Board
Menno Geelen: interim CEO
Menno Geelen (Huizen, 22/01/1982) studied Business Administration at Radboud University in Nijmegen. Geelen has been working for Ajax since the summer of 2010. Before that, he worked for Eyeworks Sport and Sportmarketingbureau Trefpunt. At Ajax he worked for two years as Head of Sponsorship, and has been responsible for the entire commercial department the last four years. On 1 November, 2016, Geelen joined the board of Ajax as Commercial Director (ex-officio). He was appointed executive director under the Articles of Association at the Shareholder General Meeting on 16 November, 2018.
As of May 10, 2024, Geelen has taken on the role of interim CEO. He has been asked to bridge the period until a new CEO is appointed and acclimated.
Susan Lenderink: Finance Director
Susan Lenderink (Warnsveld, 30/08/1977) studied accountancy at the University of Amsterdam, where she also completed postgraduate training to become an IFAC Registered Controller. She started her career in 2000 with PricewaterhouseCoopers as an accountant.
In 2003 she switched to De Bijenkorf, where she performed various financial and commercial roles, eventually joining the board in 2012 as CFO. Susan Lenderink joined the board of Ajax as Finance Director on 1 July 2019.
Alex Kroes: technical director
Kroes (Utrecht, 23 September 1974) is a business economics graduate and co-founder of Sports Entertainment Group, a large international firm of business agents: mainly in football, but also in other sports. From February 2019 to August 2022, Kroes served as (major) shareholder of Go Ahead Eagles and between December 2022 and September 2023, he was employed by AZ as director of International Football Strategy. Kroes went through Ajax's youth training from the age of nine to 19 as a player. He has since been a member of the Ajax club for more than 30 years and is still active as a footballer with Ajax's Saturday league.
Marijn Beuker: Director of Football
Marijn Beuker (Arnhem, September 21, 1984) studied, among other places, at the Cruyff University. In 2007, he began as a coordinator of talent development at AZ. Then, from 2013 to 2021, he worked within the Alkmaar club in the role of Head of Football Development & Strategy. At the end of 2021, he joined Queen's Park FC as Director of Football.
The 39-year-old Beuker reached an agreement with Ajax for a contract that runs from December 1, 2023, to July 1, 2028. He is responsible for the youth academy, all directly supportive disciplines, and for the Scouting and Football Analytics departments.
Supervisory Board
Michael van Praag
Michael van Praag (Amsterdam, September 28, 1947) has been chairperson of the Supervisory Board since November 17, 2023. His term of appointment is three years until the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in 2026. He was connected to Ajax as a board member between 1989 and 2003. Under his chairmanship, Ajax won the UEFA Champions League in 1995, and the club moved to the Amsterdam ArenA, now known as the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
Van Praag has multiple additional functions: moderator of UEFA Academy, member of the Supervisory board of the Acibadem International Medical Center, board member of Esther Vergeer Foundation, and ambassador Nierstichting.
Danny Blind
Danny Blind (August 1, 1961) worked for Ajax as a board member from April 23, 2018, until August 4, 2021. The former football player had a contract at Ajax between 1986 and 1998. After his footballing career, he had multiple board and coaching positions within the club. Blind joined the Supervisory Board on December 27, 2023, with an appointment term of four years.
Blind is a board member and ambassador of the foundation Spieren voor Spieren and an ambassador for the foundation Niet Blind and the Food Bank. He is also a football analyst at Ziggo Sport.
Georgette Schlick
Georgette Schlick (August 4, 1971) is CEO at Fremantle Netherlands and Belgium. She was CEO at DutchView (now NEP) and SBS Netherlands (now Talpa Network). One of her additional functions is a role as commissioner at SD Worx.
Hermine Voûte
Lawyer Hermine Voûte (4 April 1964) is a specialist in employment law and has worked at Loyens & Loeff since 1988. She was also chair of the Diversity Committee there. Voûte is one of the founders of Better Place to Work BV, an agency which advises organisations on safeguarding matters. She has various other interests, including being team manager for the men's first team at Hockey Club Amsterdam.
Dirk Anbeek
Dirk Anbeek (25 April 1963) is chair of the Supervisory Board at Landal/Roompot and Sligro Foodgroup, and sits on the board at GVB Amsterdam until 13 December 2024. Anbeek is a business economist and financial controller, and was previously a director at Albert Heijn as well as CFO and CEO at Wereldhave NV, and CEO at Landal Greenparks. He sat on the board at Ordina NV where he was chair of the audit committee.
Sirik Goeman
Sirik Goeman (20 April 1974) is a chartered accountant who has worked at various accountancy firms since 1997, and has been director and owner of DKL Accountants en Adviseurs BV since 2018. Goeman is also a lecturer and a member of the core group for the provision of management information and internal audit at Nyenrode Business University, a member of the executive board at Ajax, and also sits on the board of the Ajax Foundation.
Association
The AFC Ajax association has over 700 members with voting rights and possesses 73% of AFC Ajax limited company shares.
Members of the Association are:
Junior, senior and former amateur football players
Members of Merit
Honorary members
Extraordinary members
Members based on other qualities
All players of Lucky Ajax
Board of Directors
Ernst Boekhorst (chairman)
John Busink
Marjon Eijlers
Giovanni Fränkel
Sirik Goeman
Pim van Dord
René Zegerius
Edo Ophof (counselor)
Christian Visser (counselor)
Annual General Meeting
All members are welcome to attend the Annual General Meeting (AGM). However, junior members and extraordinary members are not allowed to vote.
The meeting is held four times a year. The chairperson is Ernst Boekhorst, the secretary is Ed Lefeber.
Bordjesclub
The 'Bordjesclub' is accessible to everyone who has been a member of the association for over 25 years. The club was founded in 1946 and has 130 members.