The Randstad, Netherlands
As the Director of Innovation at the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute), I enable researchers, tech talents and our partners to develop solutions that foster sustainable and resilient cities. My role involves developing research and innovation programs that drive positive change in cities, and leading our teams of startup support, prototyping and tech transfer. Over the past 10 years we developed and executed more than 230M EUR of R&D projects, and we supported the growth of +150 startups dedicated to building sustainable, resilient, and smarter urban environments. The AMS Institute stands at the forefront of urban research and innovation, and was founded by academic partners Delft University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, together with the city of Amsterdam. Prior to joining AMS Institute, my experience as a program manager at Delft University of Technology centered on building public-private partnerships and joint research projects in the fields of sustainable mobility and smart cities. In addition, I managed a shared incubator for clean-tech startups in Rotterdam and supported one of the first seed investment funds of Delft university of Technology. I earned my PhD at Eindhoven University of Technology on innovation strategies of high-tech companies in 2008. In 1999 I graduated with honors from Wageningen University in System Sciences and Operations Research.
AMS Institute is a leading international institute at the forefront of urban research and innovation. We aim to make cities better, bringing together the strengths and brightest minds from our founding partners Delft University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the city of Amsterdam and our business partners to design solutions for urgent urban challenges. I am responsible for innovation strategy and the entrepreneurship and prototyping programs of AMS Institute, and as such part of the Management Team at AMS Institute.
Responsible for the research and valorization programs of the AMS Institute. Managing the Program development team of 10 FTE to set up projects, programs and valorization activities. I was member of the Management Team of the institute.
Program leader of the Research and Valorization Program of the AMS institute. I am responsible for managing the research, design and innovation programs of the AMS institute focused on 'circular cities, connected cities and vital cities'.
The Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the EIT Urban Mobility is responsible for the nomination of new Supervisory Board members of the EIT Urban Mobility legal entity. On behalf of the EIT Urban Mobility General Assembly, the NRC interviews, evaluates and proposes adequate candidates for the Supervisory Board positions, and proposes appropriate remuneration policies for these positions.
Strategic partnerships in R&D and innovation Strategic project and program management Innovation strategy, open innovation and tech-transfer. Incubation, seed funding and high-tech start-up support. Focus areas sustainable mobility, smart and sustainable cities.
Manager of a new incubator for clean-tech start-ups and entrepreneurs in Rotterdam. Dnamo facilitates starting entrepreneurs with coaching, funding, training, facilities, IP support and networks. Dnamo is located at the pretty cool renovated RDM Campus area in the Port of Rotterdam.
The Mainport Innovation Fund is a seed capital investment fund started by KLM, TU Delft, Schiphol Group and Rabobank. The fund invests seed money in high-potential start-up companies in the aviation/airport/mainport industry. The fund investment committee was responsible for scouting, evaluation and selection of scalable start-ups companies that qualify for a seed investment.
Practical description: During my PhD I researched how people within established companies take decisions about radical innovation projects and lobby for necessary money, knowledge and people to realize the innovation. I investigated the strategic decision making process and the different types of strategies innovators use to convince upper-management and others of the relevance and value of their innovation projects. I also looked at the main barriers to radical innovation in an established organization and how to overcome these by allowing for ambiguity, heterogeneity, and tolerance. Academic description: Large scale qualitative research project to investigate what strategies innovators use to legitimate radical innovation projects within established high-tech companies. Applied and extended a micro-institutional framework to determine different legitimation strategies and institutional affordances that enable these legitimation strategies. The framework builds upon structuration theory and neo-institutional theory.