Ruben van Zwieten

About Ruben van Zwieten

Ruben van Zwieten is a preacher and founder of De Nieuwe Poort, houses for meeting and inspiration in the Zuidas in Amsterdam and at the Weena in Rotterdam. He is also the founder of the meaning centers De Nieuwe Poort Zeeland, El Nuevo Puerto in Valencia, and Le Nouveau Port in Normandy. He was elected as a Young European Leader: 40 talented young people in Europe under 40 years old and is listed in the Volkskrant Top 200 most influential Dutch people. He is a member of the board of the Social Advisory Council of the Association of the Dutch Chemical Industry (VNCI) and of the board of the AUMC Alzheimer and Cancer Center Adore.

He is a former member of the Monitoring Committee Code Banks and a former advisor to the board of The Goldschmeding Foundation.

As both an entrepreneur and a preacher, Ruben unites two professions that have made the Netherlands great: the pastor and the merchant. This versatility is reflected in De Nieuwe Poort with an extensive ‘meaningful’ art and culture program, excellent hospitality, and unique workspaces. Ruben’s initiative provides shelter for other social enterprises, enables young professionals to engage in volunteer work, offers companies ‘mental fitness’ subscriptions, and does not lose sight of celebrating life with club nights and concerts.

After completing his secondary education, Ruben studied Theology and Law in Leiden. Halfway through his studies, he was president of the student association Minerva for a year. During that year, he discovered his entrepreneurial spirit and subsequently started working part-time at Rabobank before founding his first company. From 2007 to 2010, Ruben followed the preacher training at the Protestant Theological University. Meanwhile, he founded the Zingeving Zuidas Foundation in 2008 from the Thomaskerk in Amsterdam. In 2012, his first book, co-authored with his colleague Ad van Nieuwpoort, titled “The Bible on the Zuidas,” was published by Prometheus / Bert Bakker. In 2013, he was named Theologian of the Year.

He is a sought-after speaker at conferences and symposiums within the business sector, government, and cultural world.