Paul Beijer is the Founder and CEO of GR-IQ, a consultancy in government relations and public affairs. He advises senior Government Relations and Public Affairs (GRPA) leaders at Fortune 500 and other large organizations. Central to his work is to help the function attain a position where business leaders acknowledge the value GRPA brings and actively seek the function’s advice on the most strategic issues. He does this by helping GRPA organizations become more effective and efficient in their operations and enabling them to consistently demonstrate the value they bring. Paul has supported clients in Europe, the Middle East, Japan and the United States in the Energy, Chemicals, Food & Beverage and Logistics industries.

With 30 years of experience, Beijer was previously Vice- President of Government Relations at Royal Dutch Shell, where he guided the strengthening and professionalization of the organization, growing its standing and influence within and outside the company. Upon leaving Shell and starting his own firm, Shell’s GR practice was considered bestin- class in a benchmarking study conducted in 2018 among 21 international corporations. Paul’s earlier career spans roles in strategy, finance, and risk management across several countries at Shell and Unilever.

Paul holds an MBA from the State University of Groningen and has attended executive programs at top institutions like Wharton, IMD, INSEAD, IESE and London Business School. Since 2023, he is a guest lecturer at the Executive MBA Program of the University of Groningen Business School and is a member of the International Advisory Council of APCO Worldwide.

Since 2019, Paul is a Non-Executive Director of a foundation that protects a unique historic country estate in the city of The Hague, the Netherlands. He spends his time between The Netherlands and Brazil.