Van Lier founders battle investors to keep spiritual father Geert van Spaendonck in boardroom fight

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Van Lier’s boardroom battle escalates as founders fight to oust ‘spiritual father’ Geert van Spaendonck, who vows to fight back after claiming his dismissal is void.

The Dutch shoe manufacturer Van Lier is embroiled in a bitter leadership dispute after a group of investors and new stakeholders moved on Thursday to remove Geert van Spaendonck, the company’s long-serving “spiritual father,” from his position. Van Spaendonck, who has led the 150-year-old family business for decades, told RTL Nieuws that his dismissal is “null and void” and vowed to continue defending the company he helped revive after its near-collapse in 2024. “I have always fought for Van Lier, and I will keep doing so,” he said. “This is sheer madness.”

The power struggle erupted just days after Van Lier completed a financial restructuring that allowed it to avoid bankruptcy, securing fresh capital from a consortium of Dutch and Belgian investors. According to internal sources cited by RTL, the investors—who now hold a majority stake—accused Van Spaendonck of resisting strategic changes needed to modernize the brand and expand into digital retail. The board majority voted to terminate his contract on Monday, but Van Spaendonck has refused to accept the decision, arguing that the dismissal process violated corporate bylaws.

The conflict comes at a critical juncture for Van Lier, which has struggled to regain market share against cheaper Asian imports and shifting consumer preferences. The company, known for its traditional Dutch clogs and work boots, attempted a high-profile comeback in 2024 under Van Spaendonck’s leadership, rebranding as a sustainable, premium footwear brand. However, sales have underperformed, and the new investors—dubbed “doorstarters” in Dutch media—have pushed for aggressive cost-cutting and a pivot toward e-commerce.

Van Spaendonck’s allies within the company have rallied behind him, warning that his removal could destabilize the brand’s identity and alienate loyal customers. “He built this company from the ground up,” said one longtime employee who asked not to be named. “Without him, Van Lier risks losing everything it stands for.”

The standoff has drawn comparisons to other recent European corporate shake-ups, including the abrupt departure of Pieter Timmermans as CEO of Belgium’s Verbond van Belgische Ondernemingen (VBO) and the resignation of Tomáš Rubáček from Explosia, a Czech state-owned explosives manufacturer slated for privatization.

Van Lier’s supervisory board is expected to hold an emergency meeting on Friday to address the dispute, but legal experts suggest the case could drag on for months. Van Spaendonck has indicated he will pursue all available avenues to reverse his dismissal, including filing for arbitration under Dutch corporate law. The company has not issued an official statement beyond acknowledging “internal discussions.”

For now, the battle lines are drawn: on one side, investors demanding rapid modernization; on the other, a founder unwilling to cede control of the brand he helped save. The outcome will shape not just Van Lier’s future, but the broader debate over who controls Europe’s struggling legacy industries.

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