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Driving change at Unilever through the power of purpose and film
What do Unilever Executive Hanneke Faber and documentary filmmaker Renée Scheltema have in common? For starters, they’re both Dutch women, with a journalism degree from an American university. They both have a strong conviction on how to create a better world. And the two of them met at the Ivy Circle sustainable movie night hosted by…
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Bursting social media bubbles for social change
What if you could use the power of communications to drive change for a better world? Meet Kajsa Rosenblad, a Swedish-Dutch communications student at the University of Amsterdam. Over a cup of tea at my dining table, here’s what she shared about the better world she wants, the role of politics and her generation. …
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Empowering women to rethink periods
Meet Wendelien Hebly, one of the co-founders of Yoni, a company urging women (and men) to rethink periods. I recently watched her present at an event about the purpose economy. She made the audience feel uncomfortable; initially because of the topic of menstruation. As she continued, she took some of that discomfort away and replaced it…
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Dare to care about what you wear
Meet Anita de Wit and Joanneke Lootsma, the executive board driving ReBlend, a Dutch upcycling startup that turns non-wearable clothes into new textiles and fashion. I recently met them at a B Corp event and was so inspired by their fabrics and story that I planned this interview with them. Here’s what they had to…
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It all starts with the (wo)man in the mirror
Meet Marleen Janssen Groesbeek, Professor Sustainable Finance and Accounting at Avans University of Applied Sciences. She also is a member of the Sustainable Finance Lab and writes columns for CSR magazine P+. I really enjoyed her inaugural lecture at Avans University and followed up with an interview. On both occasions, she shared her views on…
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Royal recycling
Usually I cringe when journalists comment on what women wear, but this time I cheered when the news broadcast that Queen Maxima of the Netherlands chose to wear her coronation dress a second time. Of course for fashion magazines that is the topic to talk about, but in most other media, it is completely irrelevant information…
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Bursting bubbles to drive human understanding
Meet Marjella Alma, CEO of the inspiring tech startup eRevalue, which offers a tailored process for integrating Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) factors into business strategy. What is your vision of a sustainable future? A world without so much emphasis on the material, on beauty and on individuals. I’d like to see society de-materialize, de-beautify and…
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You’re not what you wear, but invest in your hair!
The theme for TEDxAmsterdam Women 2013Â was “Discover the Truths. It takes more than one tale to tell a story”. With such an impressive set of talks, it is hard to single out a favorite, or even a few, but some have stuck with me more than others. The most colorful one, and the one that…
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The experiment with women in management
Flashback to 1993: I left immediately after a (French) general manager answered my question about women in management positions. It was a cold day in Chicago as I rode the train back to campus to file a complaint at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management career office against this man and his company. This company invited…
