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Friso Coppes
Friso Coppes



Partner
Friso started his career in European Public Affairs in 1994. Prior to the creation of Bureau Brussels, Friso was VP Corporate Affairs for Royal Ahold in Brussels. The leitmotiv of his career can best be described as issue-driven liaison management contributing to the ‘licence to operate’ of the client.
He holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Amsterdam.

Rinus van Schendelen
Rinus van Schendelen
Partner
Rinus is a partner at Bureau Brussels. Thereby, he is also a professor in political science at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. He is specialised in European public affairs and has published over 200 articles and 30 books on this topic. His most recent book concerning public affairs is named ‘the Art of Lobbying in the EU’. As a visiting professor, Rinus lectures at universities in the US, China, the Middle East and Europe. Rinus is also experienced in training organisation, companies and governments on public affairs. Amongst others, Rinus has advised Glaxo, 3M, Philips, Shell, Siemens and ministries of China, Finland, Hungary, Oman and the Netherlands.

Astrid Smeets
Astrid Smeets



Director
Astrid has experience in giving strategic advice in public affairs. She enjoys working with clients in several fields, such as environment, circular economy and health among others. She is also responsible for the management of Bureau Brussels.
Previously, Astrid gained experience in the European Parliament as a trainee, worked on the #DiscoverEU campaign to promote Interrail and she interned at the Belgian Permanent Representation to the OSCE in Vienna. She holds a Masters’ degree in European Studies and is currently enrolled in a management programme at Vlerick Business School.

Johanna Huuho
Johanna Huuho



Senior Consultant
Johanna joined Bureau Brussels in September 2019, and has since worked with clients active in various industry sectors. Johanna’s expertise includes fields such as payments, circular economy, and digital infrastructure, whilst her natural curiosity makes her greatly interested of a wide range of policy fields including food safety, consumer protection, and mobility.
She holds a Master’s degree in European Studies from KU Leuven, and has gained first-hand experience in EU policy-making through a traineeship at the European Economic and Social Committee.

Adélaïde d’Oultremont
Adélaïde d’Oultremont



Senior Consultant
Adélaïde joined Bureau Brussels in February 2020, and has since worked on a great variety of topics such as health, payments and waste management. She is also interested in circular economy, energy policies and nature protection. Previously, Adélaïde gained experience in EU project management on innovative projects to enable the uptake of 5G and autonomous cars within Europe.
Adélaïde holds a double Master’s degree in comparative History in Economics, Societal Challenges and Religions, and Teaching History from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), and a Postgraduate’s degree in European Policy Affairs from the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL).

Sybren Wagenaar
Sybren Wagenaar



Consultant
Sybren has joined Bureau Brussels in August 2020, working on topics such as environment and industrial policies and is mostly interested in policy fields related to the circular economy and urban mobility .
He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in European Studies and a Master’s degree in European Policy at the University of Amsterdam.
Previously he did a traineeship at a European public affairs consultancy and at the Dutch permanent representation to the EU, in the department responsible for the relations with the European Parliament.

Kate O'Brien
Kate O'Brien



Consultant
Kate joined Bureau Brussels in September 2021 and works with clients in the domains of healthcare and financial services. She is also interested in sustainability policies.
Before joining Bureau Brussels, she gained previous experience working for four years in Prague as an anti-money laundering analyst in the e-commerce and investment banking industries.
Kate holds a master’s degree in European Studies from KU Leuven and a bachelor’s degree in French and German Studies from the University of Liverpool, which included semesters abroad in France and Germany.

Tiago Carolino
Tiago Carolino



Consultant
Tiago joined Bureau Brussels in May 2023, and has since been working primarily on digital infrastructures and energy policy. Prior to joining Bureau Brussels, he gained experience in energy, climate and sustainability policies while working in a European affairs consultancy for over two years.
Tiago holds a double degree in French law and English law from King’s College London and Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris, as well as a master’s degree in European Political and Governance Studies from the College of Europe.

Jolyon Wiersum
Jolyon Wiersum



Junior Consultant
Jolyon joined Bureau Brussels in March 2022, and works on a variety of issues including payments, waste management, and Benelux affairs. He is also interested in sustainable economy initiatives and green energy. Previously Jolyon worked with an NGO on the future of Europe project. Jolyon holds a History degree from Leiden University and completed his Masters in European Studies at the KU Leuven.

Nikolas Kockelmann
Nikolas Kockelmann




Junior Consultant
Nikolas joined Bureau Brussels in May 2022 and works on circular economy, mineral resources and energy-related policies. He holds a master’s degree in European Studies from the Center for European Integration Studies at Bonn University specialising on the European Green Deal and the Farm-to-Fork strategy, as well as a bachelor’s degree in European Studies from the University of Amsterdam with a semester abroad in Mexico City.
Before joining Bureau Brussels, Nikolas gained experience as public relations intern for climate projects at a governmental agency in Germany, and as a trainee in the European Parliament in the fields of food and agricultural policies.

Sofia Scarpellini
Sofia Scarpellini



Junior Consultant
Sofia joined Bureau Brussels in September 2022, and has since been working on various policy issues including digitalisation, sustainability, and healthcare.
Before joining the team, she first gained experience in European affairs as an intern at the Permanent Representation of Italy to the EU.
Sofia holds a Master’s degree in Transnational and European Comparative Law from the University of Trento, which included semesters abroad in Israel and the UK.

Irma Novak
Irma Novak






Trainee
Irma joined Bureau Brussels in March 2023. Before joining the team, she used to be a BlueBook Trainee at the European Commission, as well as an intern at the embassies of Belgium and Canada in Croatia.
Irma holds a Master’s degree in European Studies from the University of Regensburg and a Master’s degree in French and Dutch language and literature from the University of Zagreb. She is also interested in energy sustainability and climate policies.

Jules Bertemes
Jules Bertemes



Trainee
Jules joined Bureau Brussels in March 2023 as a trainee and is working in the domains of financial services and digital infrastructure.
Jules holds a Master’s degree in Politics & Technology from the TU Munich, focusing on European Union Energy policies.