Interview
“The idea comes from the innovator, we help it along.”
Jan Willem Kuenen
Board Member Achmea Foundation
Jan Willem Kuenen did not have to think long about his answer when he was asked to serve as a Board member for the Achmea Foundation. “It’s a unique opportunity to utilise my passion and interests to make a lasting impact on society.” After years of experience as a strategic consultant in the global healthcare sector at Boston Consulting Group, Jan Willem has spent the last three years actively helping to advance healthcare innovations in the Netherlands. And since September 2020, he has been entitled to call himself a Board member of the Achmea Foundation.
“My predecessor, outgoing Board member Anshu Gupta, said it in this place last year: ‘Making a positive impact in the long term is really complex.’ I share those concerns. But I, like Anshu, am also convinced that it can be done. I see plenty of ideas come along that can help people and society. As a member of the foundation’s Board, I am in the position of being able to observe, advise, decide together with the other Board members which initiative we consider most promising and help these initiatives along. I consider that a privilege.”
The ‘who’
The Achmea Foundation supports initiatives in agriculture, healthcare and financial services of an innovative character. “The idea comes from the innovator, we help it along. From the foundation, we look at the entire ecosystem. We look at ‘why’ a request was made, ‘what’ should ideally be realised, for ‘whom’ and ‘how’. Achmea Foundation has the knowledge and resources at its disposal. What I am trying to add is the broad definition of the ‘who’. Are people really willing to pay for it, if it has to be paid for? Are parties who must supply prepared to supply? Are customers willing to buy? Is the business model right for everyone in that value chain? Are there stakeholders to whom the initiative may be detrimental? For an initiative to be sustainably successful, it must meet all the conditions.”
Added value
In Jan Willem’s vision, a company can contribute to society through its corporate foundation in a way that goes beyond the direct contribution through products and services that the corporation provides. “The fact that Achmea sees its role towards the foundation as being greater than merely financial is something I really like. It is extremely valuable that Achmea employees are given the opportunity to share their knowledge and expertise if they so wish.” In addition to his role as Board member, Jan Willem is also chairman of the Achmea Foundation selection committee. “We all believe that the selection process around initiatives should go beyond simply agreement on funding and that the effort put into the applications is acceptable. After all, the extra time spent on applications is not spent on fulfilling the mission of the applicants.” The Achmea Foundation’s selection procedure has therefore been adjusted this year. Previously, proposals were widely solicited and anyone could apply. This created a great deal of work for all involved and only a limited percentage could be honoured. “As of this year, we have been preselecting parties with whom we have had good experiences or where we see interesting developments. We will talk to these potential applicants. This enables us to think directly about what the foundation can add in concrete terms instead of being confronted with an application that is ‘finished’ and only being able to say yes or no to it. This results in fewer applications, but of higher quality, of which we can honour a higher percentage.”
Jan Willem Keunen
"The fact that Achmea sees its role towards the foundation as being greater than merely financial is something I really like"
Together you can go further
In the 15 years that the Achmea Foundation has existed, a lot of good things have been achieved. “The developments of the last few years in particular, in which, in addition to financial resources, knowledge and expertise is made available from the foundation and parent company Achmea, is very valuable.” Jan Willem hopes that this form of cooperation will be further intensified. “The added value of the foundation and Achmea to initiatives is great. Not only in business terms, but also in terms of cooperative thinking. Consider the history of Achmea: independent farmers who arranged their insurance together. In Africa, too, there are many small entrepreneurs, individuals with insecurities who could benefit from joining forces.” Helping innovations along is one of Jan Willem’s passions. According to him, there is still room for improvement here. “I believe in the power of technology. It can be a huge accelerator. Things that were inconceivable in the past are ‘normal’ today. And in the coming years, more can be achieved thanks to innovations. So I think it’s great that the Achmea Foundation wants to help innovations in Africa. The potential is enormous! In Africa perhaps even more so than in the Netherlands. Doing something technologically smarter almost always affects the traditional way of doing things in a negative way, which reduces the chances of success. Sometimes when there is less, there is more potential.”