Charles Smit is associate partner at Hague. Working from The Hague, Nijmegen and Eindhoven, he uses his decades of experience in the high-tech sector to support companies with their strategic positioning in the Netherlands and Brussels.
Charles: “For years high tech companies enjoyed the liberty to freely develop as efficient and strong global players with activities on various continents. Today this global character is no longer self-evident given the international developments. It is crucial that policy advisors and politicians understand how industry works. But companies need to understand the policy world of The Hague and Brussels as well. I want to use my knowledge and expertise on the high-tech sector to help navigate our clients in this complex world.”
Charles studied law at the Radboud University and Nijmegen and worked for Akzo Nobel, Royal Philips, NXP Semiconductors and Nexperia. During his career in international business, he mainly focused on mergers and acquisitions. While working for Nexperia, Charles also set up a Corporate Affairs department, in which governmental affairs, communications and digital marketing were combined under one roof. Charles has a strong network in the high-tech industry, also through his board
membership of the High-Tech Company Association in the Netherlands (High-tech NL). Between 2013 and 2016, Charles also served as chairman of a foundation that stimulates technological education in the area round his hometown of Nijmegen.
