ABOUT DIMITRI

Dimitri grew up in Kockengen, a small farming village in the green heart of Holland. He was the second of three boys from a Dutch mother, Dien, and an American father, Dave. Andreas, Dimitri and Hugo Joris were given Greek names because his parents met at Harvard where they had many Greek friends.

At age 5 his parents separated, but Dave always remained a close friend of the family. At age 7 they moved to Amsterdam and Dimitri was voluntarily adopted by his mother's new husband, Hans de Boer.

Dien and Hans gave Dimitri a baby brother and sister, Michael and Sarah. At age 16 Dimitri found his purpose in life, to live and work in Asia. He travelled through Thailand and Malaysia at age 17 and moved to Thailand at age 18. He worked there as a decorator, resort front desk coordinator, trekking guide, and later as Philips project coordinator, and returned to The Netherlands at age 21 to finish a British MBA degree. Unfortunately, his elder brother Andreas became mentally ill and passed away during this period.

It was with Hugo and Sarah that Dimitri first travelled to China in 1999. After studying and subsequently working in Holland for a few years, Dimitri got bored and chose to study Chinese in Beijing.

Dimitri took part in the EU - China Junior Managers Training Program, and became a consultant with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization's Investment and Technology Promotion Office in Beijing, where he is now developing and implementing EU funded programs for Chinese government departments.

Dimitri at his best:

About July

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