Founder & Managing Partner
Rutger Bonsel
Cross-border advisor and operating leader, bridging India and Europe.
Rutger Bonsel is the founder of Orange Sherpa, a cross-border advisory firm based in Rotterdam, with on-the-ground presence in Mumbai. Orange Sherpa helps European companies enter, grow and transform in India, and supports Indian companies expanding into Europe via the Netherlands, from market-entry strategy through M&A to operational execution.
Over the past years, Rutger has built his career around bridging local market realities in India with board-level expectations in Europe. In his most recent leadership role, as Managing Director of Broekman Logistics India, he led a business transformation: streamlining the organisation by 10% while growing topline performance by 24% in H1 2026 versus the prior year. He also led an M&A trajectory in India, screening over 80 potential targets, advancing two into full due diligence, and taking one through final negotiations.
His first exposure to India dates back to 2007, when DSM sent him to conduct field research among Indian farmers. The lesson he took home has stayed with him ever since: progress comes through listening carefully, adapting to local conditions, and applying a degree of jugaad when needed. He brings that same mindset to building businesses: pragmatic, adaptive, and grounded in execution.
Background
Rutger holds a joint Executive MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (USA) and WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management (Germany), and an MSc in Strategic Product Design from TU Delft. Over the years he has held leadership roles at the intersection of general management and commercial development across engineering, chemicals, industrial technology and supply chain, including DSM-Firmenich, Maire Tecnimont and, most recently, Broekman Logistics.
Focus areas
- India market entry & growth strategy
- M&A advisory (EU-India corridor)
- Operational and interim leadership
- Cross-border partnerships and go-to-market
- EU expansion for Indian companies via the Netherlands
Get in touch
Reach Rutger and the Orange Sherpa team at info@orangesherpa.com, or connect on LinkedIn.
Read more on our Insights page, where Rutger writes about the India-Europe corridor, market entry, M&A, and operations.