Since September 2024 Esther van Beurden has been the Director of Cybersecurity and Resilience to State Threats at the office of the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV). Since March 2026 she has also been Deputy NCTV.
Image: © NCTV
Background
In 2006 Esther completed her degree in international relations and international organisation at the University of Groningen. She has always worked in the Dutch security domain since then.
From 2008 to 2018 Esther was active in various roles at the NCTV, where her duties related mainly to cybersecurity, in both a national and international context.
As a project planner, project leader and strategic adviser she advised the government and senior civil servants about cybersecurity policy; she was involved in establishing the National Cyber Security Centre, and she was responsible for establishing the public-private Cyber Security Council.
Later, she headed the Strategy, Support and Legal Affairs Division and the programme on countering state threats. In those roles, Esther was responsible for drawing up various national security strategies and setting up a new division within the NCTV.
After a period of three years with the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) she completed the Advanced Command and Staff Course at the Ministry of Defence and the Senior Civil Service (ABD) candidate programme. In September 2024 Esther returned to the NCTV as Director of Cybersecurity and Resilience to State Threats. Since March 2026 she has also been Deputy NCTV.