The Amsterdam Area has welcomed three newcomers, including: IJS Global announced that it has made the strategic decision to move the company’s worldwide headquarters (EXO) from Stamford, USA to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The EMEA region has been the most successful and fastest growing region of the company and by moving the EXO to Europe, the company plans to build on that strength. Sjoerd van Loon, formerly CEO of EMEA, has assumed the position of President & CEO of IJS Global and will be leading the company’s organization from its new Amsterdam-based headquarters.

Furthermore, the Swedish online marketing firm Lost Boys International (LBi) is moving its headquarters to Amsterdam. LBi have announced the relocation of their headquarters together with their decision to merge with Dutch company Bigmouthmedia. This means that the official headquarters will move to Amsterdam.  LBi has ambitious plans for the future and aims to become Europe’s largest marketing and technology agency. The choice to select Amsterdam as the location for the headquarters of the new firm further strengthens Amsterdam as a creative capital.  “This is a transformational deal (merger) in a growing market”, comments Luke Taylor, CEO of LBi.

Finally, Illinois-based investment bank Lincoln International has also opened a new office in Amsterdam. The office will focus on advising on mid-market transactions in combination with its M&A practices in North America, Europe and Asia. "As we continue to expand, the Benelux market is important because it has many very good companies in a wide range of industries that are active in cross-border acquisitions or attractive to cross-border buyers," said Jim Lawson, Chairman of Lincoln International. "Having an Amsterdam office with dedicated local resources allows Lincoln International to deepen our ties with Belgian and Dutch public and private companies, private equity firms and public sector entities."