New director Netherlands Patent Office

From 1 August 2025, Dr Maja Schmitt will take up the position of director of the Netherlands Patent Office. 

As director of the Netherlands Patent Office (NPO), Maja will play a key role in strengthening the Netherlands innovation and earning capacity through intellectual property (IP). 

From 1 August, she will direct the implementation of the National Patent Act, promote awareness and utilisation of IP among entrepreneurs and build up the NPO as a visible knowledge centre. Together with her teams, she translates policy and social developments into implementation, vision and impact. She also represents the Netherlands in European and international bodies such as the European Patent Office and leads the cooperation in the Benelux Patent Platform. With connecting leadership, strategic insight and an eye for social transitions, she contributes to the development of a future-proof, innovative economy.

The NPO is part of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Directorate of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (NEA). In close collaboration with teams in the NEA, NPO will provide optimal support to an innovative and entrepreneurial Netherlands.

Maja worked as team manager Patent Quality and Advice at the NPO from 2022 and has been interim director since April 2025. Prior to this, she worked for DSM in the field of intellectual property from 2005, in her last position as Company Executive. Maja is a European and UK patent attorney and holds a PhD in polymer chemistry from the University of Birmingham (UK).