Philips Foundation today announced that Ronald de Jong, chairman of the board of the Philips Foundation since 2014, will retire from the Philips Foundation, effective January 1, 2024. He will be succeeded by Marnix van Ginneken, who will take on this responsibility next to his current role as Chief ESG & Legal Officer and member of the Board of Management and Executive Committee at Royal Philips.
Philips Foundation was founded in 2014 by Philips and is dedicated to improving access to quality healthcare for underserved communities across the globe, deploying Philips’ expertise and healthcare solutions. Its mission is to provide access to quality healthcare for 100 million people a year in underserved communities by 2030.
In his current role at Philips, Marnix van Ginneken is responsible for driving Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives across the company and is responsible for Legal, Intellectual Property & Standards, and Government & Public Affairs. He also holds a professorship in International Corporate Governance at the Erasmus School of Law in Rotterdam.
In appreciation of Mr. de Jong’s achievements, Mr. van Ginneken said: “I want to express my deep gratitude for Ronald’s invaluable contributions to the Philips Foundation. I thank him for his passion, focus, and impact, which have been a cornerstone of the Foundation’s many achievements. I look forward to stepping into the role of Chairman, and I am fully committed to the Foundation’s mission of providing access to healthcare for underserved communities.”
Under Mr. de Jong’s stewardship, Philips Foundation made strong progress with its efforts to open up affordable healthcare for communities most in need and set an ambitious target to bring healthcare access to 100 million people a year in underserved communities by 2030. Successful initiatives over the last few years include many projects conducted in partnership with NGOs, government entities, universities, and social enterprises to drive health equity across the world. In 2021, Philips Foundation’s social impact investment vehicle, Philips Foundation Impact Investments B.V., was launched to support social enterprises through early-stage and situation-specific investment.
Margot Cooijmans, Director of the Philips Foundation, expressed her deep gratitude for Mr. de Jong’s leadership, saying, “Working alongside Ronald for the last seven years has been both an honor and a privilege. His deep-rooted commitment to Philips Foundation’s mission has been truly inspiring. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to Marnix. We look forward to the new perspectives and enthusiasm he will bring to our shared mission.”
