David Hyman has accepted the fifth annual Holland on the Hill Heineken Award on April 12, 2018, on behalf of Netflix for the company’s commitment to entrepreneurship on a global scale. The Holland on the Hill Heineken Award honors industry leaders who have made a substantial contribution to the US-Dutch economic relationship through their entrepreneurial drive, a drive that is part of the Dutch DNA.
Netflix is the world’s leading internet entertainment service with over 117 million members in more than 190 countries. As General Counsel for Netflix, Mr. Hyman was instrumental in establishing Netflix in the Netherlands, where Amsterdam serves as the location for its European, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) headquarters, as well as its European customer service hub.
The Netherlands is an attractive location for multinational companies because of its strong business climate, highly educated and multilingual workforce, as well as its central location, which serves as a logistics hub to Europe.
Netflix’s ‘Can-do spirit’
Since entering Europe in 2012, Netflix has invested $2 billion in European productions ranging from original content to co-productions and licensed content. The ever-growing investment includes more than 100 original productions in various stages of development. In true Dutch fashion, it is also a company that has a “can-do spirit” that uses innovation to strengthen its business. This can-do spirit is exemplified by the company’s growth from a DVD-by-mail business to the world’s leading internet entertainment service.
“Netflix has revolutionized the way the world consumes entertainment programs. At the touch of a button, anyone can create their own custom-made network of television shows, movies, documentaries and stand-up comedy specials. This innovation by an American startup with a hub in the Netherlands, a nation known for its entrepreneurial spirit and multinationalism, is a perfect illustration of the vibrant US-Dutch economic relationship,” said Ambassador Henne Schuwer.
Mr. Hyman will give a lecture as part of the award ceremony. The event will take place in the Members Room of the Library of Congress on Thursday, April 12, at 11:30 a.m. There will be an accompanying discussion moderated by Washington, D.C. journalist Bruce DePuyt.
The Heineken Award
The Heineken Award is named after the late Freddy Heineken, who was sent to the United States in the 1940s to establish the Heineken brand overseas. Upon his return to the Netherlands, he used the innovative marketing skills he learned in the United States to transform Heineken into one of the world’s most recognized brands today. Using innovative American marketing techniques and his Dutch entrepreneurial spirit, Heineken increased sales by 260 percent, and helped lay the foundation for the worldwide brand.
To highlight these shared values, the Holland on the Hill program was launched in 2014 as a joint effort of the US Congressional Caucus on the Netherlands, the Royal Netherlands Embassy, corporate partners, and the Netherland-America Foundation.
Past award winners include: Dr. Werner Vogels, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Amazon.com (2014); Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever (2015); Victoria B. Mars, Chairman of the Board of Mars Inc (2016); and Dick Boer, President & CEO of Ahold Delhaize (2017).
