Sander Dekker Named New CEO of Van Gelder Group

Sander Dekker will become the new CEO of Van Gelder Group effective January 1, 2027. “With the arrival of Sander Dekker, Van Gelder is entering a new phase,” said Evert van de Poll, director of Arkerborg Investment and shareholder of Van Gelder Group. Dekker’s appointment was made with the full consent of all parties involved: the shareholder, the supervisory board, the works council, and the board of the De Broeklander Foundation.

Sander Dekker has worked at various large construction and infrastructure companies in the Netherlands. For the past eight years, Dekker worked at Heijmans, most recently as division director of Infrastructure. Starting October 1, Sander will join Van Gelder, and he will use the period until January 1 to get to know the people and the company.

Effective January 1, 2027, the Van Gelder Group’s executive board will consist of Sander Dekker as CEO and Henk Jan van der Veer as CFO.

Henri van der Kamp will be leaving Van Gelder in December 2026 and retiring after more than seven years. Under his leadership, Van Gelder grew—through organic growth and various acquisitions—into a full-service infrastructure company with 2,350 employees and revenue of 1.17 billion in 2025. Van Gelder Group is thus currently one of the largest infrastructure companies in the Netherlands. Henri van der Kamp is handing over his responsibilities to Sander Dekker with confidence: “Because Van Gelder has made several acquisitions in recent years, its service portfolio is comprehensive, and it has everything it needs in-house to design, build, and maintain the Netherlands” infrastructure. Now is the time for manageable growth and internal stabilization.”

Sander Dekker on his new role: “I’m looking forward to getting started at Van Gelder. The company has undergone impressive growth in recent years, and we will continue to build on the course we’ve set: ensuring Van Gelder’s controlled growth, optimizing business processes, and paying special attention to strengthening connections within the organization. Meanwhile, we’ll continue to look for opportunities, because the challenges in the infrastructure sector in the Netherlands are enormous. We want to keep responding to those challenges.”

Owner Evert van de Poll: “I am delighted that Henri van der Kamp will join the executive board of Arkerborg Investment in early 2027 and will contribute to the further development of the entire group, including Van de Poll Vastgoed.” Van de Poll continues: “The guiding principle for Van Gelder Group is to be a financially independent company where employees enjoy their work and can travel to and from work safely. And above all: where people feel like ambassadors for the company.”