Wiebo Vaartjes is a seasoned business leader, innovation/new business development consultant, and an investor. With a career spanning over three decades, living in several countries in Asia and Europe, Vaartjes has steered global businesses through highly disruptive environments.

He holds extensive strategic and operational knowledge of global retail and Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) businesses in Audio, Video, and Multimedia that is further complemented by his prowess in cultivating high-performing teams.

Vaartjes has served in a number of leadership and advisory roles at Royal Philips Electronics during his career, including as Executive Vice President and global CEO of Philips Audio/Video/Multimedia out of Hong Kong, CEO of Philips Austria, and Managing Director of Philips Sound Systems in Malaysia and Belgium. He was also the Executive Board Member of LG Philips Displays.

In 2016, Vaartjes founded i5business Transformation Ltd., a consulting, investment and coaching company in Hong Kong that caters to diverse clients and companies. His active involvement in new business development, as part of this role, has seen him advising startups and scaleups, predominantly in hi-tech consumer electronics and medical hardware and software (HW/SW) markets.

Presently, Vaartjes chairs the Accountability Board of the Philips Pension Fund. He also regularly teaches the Strategic Foresight curriculum at the Nijenrode Business University in the Netherlands. In a non-business context, Vaartjes is chair of the Tinnitus Free Foundation that raises funds and supports breakthrough research to find a cure for Tinnitus. Vaartjes holds an MBA degree from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam.