Serial entrepreneur and founder of successful fiber connectivity cooperative to promote the advancement of the Intelligent Community movement in Europe

May 17, 2017 - New York City – The Intelligent Community Form today named Kees Rovers, founder and CEO of Close the Gap BV in Eindhoven, Netherlands, as a Senior Fellow. Senior Fellows are individuals appointed to represent the Forum in a specific area – whether geographic, demographic, social or political – based on their experience, expertise and personal interest. Kees will focus on issues concerning broadband connectivity in European rural regions and on introducing European cities and regions to the Intelligent Community movement.

Kees Rovers is the founder and CEO of Close the Gap VB in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and is currently a Senior Fellow at the Intelligent Community Forum. His focus is on issues concerning broadband connectivity in European Rural regions and on introducing European cities and regions to the Intelligent Community movement.

Kees Rovers spent the first 20 years of his professional life in senior management positions with the Dutch cooperative bank, Rabobank. In 1985, he left the bank to found Telematica International, which operates call centers and provides enterprise telephony services to major Dutch banks, the Dutch travel industry and retail sectors. The company also introduced the French Minitel system into the Netherlands.

In the early 2000s, he partnered with the director of the local housing corporation in his home village of Neunen in the Eindhoven region to change the way in which citizens own and access communications services. Kees realised that, in particular, elderly and disabled people could use advanced digital services (through a high-speed fiber network) to enable them to have more control of their lives, maintain their independence in their own homes and enhance their quality of life. In 2002, he set up a ‘user feedback committee’ to explore the needs and benefits for the different organizations and interest groups in the town, from churches to schools and other stakeholders. In 2004, this work led to the founding of Ons Net (“Our Net” in English), a cooperative that within five months succeeded in connecting 8,000 households (a 97% take-up rate) to a community-owned fiber network.

He founded Close the Gap to bring the technology and community development roadmap pioneered in Neunen to villages, cities and regions throughout Europe. Close the Gap advises on and assists communities in the Netherlands and internationally on the creation of their own fiber cooperative and connected community. More information can be found at www.closethegap.nl.

Kees is a frequent speaker around the world on the Close the Gap cooperative model and was recently awarded a knighthood by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix for, in particular, his founding of Ons Net Neunen.

To contact Kees, email him at kees@closethegap.nl.

Senior Fellows are individuals appointed to represent the Forum in a specific area – whether geographic, demographic, social or political – based on their experience, expertise and personal interest. The Intelligent Community Forum currently has two Senior Fellows:

Norman Jacknis

Dr. Norman Jacknis is currently a Senior Fellow at the Intelligent Community Forum. His responsibilities include leading ICF’s Rural Imperative, building on the ideas he developed for the US Conference of Mayors on a future-oriented economic growth strategy for cities. Before joining ICF, he was Director, Cisco’s IBSG Public Sector Group (the company’s open innovation and pro-bono strategic advisory group), where he worked extensively with states and local government, the National Association of Counties, the US Conference of Mayors and the staff responsible for the Federal government’s website and citizen engagement. In addition to citizen engagement, his focus was on economic growth, innovation, and the future of technology. More

Kees Rovers

Kees Rovers is the founder and CEO of Close the Gap VB in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and is currently a Senior Fellow at the Intelligent Community Forum. His focus is on issues concerning broadband connectivity in European Rural regions and on introducing European cities and regions to the Intelligent Community movement. Before becoming an ICF Senior Fellow, he spent twenty years in senior management positions with the Dutch cooperative bank, Rabobank, founded Telematica International, helped to found the Ons Net cooperative and finally founded Close the Gap (www.closethegap.nl). Kees is a frequent speaker around the world on the Close the Gap cooperative model and was recently awarded a knighthood by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix. More