The management board of Space Business Innovation Centre (SBIC) Noordwijk shares the news this month that the organisation’s chief operational officer (COO), Martijn Leinweber, has resigned after 16 years with the company. Rianne van der Poel, business development manager at SBIC, now takes the lead role in operational matters. The remit of managing the incubation programme of ESA BIC Noordwijk is now with Jacobo Domingo.
Management changes at SBIC
The team at SBIC Noordwijk successfully manages numerous space business programmes and continues to grow the community of successful space related startups in Noordwijk. Key to SBIC’s remit is the management of the Dutch business incubation centre of the European Space Agency (ESA BIC Noordwijk), working closely with the Netherlands Space Agency. SBIC is committed to its vision of inspiring and supporting the growth of space business-related innovation.
Having opted to resign from his role at the company, including that of managing the Dutch ESA BIC programme, Martijn left SBIC Noordwijk at the end of May 2026. “After 16 incredible years, the time has come for me to say goodbye and begin a new chapter. This decision gives me the opportunity to pursue a new endeavour,” he comments.
“It has been a truly remarkable journey, shared with a passionate team in a dynamic and inspiring environment. I am grateful for everything we have built, learned and achieved together as a team. The drive of the startups and the space related innovations I encountered along the way have been truly inspiring.”
Martijn continues, “I would like to thank the management for their trust and the opportunities I have been given over the years, as well as the other ESA BIC managers and the wider community for their collaboration and support.”
New ESA BIC manager
SBIC was founded in 2011 and, since then, has managed ESA BIC Noordwijk – historically, the first in the ESA BIC network, which was launched at ESA/ESTEC in 2004. Established to empower entrepreneurship and to allow local economies to benefit from space data and technologies, the ESA BIC network now has 35+ ESA BICs across Europe.
ESA BIC Noordwijk is ESA’s only Dutch business incubator and, since the start of June 2026, has had a new programme manager at its helm, Jacobo Domingo.
Jacobo’s management role for ESA BIC Noordwijk is a logical next step as he has already been providing business support to the ESA BIC startups – as well as participants in other programmes managed by SBIC – since he joined the company in August 2024 as business development manager.
The whole SBIC team is committed to helping inspire new talent to establish careers as space business entrepreneurs and to playing a key role in creating an even stronger Dutch space startup community.
The board and all within the SBIC space business community share best wishes with Martijn for every success in the future.
ABOUT: Space Business Innovation Centre (SBIC) Noordwijk supports entrepreneurs that want to launch or improve a product or service that makes use of space technology. The company provides access to an international network, tools, knowledge and finance. One of SBIC’s key tasks is managing the European Space Agency’s business incubation programme in the Netherlands, ESA BIC Noordwijk, for which there are two selection deadlines per year. Next to that, the team manages several programmes and often works with other space related efforts, like the Netherlands Space Agency and NL Space Campus, or helps entrepreneurs from abroad set up their space businesses in the Netherlands. sbicnoordwijk.nl
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