Stefan Hoevenaar

Founder, CEO

Some years ago Stefan decided to research a random day in the future. He found a myriad of future news stories, events, facts and trivia, spread around the web and locked behind paywalls. Making that transparent would provide insights, make planning easier and broaden the scope of news. Hence Zap-a-day. When not surveying the future, Stefan works on projects for participatory democracy, advises clients at ILUMY or lectures at the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague.

Henk-Jan Castermans

CTO

Henk-Jan Castermans is a software-engineer with 25 years of programming and 15 years of ICT Industry experience. Henk-Jan worked with Logica, Deloitte Consulting, Dutch public television and as a freelancer for several clients.

In 2008 Henk-Jan joined Zapaday as a CTO. During coding breaks, Henk-Jan is either flying his Cesna 172 across Europe or strolling around his home city Eindhoven.

Jim Schalm

CFO

Jim Schalm is an investment and financial management executive with a background in corporate development and investment management. After a start on the Dutch Options Exchange, Jim worked in London as an investment banker with UBS and Merrill Lynch.

Back in the Netherlands Jim was head of Capital Markets at F&C and head of product and corporate development at Aegon Asset Management. Jim is owner of the family office Kaya Capital Management and is a member of the board of Investment Managers and Brokers Association (VVBA).

Willem Zandbergen

Corporate Business Development

Willem Zandbergen is an entrepreneur and manager, building up and improving businesses in the service industry. He has worked as a management consultant focused on financing innovative projects and companies. From 2002 until 2010 he was the CEO of PNO Group, a company with over 400 employees and business in 13 countries. Willem is responsible for Zapaday’s corporate business development, the sales team and overall recruiting.

Bas Nieuwenhuizen

Sourcing Manager

Sebastiaan Nieuwenhuizen earned his degrees in Engineering and Political Science. He combines the understanding of an engineer with the breadth of knowledge that characterizes Zapaday. Having worked for a broad spectrum of Dutch companies in consulting (Berenschot) and deploying software (Pecoma) Bas has a nose for sourcing even the most remote corners of Zapaday.

Eva Hartog Skorobogatova

Managing Editor

From an early age, Eva Hartog has been fascinated with the what-how-and-why of political action in the international arena.

In 2005 she exchanged the tranquil Spanish island of Tenerife for The Netherlands to study Political Philosophy at the University of Leiden. Having obtained her degree, she knew enough about the why of political action to leave that question temporarily unsolved and joined a political campaigning academy in search of the how of the political game.

In 2011, Eva joined the Zapaday editorteam, conscious there could be no better place than Zapaday to answer the infinite what of international political affairs.

Anne Cukier

Editor

During her first lecture in Political Science at the University of Amsterdam, Anne learnt that power is the key term in politics. She applied this perspective to understand and explore the major international themes she came across during her study in International Relations and developed a fascination for security and the Middle East.

Recently, Anne started an internship at Zapaday to broaden her knowledge of international events, institutions and actors.

Yafit Lazar

Editor

At the age of four, Yafit was first exposed to the sights of war, sights common in the country she grew up in, Israel. When an article she co-wrote came third in a national competition, her dream of reporting became clearer than ever. Since then she has found herself following the news coverage of different events which have shaped both the Middle East and her own life.

After moving to the Netherlands, she started studying English language and culture at the University
of Amsterdam whilst spicing up her schedule with a minor in American Studies. Her internship at Zapaday as an editor has sent her in the right direction to realizing her dream of becoming an investigative journalist and exploring the hidden side of popular disputes.

Maja Micudova

Editor

Maja has made it a sport to confound any assumptions about her. As an only child, she should have been spoiled and dependent. And growing up in a small Slovak village close to the famous Polana mountain, she should have settled close to home. Instead, she moved away from her village at the mere age of 14, moved to England and then went on exchange to Alicante. A chance encounter resulted in her latest move to The Netherlands.

With a background in history and international relations, Maja has a unique talent for placing future events in a historical context.

Giannis Papalexandris

Editor, Image desk

Language is a core thread running through the life of Giannis Papalexandris. Born in Greece, Giannis attended a Greek-French high school and completed his education with a degree in Language, Literature and Linguistics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

With his move to The Netherlands in 2005, Giannis added another notch to his language belt, making him proficient in Greek, French, Italian and Dutch. As a teacher, he shared his passion for language with his students at a college in Maastricht, where he taught Ancient Greek, English and Literature.

Bart Kaandorp

Developer

Bart is the type of tech-savvy developer who delivers elegant solutions before most get their heads around the problem.

In 2006, Bart graduated as a Civil Engineer from the School of Technology in Alkmaar and founded his own successful company in web-design and programming. At Zapaday, Bart combines creativity with efficiency in designing text mining systems and finding the simplest algorithms.