Frank Heemskerk has been Secretary General of the European Round Table for Industry (ERT) since 1 January 2019. The ERT is a forum of around 60 Chief Executives and Chairs of multinational companies with their roots in Europe. They are united by a vision for a strong, open and competitive Europe, as a driver for inclusive growth and sustainable prosperity.

Between 2003 and 2006, he was a Member of Parliament for the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA). Between 2007 and 2010 Frank Heemskerk was Minister for Foreign Trade, also responsible for Telecoms & IT, SMEs, and the better regulations agenda. Since retiring from national politics, he has held various professional positions. Between 2013 and 2018, he was an Executive Director of the World Bank, where he also chaired the World Bank Group Audit Committee. He was a member of the Executive Board of Royal HaskoningDHV from 2011 until 2013.

Since November 2018 he is a visiting lecturer in Geo-Economics at Leiden University. In June 2020 Frank Heemskerk was elected as Chair of the Board of Amnesty International in the Netherlands.