Message from the supervisory board

UPDATE press release 12 June 2018

On June 12, 2018 the municipality of Amsterdam published the results of the investigations into good governance and compliance with the Dutch Executives’ Pay Standards Act (WNT) at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.

The Supervisory Board of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam has taken note of the report ‘Governance and the Wet Normering Topinkomens at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (‘Governance en de WNT bij het Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam’). In addition, the municipality requested the Amsterdam Art Council (AKr) to advise on the future positioning of the Stedelijk Museum. This report was published in June as well, under the title 'The museum as dynamic memory'.

The summary of the investigations and the recommendation are available in English.
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The Supervisory Board and management of the Stedelijk Museum broadly endorse the researchers’ conclusions and embrace all of their recommendations. A number of recommendations, such as in the area of financial governance, ethics, transparency, codes of conduct, the relationship with the Works Council and conflicts of interest, have been implemented in the past six months and the museum intends to continue further efforts in this direction.

The researchers also note that, in a number of respects, supervision requires further improvement. The Supervisory Board is confident that it can, in consultation with the municipality, the museum staff, the works council and the donors, forge ahead with its mission to cement the role of the Stedelijk Museum as an independent institute at the forefront of art and design in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and beyond.

Furthermore, the Supervisory Board has approved the decision of Rita Kersting, as well as Madeleine de Cock Buning and Jos van Rooijen, to resign from the Supervisory Board with immediate effect.

At this moment, a new chair of the Supervisory Board is being recruited in consultation with the municipality. Until then, Cees de Bruin has been appointed interim chairman. Ronald Hans, Willem de Rooij and Joyce Sylvester will also continue to serve as Supervisory Board members to ensure continuity.