Maurits Hendriks is a pioneering leader in high-performance sport, renowned for coaching the Dutch men’s hockey team to Olympic Gold and transforming Spanish hockey with European + Olympic medals. He is credited as the inventor of the “blue hockey pitch” and introduced the “self-pass” in hockey. As Performance Director of the Dutch Olympic & Paralympic commitee, he led the Netherlands into an era of historic medal success, launched TeamNL, and shaped Dutch high-performance policy. As Chief Sports Officer at Ajax, he achieved milestones in women’s football. He chairs the SportAI Foundation and sits on the Introdans board, advocating crossovers between sport and the arts. His leadership philosophy centres on learning from setbacks, fostering growth, innovation, and teamwork.