Asia-based CPI appoints Jochum Haakma to bolster European relations

CPI, a financial consultancy and interim services provider with offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore, has appointed the Dutchman Jochum Haakma as Senior Advisor. The Asia expert, who started in his new role on April 1st, will mainly focus on building business development relations at Asian corporates.

Jochum Haakma (68) has an extensive track record in the public and private sectors. During his time as a diplomat, he held a variety of roles, including as the Embassy Council and Head of the Economic Department in Jakarta. He was Consul General in Hong Kong / Macao and Shanghai from 1997 to 2006, after which he became Managing Director of the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), which is part of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.

In 2007, Haakma transferred to business and became the Global Executive Director of Business Development at TMF Group, an international supplier of back office services (legal and tax compliance) with offices in 86 countries. In 2011-2012, Haakma was also Chief Advisor Public Affairs European Region for Huawei Technologies in Brussels, one of the largest telecom infrastructure providers in the world. He also served for seven years as chairman of the China Working Group of the Holland Financial Center (HFC).In addition to holding the chairmanship of the NCH (the Dutch Center for Trade Promotion), Haakma is now chairman of the Netherlands-China Business Council (CNBC) and chairman of the EU-China Business Association (EUCBA) in Brussels.

Simone Heidema, CEO of CPI, describes Haakma as a great acquisition for the consulting firm, which she founded in 2005. “Jochum is a huge source of inspiration for me. With his impressive network and focus on Asian companies, we are confident we can expand our scope and attract new partners at a high level.”

CPI focuses on finance, risk and governance issues. The firm provides consultancy and especially interim services to multinationals, with a focus on Dutch multinationals including FrieslandCampina, Rabobank, Philips, ABN AMRO, AkzoNobel, KPN, Achmea, NS, Delta Lloyd, De Volksbank, Action and Aegon. CPI, which is headquartered in Amsterdam, has a strong footprint in Asia, with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The consultancy has a core team of 25 professionals and can further draw on an interim file of around 500 independent professionals.

“What an honour to be able to contribute to bridging the gap between Asian and European thinking. The unorthodox and 'out of the box' approach of CPI appeals to me,” Haakma said.