
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