Maarten is a creative concept developer with two decades of branding work behind him. He founded RAUWcc in 2010 as an agency for branding, communication and innovation, and together with his wife Esther opened BLAUWcc at the end of 2024. His way of working combines the eye of a visual artist with the mileage of a founder, which is why he sees virtual brand ambassadors as an instrument for rebranding rather than as a novelty.

As a speaker, Maarten is regularly invited to international events for keynotes and panel discussions. His subject is virtual brand ambassadors as an instrument inside branding and rebranding projects, a way of using generative AI to humanise technology that most organisations have not yet worked out for themselves. He shares what has actually worked and what has not, drawn from live projects at RAUWcc, the creative agency he founded. Below you find a selection of events where Maarten will be speaking or has spoken.

Maarten pops up in articles on a regular basis. The pieces can be about Esther Olofsson, the first virtual influencer in the Netherlands, or about virtual brand ambassadors and generative AI more broadly. He is also quoted regularly on his work at BLAUWcc and as chair of BIZ Zwaanshalskwartier.

Maarten teaches guest lectures at business schools and design schools across Europe and beyond, on generative AI and virtual brand ambassadors inside branding and rebranding projects. He brings the same material into class that he uses on stage and inside RAUWcc, and the questions from students often push the thinking forward. Maarten has given guest lectures at, among others, the institutions below.

Maarten is at his best when he connects people. This goes beyond networking. It is about relationships that carry weight over time, where both sides actually end up creating together. As chair of BIZ Zwaanshalskwartier, the business association for the Rotterdam neighbourhood where BLAUWcc is located, he does the same work at street level.