Our management team (3)
Siebe van Wijk
Born in rural Kenya in between corn and tea fields, Siebe later moved to the province Zeeland in The Netherlands. Here, the scenery was dominated by potato fields and apple orchards. His tropical background and childhood in rural areas inspired him to focus his professional life on assisting farmers to escape poverty, and the development of sustainable agriculture.
"I love to develop, grow , build and I’m driven to make a difference."
Inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of the Vietnamese and seeing the need for professional and sustainable agriculture sourcing systems, he decided to start Fresh Studio in 2006 together with Irmen Mantingh.
René van Rensen
René has more than 10 years of experience in fruit and vegetable production, sourcing and post-harvest management systems. René leads the crop sourcing teams across Vietnam. These are responsible for developing, implementing and managing production, sourcing and post-harvest management systems within the agricultural (fruit and vegetable) sector of South East Asia.
"I thrive when turning theory into practice. Challenges on a farm or elsewhere in the food supply chain can be solved in theory. In real life however things often work differently. Combining theory from different subjects into a practical, profitable and sustainable solution is what gives me a kick."
Irmen Mantingh
"My experience in different countries taught me that before people start to work on environmental issues, they first need access to the basic needs of life: good quality, nutritious food and clean water."
Irmen found a practical use for her interests at Wageningen University. After graduation she joined a fisheries management project in Mauretania, West Africa. This she exchanged for working in Vietnam where she founded Fresh Studio with Siebe van Wijk. Initially working on aquaculture projects she gradually specialised in quality assurance in the agriculture sector and is now the Quality Assurance director of Fresh Studio. She is leading a team of QA consultants that works in the field of crops and aquaculture.
