Merlijn Poolman (NL)

Merlijn Poolman is a Dutch cultural entrepreneur, cross-border music strategist, and the former Night Mayor of Groningen (2018–2025). Operating between the Netherlands and Shenzhen, China, Poolman has spent over a decade building commercial and cultural bridges between the European and Asian electronic music ecosystems.

A pioneer in connecting these two worlds at ADE, he organized the conference’s very first official China Pavilion in 2017. He is the co-founder of Gateway 2 China, helping Western labels, artists, and rights-holders integrate into Asian DSPs and touring networks, and has co-produced six editions of the Yin Yang Music Festival on the Great Wall of China. At ADE 2026, he serves as Project Director of the ADE Asia Hub at SALON188, curating high-level B2B dialogues across South Korea, Greater China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.