Sempergreen Group welcomes two new co-CEOs

Sempergreen Group is proud to announce that Aldo Tognini and Henriette Vink have been as appointed CEOs. With this appointment, Corné van Garderen hands over the day-to-day management. Corné is the founder of the international grower and supplier of solutions for green roofs and facades. Sempergreen Group works globally with several nurseries and branches to achieve their mission - to make the planet greener and more livable for people and animals alike. From 1 July 2024, Aldo Tognini and Henriette Vink have jointly assumed the position of CEO. From their headquarters in Odijk, Utrecht, they will manage Sempergreen's European operations. Aldo and Henriette combine the responsibility with their roles as CFO and CCO. Corné van Garderen will remain closely involved with Sempergreen Group. "As Chairman of the Board I remain committed to replanting our planet through an active ambassador role."

Henriette Vink

In November 2020, Henriette Vink (43) joined Sempergreen as managing director of Sempergreen Vertical Systems (SVS). SVS is the business unit within Sempergreen where she leads a team of green wall specialists ranging from the cultivation process to sales, project management, installation and maintenance.

Since February 2023, Henriette's role has expanded group-wide to Chief Commercial Officer. In this position, she has also become responsible for Sempergreen's Sales and Marketing team which focuses on green roofs and ground cover. She combines the CEO role with her current responsibility as CCO.

Henriette Vink has extensive experience in various management and director positions. At Rabobank and Volkswagen Pon Financial Services, she gained a lot of experience in improvement projects based on customer value (Lean), where people within the organisation always take centre stage. Whether it concerns team or individual development, new working methods in behaviour and process, the development and roll-out of ERP and CRM systems or the implementation of new legislation & regulations, she is happy to take on the challenge. Henriette is always keen to make it a success together with the employees.

Henriette Vink: "I feel honoured and excited to take on the role of CEO/CCO at Sempergreen. This is a pivotal time for our company and I look forward to move ahead with our talented team to deliver value to our customers, drive innovation and continue our trajectory of growth and success. Together, we will build on the strong foundation already in place. We are eagerly striving to reach new heights, ensuring a bright, successful and sustainable future."

Aldo Tognini

Aldo Tognini (54) has been involved with Sempergreen as Chief Financial Officer since 2021. He has more than 20 years of experience in various management and executive roles in the financial sector. He has contributed to strong growth at Quion and De Hypotheker, among others. He brings this experience to Sempergreen Group to realise its mission. The combination of sustainability, ambitious goals, entrepreneurship and personal impact appealed to Aldo to make the move to Sempergreen. In addition to his role as CEO, Aldo will also remain active as CFO. Within Sempergreen, his goal is to create an acceleration in the international company's growth ambitions.

"It is wonderful to work with the team at Sempergreen every day to visibly contribute to improving biodiversity, sustainability and countering climate challenges we all face. The solutions of Sempergreen and its customers capture my imagination greatly. To set the tone in this playing field in the coming years is a great challenge. The employees, the innovative culture, the entrepreneurship and always wanting to go the extra mile for customers gives me energy. I am very much looking forward to personally contributing to tomorrow's solutions and making the world a little greener every day. The combination of roles is a logical step. Over the past two years, I have played an important part in creating the preconditions for further growth, including the transaction with MSQ on the one hand, and concretising the strategy for Sempergreen for the coming years on the other. Then it is an honour to also be able to flesh out this strategy. The shareholders' offer to take up this challenge together with Henriette is a logical next step.", Aldo Tognini said.

The next step for Van Garderen

Together with Martin Mastenbroek, Corné van Garderen is involved in the company as a non-executive. Corné has led Sempergreen from its inception with a strong vision for sustainable solutions in urban environments. Under his leadership, Sempergreen has grown into an international market leader in the green roofs and facades sector.

"Having been the CEO of Sempergreen for 28 years, I am proud of our team and where we are. A lot of greenery has been realised, but when I look at the expected growth of the world population and our towns and cities, we want to make a much bigger impact which is also much needed. Not just with our company, but by making construction more sustainable and greener in general. My time at Sempergreen is far from over. I will remain involved as Chairman of the Board and this transition will allow me to add value to the company in other ways. Among other things, I will be involved in innovations and as an ambassador for Sempergreen Group and the market we are in, I will do my best to accelerate the movement of creating greener buildings and cities. Our slogan is Replanting the Planet for a reason!", Corné van Garderen expresses.

Corné van Garderen proudly announced the change to all employees recently. "Aldo and Henriette have both gained valuable experience within Sempergreen in the last few years. We see it as a great advantage that they want to take on the role of CEO together. With their own unique perspectives and experience, they complement each other well. Henriette's portfolio focuses on the shorter term and leveraging Sempergreen's existing propositions. Aldo focuses on the further development of propositions and the longer-term growth of the company. I look forward to seeing how they will take the company even further."