1. Formal duties:
Such as appointing the Supervisory Board (SB) and adopting the annual accounts and membership fees.
2. Advisory role:
The Members' Council provides the management with solicited and unsolicited advice on matters they consider important, in consultation with members if desired.
3. Connecting with members:
The Members' Council represents members and therefore actively engages with them during, for example, the Member Sessions. Outside here, they can be reached at ledenraad@royalfloraholland.com.
To properly reflect the membership, the Members' Council is a mix of people and backgrounds representative of the current membership. Here is this year's composition.
Chairman of the Council of Members
From 1 January 2025, Marcel van der Lugt took over the chairmanship from Peter Smak. Prior to this, he had been a member of the Members' Council for three years. Marcel is one of the owners of Lugt Lisianthus, which grows Lisianthus year-round at two locations.
As chairman, he wants to make the role of the Members' Council clear to members. The Members' Council sometimes goes along with Royal FloraHolland's decisions if it suits the constituency, but proposals are also adjusted on the advice of the Members' Council. In addition, the communication of its strategy and objectives may be made clearer, for example by including segmentation. Royal FloraHolland's members are very diverse and have different information needs. Communication should also more strongly highlight the steps the cooperative needs to take to remain future-proof. The strength we have together as a cooperative must be kept robust, which is the common thread of his chairmanship.
Members' Council members can participate in one of these four committees: Strategy, Finance, Membership and Cooperative. What will these committees strive for in 2025?
chairman Finance Committee
"This year, we will continue to work on transforming Royal FloraHolland into a long-term stable and future-proof platform. We want to put Royal FloraHolland in a position that, while it will require more from us as members today, at the same time creates the space to take necessary steps and seize great opportunities early. We are aware that we cannot save today at the expense of the future – sustainable growth requires forward-looking investments and bold decisions."
chairman Membership Liaison Committee
"On the Membership Liaison Committee this year, we want to make a better connection between the Members' Council and members themselves. We want to get closer to (all) our members."
chairman of the Cooperative Committee
"We are going to work to keep the relationship in the Governance triangle (Members' Council, Management, SB) optimal and we are going to work on development in various areas of Members' Council members. Examples may include English courses, assessments of Members' Council members individual strengths and where there is a need to develop. In addition, we are following the process that the SB is now entering, searching for two new member commissioners."
chairman Strategy Committee
"We on the Strategy Committee focus on Strategy 2030 of Royal FloraHolland and continue with advising on the development of member packages."
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