Relive the Failure Festival 2025 of NextGen Tech Leaders: official photos and aftermovie
The kick-off event, Failure Festival on October 30th, was a huge success with more than 150 young and experienced Tech Leaders, half of whom are members of CIO Platform Nederland. A select group of leading tech professors (Hylke Sprangers, former CTO of Talpa and affiliated with Erasmus University, and Rini van Solingen, part-time professor at TU Delft) and CTOs (Anneke Keller, former CTO of Wehkamp and PostNL, and Willem Roskam, CTO of Efteling) launched NextGen Tech Leaders together with CIO Platform Nederland! CIO Platform Nederland facilitated the organization and promotion.
What a day!
The Failure Festival was a huge success with more than 150 young and experienced Tech Leaders, where we explored the power of “Failing Forward.” Our inspiring speakers shared courageous stories and real lessons on how to turn setbacks into strength. The openness and knowledge sharing were truly inspiring. There was plenty of interaction and opportunities to share personal stories and ask questions to like-minded people!
Some learnings from our speakers that really stuck:
💬 Failure builds credibility.
💬 You have to go forward stumbling.
💬 It’s not about if you fail, but how you handle it.
💬 Find joy in everything you do.
💬 Have courageous conversations.
💬 Open up your failures.
Relive the Experience
The official photos and aftermovie from the Failure Festival are now online! View all photos and the aftermovie
A huge thank you to:
- Michiel Zeeman and Michiel Borgers from the Ministry of Defense for their hospitality and speaker contribution,
- the speakers Bart Mudde, Apoorva SL Abhinav & Artie Debidien,
- the initiators and program team including Anneke Keller, Hylke Sprangers, Willem Roskam and Rini Solingen, Pleuni van Rooij, Valentijn Lemkes, Noha Shafik, project lead Ankie Tooten and event coordinator Dieuwke Gorter,
- and our host Gabriëlle Lopes who brought so much fun and energy to the day.
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Join us, build with us
We’re excited to continue this journey. Preparations are already underway for the NextGen Tech Leaders Dream Festival 2026: a day full of inspiration, innovation, and connection. Save the date: April 16th, 2026, pre-registration via this email. Discover more details and stay updated here! Questions? Email to Ankie Tooten.
More info?
Take a look at the NextGen Tech Leaders website.
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