“We have a strategic plan – it’s called doing things”. (Herb Kelleher)
I am a seasoned international executive committed to creating positive societal impact through entrepreneurship and innovation. With a proven track record in scaling up businesses, venture creation, and ecosystem development, I excel in leading and supervising high-performing teams across both public and private sectors.
Executive roles:
• Private Lead at Up!Rotterdam
• Owner & Director at Innovators Inc.
• Chief Changemaker at Upstream Festival
Non executive roles:
• Supervisory Board Member at Rotterdam Partners
• Supervisory Board Member at Erasmus Enterprise
• Advisory Board Member at Superconnectors
• Founding Father at Arches Capital
• Founding Father at BlueCity
• Advisor to several ventures
Bio:
Lars Crama is best described as an omnipreneur – with over 20 years of international leadership at the intersection of innovation and impact. As the founder of Innovators Inc., he has driven transformative ventures across various sectors. Lars scaled Oxyma to nearly 300 employees, leading to its acquisition by Merkle Inc., and launched Precima in EMEA, which was later acquired by Nielsen. Lars has spearheaded venturing programs for multinational companies in FMCG, Telecom, Banking, Insurance, and Mobility across more than 10 countries. He is a founding father of BlueCity, a pioneering circular economy incubator, and Arches Capital, the leading angel syndicate in the Benelux. Since 2019, Lars has led Up!Rotterdam, a nonprofit supporting over 1,700 startups and a network of 200 scale-up CEOs. He also founded Upstream Festival, the premier Dutch startup event. As a certified supervisory board member, Lars serves on the boards of Rotterdam Partners and Erasmus Enterprise, contributing strategic oversight and guidance. Based in Rotterdam, his global perspective is enriched by his experiences in Shanghai, Cape Town, and London, where he earned his MBA.
🔎 Keywords: Superconnector | Supervisory Board Member | Business Angel | Ecosystem builder | Strategy Facilitator | Speaker | Moderator | Interim Director | Chief Innovation | CXO | Quartermaster | Public Private | Entrepreneur | Transformation | Sustainable Growth | Scale-up Support | Corporate Venturing | Impact Investing | Leadership Development
🎙️ Check out my biweekly podcast, showcasing remarkable founders from Start to Scale via https://podcast.uprotterdam.com/share
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