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Van Haren Awards 2026
Celebrating 25 Years Van Haren Group
The Van Haren Group Awards 2026 marked a special moment in our 25th anniversary year. More than an awards ceremony, the event was an opportunity to celebrate the people and organizations whose work continues to advance professional disciplines around the world.
The atmosphere throughout the day was one of energy, inspiration, and connection. Industry professionals, authors, training partners, and thought leaders came together to share ideas, exchange experiences, and recognize outstanding contributions to the global professional community.
This year’s awards focused on three areas that are central to the development of any profession: Thought Leadership, Learning Innovation, and Lifetime Achievement. The recipients and nominees demonstrated that lasting impact is not measured by commercial success alone, but by the knowledge shared, the standards developed, the frameworks created, and the professionals empowered along the way.
In addition to the awards ceremony, attendees enjoyed a series of engaging presentations. Topics ranged from the growing importance of cybersecurity and digital resilience to the transformative role of artificial intelligence in professional learning and development. These sessions reinforced a common theme throughout the day: the need to continuously adapt, learn, and contribute in a rapidly changing world.
Most importantly, the event highlighted the strength of the Van Haren Group community. The achievements recognized during the awards are the result of years of dedication, collaboration, and a shared commitment to advancing best practices across industries.
We would like to thank all nominees, award recipients, speakers, partners, and guests for making the Van Haren Group Awards 2026 such a memorable occasion.
A selection of photos from the event can be found below.
Meet the Award Winners
This year’s awards were presented across three categories, each recognizing a different dimension of professional impact, by our jury Antoine Bonenkamp, Rob Akershoek, and Miriam Blom.
Thought Leader Award: Ton Godtschalk and Reinoud Ykema, Capgemini Academy
Ton Godtschalk and Reinoud Ykema were recognized for their outstanding and sustained contributions to the development of Best Practices and Standards over the past year. Their work on PM², CNORA, the Thought Leadership Standard, and the AI Brevet reflects a proactive mindset and a unique ability to connect ideas and people across the international professional community. The consistent engagement and initiative throughout the year made Ton, Reinoud and Capgemini a clear and deserving recipient of the Thought Leader Award.
Learning Innovator Award: Bert Hedeman and Roel Roepma
Bert Hedeman and Roel Roepma were recognized for transforming a decades-long body of work into a dynamic, future-ready learning ecosystem. Rather than treating their extensive library of IPMA books and courseware as standalone products, they consolidated everything into a single IPMA ICB Learning Database, from which they developed approximately 15 new Online Repositories. These sophisticated eLearning and blended learning environments are engineered around competence-specific abilities and real-world application, setting a new benchmark for modern educational design.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Hans Tesselaar, BIAN
Hans Tesselaar, Executive Director of BIAN, received the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of years of visionary leadership and a partnership that has left a lasting mark on the international professional community. Hans believed in the Van Haren Group before the partnership was obvious. That trust gave rise to several authoritative BIAN publications and a mature BIAN certification ecosystem, enabling banking and IT professionals worldwide to demonstrate competence and advance the adoption of standardized service landscapes across the financial services industry.
