In the press, on the podcast, in the conversation.

Ineke and Elbrich on the HR Podcast.

Toine Al spoke with Ineke and Elbrich on the HR Podcast of CHRO Magazine. The episode opens with the question that more and more boards are asking: does the current leader still fit the phase the organisation is in?

The conversation moves through executive search as an old boys' network that no longer works, the way Ineke and Elbrich learned to read leadership from inside the boardroom, and why hiring the leader you would have hired five years ago is rarely the right move today.

At the heart of it lies consistency. Not what leaders say, but what they do. Not the profile, but the behaviour.

Listen on CHRO Magazine →

Former YoungCapital top women launch their own search firm.

After years in the boardroom, Ineke Kooistra and Elbrich Batstra, the former CEO and CHRO of YoungCapital, now use their own executive search firm to help others find new leadership. The goal: to spark a movement of better leadership.

Their approach to search is different. They do not just look at resumes. "Most people focus on what someone has done. We focus on how they did it, and why others want to follow them. Lots of skills can be taught, but that can't."

The piece also walks through how the founders met at YoungCapital, where revenue grew from €60 million to €600 million, and what they now apply in their work as executive search partners.

Read the MT/Sprout interview →

Frisian top women launch their own international search firm.

Long-form interview with Ineke and Elbrich in the Leeuwarder Courant. Both have roots in Friesland, both have spent careers in the boardroom, and both believe their no-nonsense Frisian upbringing shows up in how they read leadership.

The piece walks through how they met at YoungCapital, why they founded ELiN, and what they look for in candidates: not the resume, but the way a leader has handled the hardest decisions. Ineke introduces the Seasonal CEO framework here for the first time in the wider press: a scale-up needs a different leader than a company that has just undergone a major reorganisation. The phase the company is in is what decides the match.

Did you know Frisian managers are highly sought after? Because of a hint of sobriety. They don't beat around the bush.

The full article is behind the Leeuwarder Courant paywall.

Read on Leeuwarder Courant →

Leadership makes or breaks a company.

Olivier Heimel interviewed Ineke for BusinessWise on the launch of ELiN Partners. The piece introduces the firm's different approach to search: "Once someone is placed, we want to remain involved, especially in the initial period. We also guide the onboarding."

The interview develops the Seasonal CEO idea in more depth: an inspiring CEO for the spring, a no-nonsense CEO for the summer, a creative CEO for the autumn, a connecting CEO for the winter. Different seasons of a business, different leaders.

Ineke on her own tenure at YoungCapital: "We regularly asked each other whether I was still the right leader. Once you talk about it, you know there is no turning back."

Read the BusinessWise interview →