Meet Team SBIC
An extremely experienced and energetic team with the right entrepreneurial mindset!
Martijn Leinweber
COO
About Martijn
Martijn gained wide international experience in community management, business support, marketing and communication. He is able to work in these different fields, uniquely combining them to achieve goals. Martijn’s focus is always on hospitality, service and quality. With his positive and problem-solving attitude he’s always looking for opportunities for clients and partners.
Rianne van der Poel
Business Development Manager
About Rianne
After working for over 15 years in the travel sector, Rianne joined SBIC in March 2019. Since then, she has been a key role in the organisation. In her spare time she likes to do long distance open water swims, goes to festivals/parties, escaping from escape rooms – within time – and she likes to travel several times a year.
Jacobo Domingo
Business Development Manager
About Jacobo
Jacobo has an entrepreneurial mindset and experience of the space tech startup world. He moved from Spain to join SBIC Noordwijk in mid-2024 as the main contact of the ESA Technology Broker for the Netherlands. In this role, he promotes technology transfer and collaboration with non-space industries. His job also involves scouting talent for SBIC programmes and providing business support to ESA BIC incubatees. Jacobo enjoys exploring nature, travelling and listening to good music.
Carmel McNamara
Marketing & Communication Manager
About Carmel
With a background in scientific publishing, Carmel looks after the marketing and communication strategies at SBIC. An accomplished writer and editor, she has wide-ranging experience of content marketing, promoting scientific and technical innovations, and producing materials that engage and inspire. She has roots in the west coast of Ireland and an interest in culture, music and enviro/ sustainability matters.
Amelie Finan
Content Creator
About Amelie
Amelie studied astronomy in her native Austria, where she also became part of the comms team of a space-related startup. With a passion for science education and communications, she moved to the Netherlands in 2023 to pursue a master’s degree in this field. In July 2024, alongside her studies, Amelie began working as a content creator to support SBIC and the 20 years ESA BIC campaign.
Demi Kerkvliet
Event Coordinator
About Demi
As the event coordinator at SBIC Noordwijk, Demi helps to create unique and memorable encounters. She has grown up with a passion for arranging gatherings and has experience of organising conferences. Demi is now curious to learn more about the space industry and play a key role in coordinating events. Having joined SBIC in early 2025, she adds a sense of balance the team as in her spare time she is a trainer at a youth circus. She also loves to go fishing with her dad.
Patricia Delfos
Office Assistant
About Patricia
Patricia joined SBIC Noordwijk in 2024 supporting the team with her accurate administrative talents and proactive approach.
Managing Board
Matthijs den Os
Acting CEO & CFO
Paul Pearson
Chief External Relations & Development
Martijn Leinweber
COO
Our Vision
A startup hub for explorers
Space exploration is not only a curiosity-driven endeavour. “Space” has also given us many useful applications right here on Earth. We can hardly imagine our lives anymore without satellite navigation in our cars, satellite TV in our homes and location-based apps on our phones. Space is also responsible for innovations, such as LED lighting, solar panels and freeze-dried food. And we have learned many valuable lessons by observing our own planet from space, with the help of Earth observation satellites.
Down to Earth
Still, we believe that “space” is not being used to its maximum potential – especially by small businesses and startups. There is a need for startup hubs for the space industry. That is why the Space Business Innovation Centre (SBIC) Noordwijk supports entrepreneurs and startups that want to launch or improve a product or service that makes use of space technology. This could be for upstream use in space, like systems for satellites for instance. Alternatively, this could focus on downstream applications, like an agriculture app that uses satellite data to inform farmers or a product developer that uses space-grade technology to store medication. Now that’s #DownToEarth!
We want to provide a solid base – a foundation – for these companies. We want to be the innovative hub, containing everything a startup needs. So they can focus on what matters: building an impactful business.
