Meet Team SBIC

An extremely experienced and energetic team with the right entrepreneurial mindset!

Daily Operations

Martijn Leinweber

Martijn Leinweber

COO

About Martijn

Martijn gained wide international experience in community management, business support, marketing and communication. He is able to work in these different fields, uniquely combining them to achieve goals. Martijn’s focus is always on hospitality, service and quality. With his positive and problem-solving attitude he’s always looking for opportunities for clients and partners.

Rianne van der Poel

Rianne van der Poel

Business Development Manager

About Rianne

After working for over 15 years in the travel sector, Rianne joined SBIC in March 2019. Since then, she has been a key role in the organisation. In her spare time she likes to do long distance open water swims, goes to festivals/parties, escaping from escape rooms – within time – and she likes to travel several times a year.

Jacobo Domingo

Jacobo Domingo

Business Development Manager

About Jacobo

Jacobo has an entrepreneurial mindset and experience of the space tech startup world. He moved from Spain to join SBIC Noordwijk in mid-2024 as the main contact of the ESA Technology Broker for the Netherlands. In this role, he promotes technology transfer and collaboration with non-space industries. His job also involves scouting talent for SBIC programmes and providing business support to ESA BIC incubatees. Jacobo enjoys exploring nature, travelling and listening to good music.

Carmel McNamara

Carmel McNamara

Marketing & Communication Manager

About Carmel

With a background in scientific publishing, Carmel looks after the marketing and communication strategies at SBIC. An accomplished writer and editor, she has wide-ranging experience of content marketing, promoting scientific and technical innovations, and producing materials that engage and inspire. She has roots in the west coast of Ireland and an interest in culture, music and enviro/ sustainability  matters.

Pieter Speijer

Pieter Speijer

Community Manager

About Pieter

Pieter is the community manager at SBIC Noordwijk and, to this role, he brings experience in hospitality, strength in building rapport and a large dose of curiosity. He first became acquainted with SBIC through the LDE NL Space Campus Summer School in 2022. Shortly after, he moved to New Zealand where he became a stargazing tour guide in the Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve before returning to the Netherlands in early 2024.

Amelie Finan

Amelie Finan

Content Creator

About Amelie

Amelie studied astronomy in her native Austria, where she also became part of the comms team of a space-related startup. With a passion for science education and communications, she moved to the Netherlands in 2023 to pursue a master’s degree in this field. In July 2024, alongside her studies, Amelie began working as a content creator to support SBIC and the 20 years ESA BIC campaign.

Ageeth Imthorn

Ageeth Imthorn

Office Assistant

About Ageeth

Ageeth supports our team in many ways, keeping busy in the SBIC Noordwijk office or elsewhere in the building, on hand to help the community.

Patricia Delfos

Patricia Delfos

Office Assistant

About Patricia

Patricia joined SBIC Noordwijk in 2024 supporting the team with her accurate administrative talents and proactive approach.

Managing Board

Matthijs den Os

Matthijs den Os

Acting CEO & CFO

Paul Pearson

Paul Pearson

Chief External Relations & Development

Martijn Leinweber

Martijn Leinweber

COO

Our Vision

A startup hub for explorers

Space exploration is not only a curiosity-driven endeavour. “Space” has also given us many useful applications right here on Earth. We can hardly imagine our lives anymore without satellite navigation in our cars, satellite TV in our homes and location-based apps on our phones. Space is also responsible for innovations, such as LED lighting, solar panels and freeze-dried food. And we have learned many valuable lessons by observing our own planet from space, with the help of Earth observation satellites.

Down to Earth

Still, we believe that “space” is not being used to its maximum potential – especially by small businesses and startups. There is a need for startup hubs for the space industry. That is why the Space Business Innovation Centre (SBIC) Noordwijk supports entrepreneurs and startups that want to launch or improve a product or service that makes use of space technology. This could be for upstream use in space, like systems for satellites for instance. Alternatively, this could focus on downstreaam applications, like an agriculture app that uses satellite data to inform farmers or a product developer that uses space-grade technology to store medication. Now that’s #DownToEarth!

We want to provide a solid base – a foundation – for these companies. We want to be the innovative hub, containing everything a startup needs. So they can focus on what matters: building an impactful business.