In the week after Australia’s first radio survey this year, focus has turned to the growing audience and increasing number of stations on DAB+. The fourth profile in this series is Jacqueline Bierhorst, currently President of WorldDAB. She advocates internationally to keep radio a resilient and universally accessible medium.
The series, Wisdom of Women in Media explores the career and personal journeys of women in the audio media industry. The aim of the series is to reflect on the wisdom they have gained, to mentor and to share their hopes for the industry.
1. Describe your current professional life and stage of life.
I serve as President of WorldDAB, a global industry forum representing over 120 member organisations across more than 40 countries. I was elected by our members, with strong support from the Netherlands, to represent the collective interests of the digital broadcast radio community worldwide.
Alongside this, I act as Project Director of Digital Radio Netherlands: a collaboration between public and commercial broadcasters and two ministries: the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science as well as Country Manager of Radioplayer Netherlands and consultant to the Flemish Minister for Culture, Youth and Media.
My work spans both digital broadcast (DAB+) and digital connected radio (IP). I operate in the hybrid space where broadcast and connected environments meet.
I feel grateful for the trust placed in me, nationally and internationally, and for the opportunity to contribute to collaboration across borders, helping safeguard radio as a free, resilient and universally accessible medium.
Personally, I have reached a point where I know what truly matters, and where I can contribute most meaningfully. My work is focused, varied and energising.
I love radio.
2. How did you come to be in this industry?
I entered the industry in 1987 as the first employee of Cable One, at a time when commercial radio with a Dutch broadcast licence was not yet possible. The legal framework was still developing. I was fortunate to stand at the very beginning of what would later become the Dutch commercial radio and television market.
I was given the opportunity to work across distribution, negotiations, contracts and marketing. Distribution quickly became “my middle name.” Content only becomes powerful when it’s accessible and when people know it’s there.
Within commercial radio and television, including senior roles in music television and later as CEO of SLAM!, I was trusted with significant responsibility at a relatively young age. At television level, I was closely involved in the transition from analogue to digital, participating in industry discussions that shaped that transformation.
Across platforms, my focus has consistently been access, positioning and long-term sustainability.
3.What are your core beliefs? How are your values evident in the work you do or the life you lead?
Kindness. Integrity. Responsibility.
Ambition and respect can exist side by side.
Long-term value outweighs short-term gain.
Collaboration is stronger than ego.
Compete on content. Collaborate on technology. Keep perspective.
4. How did your education, formal and informal, enrich your career/ life journey?
My professional growth came through practice.
Working inside organisations that were scaling, transforming or being sold sharpened my strategic thinking early on. Observing different leadership styles taught me what creates trust and what undermines it.
I learned patience.
I learned that energy needs balance.
And I learned that giving others trust strengthens both people and organisations.
Being trusted before you feel fully ready accelerates growth.
5. What are some of your key decision change points and how did they shape your career/ life journey?
Accepting responsibility for representing collective interests shaped my leadership thinking early in my career.
In my late twenties, as a board member of Vestra, the Dutch Commercial Television Association, I was part of a small delegation representing the commercial television sector in confidential discussions with the Ministry and cable operators during the early phase of television digitisation. Within that delegation, I was particularly mindful of safeguarding the perspective of smaller commercial broadcasters alongside larger market players.
I was invited to that table for my expertise in distribution and market development. This experience reinforced an important lesson: lasting influence comes from understanding the full system rather than defending a narrow position.
A similar lesson emerged during my time on the board of the Dutch Commercial Radio Association (VCR). In that period, broader sector discussions on the future of FM licences took place alongside industry-wide conversations about the transition to digital terrestrial radio. Commercial competitors had to reflect on the long-term direction of the medium while continuing to compete commercially and editorially.
While serving as CEO of SLAM!, I was part of those strategic discussions. After my CEO tenure, I continued, in an advisory capacity, to support the sector in structuring cooperation between licence holders and guiding the practical implementation of that shared digital ambition. This experience reinforced the importance of continuity, trust and long-term market resilience over short-term tactical positioning.
Both experiences reinforced a principle that continues to guide me: sustainable industries are built when competitors collaborate where it matters most and decisions are taken with long-term structural balance in mind.
Accepting roles where I carried final responsibility changed the way I think about decisions. It forced me to think beyond personal success towards collective impact.
Choosing long-term industry health over short-term advantage has guided many of my career turns.
Jacqueline Bierhorst points to the DAB+ antennas of the public and private broadcasters in the Netherlands.
6. What makes you happy? What makes you get up in the morning?
Seeing the radio industry understand that together we are stronger.
Stations collaborating on distribution and technology while competing creatively on content.
People stepping beyond individual platforms to protect radio’s collective prominence.
Outside of work: my dog Flynn, my ceramics studio and my garden. Creating with my hands keeps me grounded.
7. Share your words of wisdom with for others in the industry or those wishing to work in the industry?
Stay kind.
Give others trust, it allows them to grow into their potential.
Listen before you speak.
Respect the ecosystem you operate in.
Your reputation travels further than your latest innovation.
8. Describe your vision for the audio media industry in the near future.
Radio must remain radio.
In an algorithm-driven world, radio’s strength lies in human connection, real presenters speaking to real people.
Digital Radio (DAB+) and connected IP radio will coexist. Broadcast remains essential, for safety, cultural diversity, universality and independence. It must stay free, resilient, easy to access and prominent in every car.
Technology should strengthen radio’s human layer, not replace it.
9. What role would you like to play in shaping the audio industry of the future?
As President of WorldDAB, I chair a global forum that brings together governments, regulators, broadcasters, network operators, car manufacturers, chip makers and receiver manufacturers.
Through this platform, we align interests so that broadcast radio remains guaranteed, prominent and easy to find, ideally under one simple and trusted gateway, while connecting seamlessly to the wider digital audio environment.
Radio should always be findable.
All stations within a country visible together.
One gateway into the wider digital world.
That is the principle I work to uphold.
10. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Wisdom is not about certainty. It is about understanding what matters and acting with clarity and kindness.
Jacqueline at RadioDays Europe 2026
Series compiled by Serena Ahern for radioinfo.
If you have a suggestion for someone to be considered for this series, please send a note to [email protected]
Previous articles in the Wisdom of Women in Media series:
Wisdom of Women in Media: Jenna Benson, Senior Digital Content Producer Gold 101.7
Wisdom of Women in Media: Amanda Shalala, Deputy Editor, ABC Sport
Wisdom of Women in Media: Siobhain McDonnell, Content Director, 4BC
Wisdom of Women in Media: Citra Dyah Prastuti, editor in chief, KBR
Wisdom of Women in Media: Sharon Taylor, Chief Revenue Officer, Triton Digital
Wisdom of Women in Media: Erica McGee, Group Content Director, Triple M & Hit
Wisdom of Women in Media: Rachel Patterson, General Manager, Geelong Broadcasters
Wisdom of Women in Media: Andrea Ho, Discipline Lead Radio & Podcasting, AFTRS
Wisdom of Women in Media: Emma Lawson, Platform Specialist, ABC
Wisdom of Women in Media: Millie Starling, Content Director & EP, SAFM
Wisdom of Women in Media: Archana Kapoor founder Radio Mewat
Wisdom of Women in Media: Justine Kelly, Manager Audio Output & Strategy, ABC International
Wisdom of Women in Media: Lauren Joyce, Chief Audience & Content Officer ARN
Wisdom of Women in Media: Cheryl Lee Co Founder and Manager Rebel Radio Network
Wisdom of Women in Media: Rebecca Ackland Chief People & Culture Officer SCA
Wisdom of Women in Media: Helen Tzarimas News Reader and Journalist Gold 101.7
Wisdom of Women in Media: Amanda Lee, Head of HIT Metro Content/Fox FM Content Director
Wisdom of Women in Media: Kim Napier, Breakfast Presenter ABC Northern Tasmania
Wisdom of Women in Media: Megan Smith, Senior Producer Gold 101.7
Wisdom of Women in Media: Laura Bouchet, Content Director Triple M
Wisdom of Women in Media: Lauren Joyce, Chief Audience & Content Officer ARN