Randstad, the world’s leading talent company and partner of choice for talent, is proud to share that Sonja van Lieshout, Global Head of Public Affairs, has been elected as the new President of the World Employment Confederation Europe. Van Lieshout succeeds Herman Nijns, Randstad Chief Executive Southern Europe, UK, and Latin America, who served in the position since 2021. WEC Europe is the voice of the private employment services industry at the European level, representing 30 national federations and corporate members.
Sonja van Lieshout started her career in the industry 20 years ago and has successfully served two terms on the WEC Europe Executive Committee as Chairs of the Public Affairs and the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees, from 2017 to 2023. In addition, Sonja is a member of the WEC Board and Executive Committee at a global level. She assumed the role of Global Head of Public Affairs in 2021 and is responsible for representing Randstad towards its external European and international stakeholders in terms of advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and public affairs thought leadership.
Sander van ‘t Noordende, CEO of Randstad, said: “As Randstad, we strongly believe that the world of work must be driven towards equity, with a focus on achieving access to fair and quality work for all. An important channel in achieving this is through social dialogue and active participation in industry bodies, like the World Employment Confederation Europe. I’m especially proud that our own Sonja van Lieshout will be at the helm of WEC Europe as its newly-elected president. She enjoys our full support and we wish her every success in this role.’’
Outgoing WEC President, Herman Nijns, added: “It has been a privilege to serve as President of the World Employment Confederation Europe over the last three years, and it’s with great pleasure that I hand over the baton to my Randstad colleague Sonja van Lieshout. Sonja is exceptionally well-positioned to continue leading WEC Europe, ensuring the unique position of the industry and its players to unlock the potential of diverse forms of work.’’
Sonja van Lieshout commented: “I am proud to take on this role for the next three years at the World Employment Confederation Europe. In these transformative times, I believe our industry is uniquely positioned to support policy makers, employers and talent in navigating through the ever-changing labor markets by focusing on data-driven information about the world of work. Access to fair and quality work for all is key to ensure our added value towards and sustainable impact on society. By investing in strong industry federations, across all levels, we can take concrete steps towards the growth and development of the recruitment and employment industry”
A complete overview of the new WEC Europe Executive Committee can be found here.
about randstad.
Randstad is the world’s leading talent company and a partner of choice to clients. We are committed to providing equitable opportunities to people from all backgrounds and help them remain relevant in the rapidly changing world of work. We have a deep understanding of the labor market and help our clients to create the high-quality, diverse and agile workforces they need to succeed. Our 40,000+ employees around the world make a positive impact on society by helping people to realize their true potential throughout their working life.
Randstad was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Diemen, the Netherlands. In 2022, in our 39 markets, we helped more than 2 million people find a job that feels good and advised over 230,000 clients on their talent needs. We generated revenue of €27.6 billion. Randstad N.V. is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam. For more information, see www.randstad.com
about WEC Europe.
The World Employment Confederation-Europe is the voice of the private employment services industry at the European level, representing national federations as well as workforce solutions companies from across Europe. Members of the World Employment Confederation-Europe represent a wide range of HR services, including agency work, direct recruitment, career management, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Provider (MSP).
for more information
Luke Akal
+31 (0)61 605 9460
press@randstad.com