As of April 1, 2025, the Plant Empowerment Foundation is happy to welcome Stijn Jochems as the new manager. He will take over the role from Jeannette den Boer, who has led the foundation with great joy and vision for the past five and a half years. Jeannette is starting a new chapter as entrepreneur.
Over the past five years, the Plant Empowerment Foundation has grown into a global platform for knowledge sharing and training focused on sustainable horticulture, with the plant at the center point. In close collaboration with leading industry partners, the foundation supports growers around the world in applying the Plant Empowerment philosophy, creating strong, resilient crops, improving yields per square meter, and reducing the use of resources such as water, energy, and chemical inputs.
Stijn Jochems brings with him a powerful combination of technical knowledge, hands-on experience, and the ability to connect people and ideas. For the past five years, he has worked as a researcher and project leader at Delphy Improvement Centre, focusing on innovative cultivation strategies and sustainable solutions for the horticulture sector. With his experience, network, and pragmatic mindset, he is ready to guide the foundation into its next phase.
As part of his new role, Stijn will lead the implementation of the foundation’s renewed strategy. In addition to the strong focus on themes such as climate, data and energy, which are originally core themes of the Plant Empowerment approach, there will also be more focus on knowledge development around themes taking place around the rootzone. Plant Empowerment is a holistic approach and therefore supports a healthy plant. It is the aim to address all relevant themes in the future.
The foundation looks forward to this new chapter and is thrilled to have Stijn on board.
