February 2013 the Alcatel-Lucent board of directors appointed Michel Combes as the company's CEO, succeeding Verwaayen, effective April 1. He joined Akamai Technologies as a director in November 2013. In 2016, Verwaayen founded Keen Venture Partners, a venture capital firm providing early growth capital for technology companies. Since April 2020, he has been Chairman of Renewi plc. Politics During his military service, Verwaayen founded the Algemene Vereniging Nederlandse Militairen (General Association of Dutch soldiers), a union that existed until 1996. Verwaayen has been a longtime member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy. He sat in its executive for ten years, and also contributed to its election programme for the 2006 Dutch elections. At various times, he was linked with a Cabinet position. The current Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, has named him as one of his closest advisors. Honours Verwaayen has received various honorary awards and has been made Officier in de Orde van Oranje Nassau (Netherlands), Honorary Knight of the Order of the British Empire KBE (United Kingdom), and a knight in the Legion of Honour (France). Personal life Married to Helena, the couple have two children. They currently reside in Paris, but had a family home in Haslemere, Surrey where Verwaayen hosted a party in summer 2008, attended by 1,300 guests including former Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin, UK government ministers Stephen Twigg and John Denham. Verwaayen, a tennis player himself, put on a celebrity tennis match between John Lloyd and Ilie Năstase, and is also a fan of Arsenal F.C. See also Legion of Honour List of Legion of Honour recipients by name (V) List of foreign recipients of the Legion of Honour by country Legion of Honour Museum References External links 1952 births Living people Alcatel-Lucent British Telecom people Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Dutch businesspeople Dutch chief executives in the technology industry People's Party for Freedom and Democracy politicians Royal Netherlands Army personnel Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau People from Driebergen-Rijsenburg Utrecht University alumni