After building the athlete agency Global Sports Communication (GSC) for over 40 years, founder Jos Hermens has turned to his team. Hermens welcomes his current leadership team, consisting of Valentijn Trouw (Performance Director), Ellen van Langen (Event Director), and Marleen Vink-Rennings (Marketing Director), as company partners.
GSC is the agency of record for such athletes as Eliud Kipchoge, Sifan Hassan, Letesenbet Gidey, Joshua Cheptegei and Haile Gebrselassie, to name a few.
Transforming the sport
GSC has transformed the world of athletics by guiding professional athletes towards achieving their biggest dreams. However, now is the time for the next step in the future of the company. Hermens welcomes his current leadership team, consisting of Valentijn Trouw (Performance Director), Ellen van Langen (Event Director), and Marleen Vink-Rennings (Marketing Director), as company partners.
“What Hermens has built over four decades is truly unique, with over 100 world records, 42 Olympic gold medals, and 57 world champions under his guidance,” reads a press release about the transition. “What started as a one-man operation out of his apartment in 1985 has turned into the world’s largest sport management agency in athletics.”
Together with his team, Jos has realized groundbreaking initiatives such as the establishment of the Shanghai Diamond League meet, the creation of the NN Running Team, the pursuit of running a sub-2-hour marathon with Breaking2 and the INEOS 1:59 Challenge. Also, the creation and worldwide acceptance of the Wavelight technology.
What the partners have to say
Hermens, “I once started the company with the ambition to develop and professionalize the sport. Throughout the years, we have made great progress, but I am still ambitious and see many opportunities within our sport. With big ambitions, you need a team of people to drive those ambitions forward. To guarantee a sustainable future, I am looking forward to the participation of Valentijn, Ellen, and Marleen. With the four of us, we will keep driving our sport forward.”
Trouw, “My focus has always been to develop our athletes from young talents to global stars and help them grow, both as athletes and as human beings in their careers. This step won’t change much in terms of my daily work, but it is special to formalize the role within the company.”
Ellen van Langen, “Global Sports Communication has been a life journey for me. I started my career as an athlete with GSC, and when I retired as an athlete, I joined the company as an athlete representative. I later expanded the events side of the business. To now become a co-owner of the company feels like completing a full life cycle.”
Vink-Rennings, “The combination of passion for the sport and entrepreneurship is what drives me in my work. I am excited about this next step, since the ambition to bring this sport further and the freedom to step into new opportunities is, to me, the perfect combination. I am looking forward to continuing this journey with Jos, Valentijn, and Ellen, since I strongly believe in teamwork, and the four of us will each contribute in our own way to a sustainable future.”
A lasting impact
Jos has always placed the well-being of his athletes first and worked with them to pursue long-term careers while constantly pushing for innovation in sports. The direction of the company will continue to focus on Jos’s values, complemented by the talents and values of Valentijn, Ellen, and Marleen, to secure a sustainable future for the company.
