General Counsel Award
The prestigious General Counsel Award is granted every other year to a General Counsel who has delivered a remarkable achievement in the Netherlands and has thus set an example for the professionalisation of the General Counsel profession.
Today, the GCN Award has become a key award for General Counsel in the Netherlands. Anyone can nominate a General Counsel. An independent and expert jury will select three finalists from all candidates. The selection criteria are: innovation, leadership, professionalism and business acumen.
The finalists will present themselves at the General Counsel NL Annual Dinner, followed by the GCs attending and the jury choosing the winner. These General Counsel have won the General Counsel Award in recent years:
- 2015 – 2016, Malinda Miener, member of the Executive Board at Holland Casino
- 2017 – 2018, Thijs van der Lugt, General Counsel at Aalberts
- 2019 – 2020, Yu Lian de Bakker, SVP Legal Affairs & General Counsel at PVH Europe
- 2021 – 2022, Baukje Dreimüller, General Counsel bij Royal Schiphol Group & Member of the Supervisory Board at PwC NL
- 2023 – 2024 Aster Kamp-van de Velden, General Counsel bij Catawiki
Why?
The role and responsibilities of the most senior lawyer in a company or organisation are changing rapidly. Whereas he or she used to sit in some corner digging through contracts, the General Counsel New Style is a modern and enterprising manager, close to the business and the board and often wearing several hats with final responsibility, such as legal, compliance and/or secretary.
This calls for enterprising lawyers who take responsibility and leadership and are open to the challenges of the new era, for example in the field of technology. In short: General Counsel who are content-strong and continue to develop themselves more extensively.
Some General Counsel are more advanced in this than others. With the General Counsel Award, GCN wants to give the General Counsel New Style as much publicity, appreciation and standing as possible and provide a stage to those who lead the way in this respect: a role model for other General Counsel who want to develop themselves.
How?
Every other year, GCN organises the General Counsel Award. Everyone can nominate a General Counsel. Each nominated General Counsel has his or her own special achievements. An expert jury selects 3 finalists from the list of nominated GCs. The GCs will be judged by the jury on the following criteria:
- Innovation
- Leadership
- Entrepreneurship
- Positioning of the General Counsel and/or the legal department
The 3 finalists will present themselves during the General Counsel NL Annual Dinner. At the end of the GCN Annual Dinner, the winner of the General Counsel Award will be chosen – jointly by the attendees and the jury.
Winner General Counsel Award 2025-2026
Willem-Jan Wieland
Chief Legal Officer
Strukton
Last night, Willem-Jan Wieland, CLO at Strukton, won the General Counsel NL Award 2025–2026 during the very well-attended GCN Annual Dinner, which was held at the Arsenaal in Naarden-Vesting. The other finalists were Anne Veldhuizen from Rituals and Haye Strikwerda from ACT Commodities.
This year’s competition was especially intense, as all three finalists had been closely involved in significant developments within their companies over the past few years, each for different reasons. Each finalist shared their story – including their biggest successes and most notable blunders – in a unique way, resulting in a varied and dynamic evening. Three winners!
finalisten general counsel NL award 2025 - 2026
Jury of the General Counsel Award 2023 - 2024
Voorzitter: Peter Paul de Vries
CEO en Co-owner Value8
Jurylid: Aster Kamp – van de Velden
General Counsel, Catawiki
Jurylid: Christiaan Bramer
Executive Coach bij Brainspire
Willem-Jan Wieland GCN Award winner 2025-2026
Congratulations to Willem-Jan Wieland, CLO at Strukton, for winning the General Counsel NL Award 2025–2026! During the well-attended GCN Annual Dinner at the beautiful Arsenaal