May 28th 2026
Accenture and Refugee Talent Hub: ten years of building opportunities
Accenture and Refugee Talent Hub have been working closely together for ten years. This was a wonderful occasion to bring together the current and former Country Managing Directors of Accenture Netherlands from the period 2016 to the present. For a look back at a decade of collaboration, a celebration of shared impact – and a look at the future, because we are far from finished. A report on an energetic and inspiring lunch.
“An informal conversation,” it was announced, but one with a camera pointed at it and a photographer circling the table. That is not something that makes Manon van Beek, Nicole van Det, and Rob Knigge nervous. The atmosphere is immediately great: hugs upon arrival, jokes back and forth, and already during the round of introductions, memories and ideas are flying across the table.
I kick off the conversation with a heartfelt thank you. “After all these years, you would almost start to take it for granted, but of course, it isn't. For ten years now, Accenture has been supporting Refugee Talent Hub financially—and in kind: by seconding junior staff for a period of six to nine months. Without this support, we would never have made it in the beginning. And the financial and substantive support from Accenture remains very important to us.”
The establishment of Refugee Talent Hub: the World Economic Forum
Manon van Beek was the Country Managing Director (CMD) of Accenture in 2016 and was instrumental in the founding of Refugee Talent Hub. At her initiative, Pierre Nanterme, then global CEO of Accenture, called upon attendees at the World Economic Forum to take responsibility for the global refugee crisis: not only governments and civil society organizations have a role to play, but the business community as well. And at Manon's suggestion, he spoke about a shift in framing: emphasize people's talent, the contribution newcomers can make to the labor market and, more specifically, to your company . That call fell on fertile ground, Accenture Netherlands took up the challenge, Refugee Talent Hub was born – and ten years later, we are sitting at the table together.
Manon is now CEO of high-voltage grid operator TenneT. I asked Manon if Refugee Talent Hub has become what she expected of it at its founding. Manon: “At the time, we were at the lowest point of the refugee crisis; that was just before Angela Merkel and her 'Wir schaffen das' in 2016. And we were there with AkzoNobel and Arcadis as key partners from the very beginning, and we thought: Accenture is looking for so much talent, so are many other companies, and there is so much talent. Couldn't we match that digitally? That was fairly technology-driven, and of course, that’s not a strange line of reasoning coming from Accenture. But about a year and a half later, it turned out that the world wasn't ready yet for digital matching with newcomers. What I really learned back then is that there is tremendous value in the face-to-face meeting. Because every time you bring a group of newcomers to a company and ensure there are enough recruiters as well as people from the business side... something happens. I think that is still the strength of Refugee Talent Hub: facilitating small-scale meetings. And thereby making many times more impact than digitally.”
In the photo: Nicole van Det, Manon van Beek, and Rob Knigge during lunch with Wilma Roozenboom (Director) and Refugee Talent Hub colleagues Eva de Bakker (Partnership Manager) and Hannah Vafa (Program Manager and seconded from Accenture).
Nicole van Det, now responsible for Accenture Netherlands and Nordics, chimes in: “There is talk about refugees all the time, about asylum seeker centers and unrest and other negativity. You hear the other story far too little. In the sense of: look at these people, these are their CVs, this is what they can do, this is the opportunity for the Netherlands. That is discussed far too little.”
Nodding in agreement, but not a moment of silence. The pace of conversation is fast, and there is a lot of gesturing. A glass of water is knocked over, there is much laughter, but also time taken to listen to each other and pause to think about a question. In between, we go downstairs to get some freshly prepared Iranian soup: in line with everyone present at that moment in the building where Refugee Talent Hub is located: newcomers, volunteers, employees, and guests, just as it goes every day at BOOST.
Manon over a cup of soup: “I am still in frequent contact with newcomers who were hired in the early days at Accenture. They regularly send me a text message saying there’s another baby, or that they’ve been promoted, or that they are getting married. That is a special group of people I carry with me.”
The circle is complete
Manon served as Chair of the Board of Refugee Talent Hub for over eight years; last year, she handed over the baton to Rob Knigge, the current CMD at Accenture. At the time, Rob was involved in the founding of Refugee Talent Hub through Corporate Citizenship. Rob: “I remember Manon asking me for the initial investment in this initiative. My response was: 'I want to do it, but only if it is linked to our business.' It shouldn't be a project, not something separate from your work with clients. We have to do it together with our clients and we have to make it 'business as usual.' Because that is when it sticks.”
Another circle coming full circle: digital matching. In October 2024, Refugee Talent Hub acquired the matching platform RefugeeWork. This was because we recognize that a matching platform is a valuable addition to the field of newcomers and employment—a tool that can be used by many organizations and meets a very concrete need of many employers: a place to find talent. Rob had just become Chairman of the Board when this acquisition took place. Rob: “The volume and scale of our impact is not limited to large employers, but particularly to SMEs. But if we, as Refugee Talent Hub, want to serve hundreds or thousands of employers, we have to do it digitally; it cannot be done one-on-one.”
The future
On June 11, we celebrate our tenth anniversary. Ideally, we would have dissolved ourselves at that event. But our dream has not yet been realized: a Netherlands where employers see and utilize the talents of refugees, and where refugees are therefore given the right opportunities in the labor market . The question for those present today is therefore: what do you advise us for the future? Three CMDs, three completely different answers. And all three valuable.
Nicole: “Marketing. How do you get the other story across? I think that precisely because of the negativity currently at play, there is actually a huge opportunity to let a different, more positive voice be heard. I would really turn that up much louder, especially now, and together with all the employers around you. Including Accenture.”
Rob: “Keep innovating. Don’t do what you did ten years ago, but constantly look at what can be done differently and better. And rotating young talent in your team helps with that. You have to keep doing that.”
Manon focuses more on leveraging our network for systemic change: “So basically saying: I’m going to speak to ten people who have influence, who can actually bring our mission closer. You have that network by now.”
Hold on to the energy
The word 'systemic' has come up, but the conversation doesn't become abstract. Far from it. The key tips for the future are delightfully concrete. “Just keep the vibe of Refugee Talent Hub, the super energy you get when you walk in here.” “Show what you do, speak up, show yourself.” And as a closing statement: “So you can make it all very big with the importance of policy and so on, but you can also make it very small. You can also just ask everyone (CEO, Minister, colleague, or boss): who did you help today?”
Celebrate ten years of Refugee Talent Hub with us. Get informed and inspired at our employer event on June 11, so you can build the labor market of tomorrow. View our event page and register.