Rik Bleeker is the Director of the Amsterdam knowledge network foundation, Stichting KennisKring Amsterdam. The foundation serves to promote knowledge transfer and to strengthen the knowledge infrastructure. The Foundation has approximately 7000 knowledge partners, comprising executives of corporate industry, board members and policy staff of local authorities and scientists from educational and research institutions in the Amsterdam Region. The Amsterdam Knowledge Network Foundation focuses on the 7 spearheads of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area: ICT, Creative Industries, Red Life Sciences, Financial Business Services, Food & Flowers, Conferences & Tourism and Trade & Logistics. He previously was team leader of central staff units (HRM, Quality Management, Legal Services) at the Chamber of Commerce Amsterdam.