Annemarie Janssen

Annemarie Janssen Groenendijk facilitates peer groups for Executive Assistants and HR professionals at EGN. With a career spent both as HR Director and as a right hand to a CEO, she brings firsthand knowledge of the pressures and responsibilities her members face every day.

Annemarie says:

My background is a Master’s in Business Economics from Maastricht University, where I also studied International Human Resources Management in Barcelona. I’ve worked as an HR Director in several organisations – both in fixed roles and as a freelance professional – and I’ve been the right hand to a CEO myself. That last experience in particular means I truly understand what Executive Assistants carry on their shoulders. When someone in my peer group loses track or doesn’t dare to say no, I don’t just recognise the pattern – I’ve lived it. That’s where I can challenge from real expertise, but always from the heart.

Walk into one of my peer group meetings and you’ll feel it straight away – it’s warm, structured, and deeply honest. People are personal with each other, and real trust is built over time into long-lasting relationships. I always open and close with a proper check-in and check-out, and I make a point of paying genuine attention to what’s going on in people’s personal lives – sometimes spontaneously, sometimes prepared in advance. That consistency is what makes it safe enough for people to bring their real dilemmas to the table.

When the network makes a difference

I became a Chair because making each other better is something I truly live for. Seeing peers grow, watching them work through difficult issues together and learn from each other – and feeling that energy roll through the room – that’s what drives me. Once, someone in my peer group shared her life story – something she had never told anyone outside her family. Tears rolled, hugs were given, and it ended with big smiles. We never went back to the topic of the day. We just talked – about life, about what really matters. That moment is why the group is as strong as it is today.”