Recently, I was talking to a leader from an international company. “We now have three alumni in our senior management from RSM and we would like some more,” he told me. Why? Because, he said: “They are very well educated, they are proactive, and they are humble.” In other words, they are leaders who care – about their work, and about society.

Those characteristics chimed with me, and I felt very proud. Because, as a research-based educational institute with an international scope, we train the leaders who will have to tackle the challenges of our rapidly changing world – some familiar, some yet to reveal themselves. Together, they must be a force for positive change in an increasingly globalised society. In short, we want to educate managers who care about business and the world.

That’s something I have always been passionate about. My background is in physics, and I moved into management very quickly. I’m fascinated by leading and managing a large organisation, and by how people can work together effectively towards goals and enjoy what they do, too.

Before I joined RSM, I previously worked as Dean at Delft University of Technology, and I also bring experience from beyond the academic world, at organisations such as Rijkswaterstaat, TNO and RIVM. Working outside the world of universities has helped me to link social goals to business goals, something I believe is vital.

Our world is changing rapidly and on various fronts: geopolitically,  and also in terms of technology and digitisation. Meanwhile, we are also working more closely with each other, wherever we are geographically. It means that the people we educate – that is, you, our alumni – are working in ways that are increasingly international and comprehensive.

So how are we preparing our students for the future? First, we are renewing our strategy: thinking about both the short and long term. For example, is our organisation sufficiently lean and mean right now? How can we become more resilient? We can see that the boundary between business and ICT is slowly blurring. How can we best prepare our students for a future where these two sectors might be one and the same?

Of course, as an organisation and a community – which includes you, reader – we endeavour to have the greatest possible positive social impact through our education, research and alumni. We are lucky enough to be home to some extraordinary thinkers and teachers. I am incredibly proud that we are ranked first in Europe and 14^th in the world by the Financial Times Research Insights Ranking. You all have such an incredibly important role to play, too, in truly being a force for positive change. You can help the RSM community in so many ways: mentoring and training students, contributing ideas, being active in your networks all over the world.