Our Board
Prof. Mirjam van Praag
Chair
Mirjam van Praag is a Dutch econometrician and distinguished academic. She served as Chair of the Executive Board at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) from 2018 to 2023. Currently, she teaches Entrepreneurship and Leadership there. In March 2025, she was appointed Chair of the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (AWTI). We are delighted to have her as the chairwoman for our foundation as of 2024.
Prof. Bas van Bavel
Secretary
Bas van Bavel is a Dutch historian and professor at Utrecht University. He is known for his work on pre- industrial economies and institutional development. In his current research, he looks at the development of successful societies. He received the Spinoza Prize in 2019, the highest scientific award in the Netherlands. Van Bavel is also a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. As of 2024, he is the secretary of our foundation.
Prof. Philip Hans Franses
Philip Hans Franses is a Dutch economist and leading expert in applied econometrics and marketing research. He is Professor of Applied Econometrics at Erasmus University Rotterdam and has served as Dean of the Erasmus School of Economics from 2006 to 2019. He is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds an honorary doctorate from Chiang Mai University. Franses contributes actively to academic leadership and policy discussions.
Prof. Peter Verhoef
Peter Verhoef is a Dutch professor of Marketing and Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Groningen. His research focuses on customer management, consumer behaviour, retailing, and digital marketing. Verhoef also serves as Pro-Rector of the University of Groningen and Chair of the Dutch Council of Deans in Economics and Business (DEB). He is the founder and former director of the University of Groningen Business School and the Groningen Digital Business Centre. In 2025, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Marketing Association’s Retailing and Pricing Special Interest Group.
Prof. Anne Gielen
Anne Gielen is a Dutch economist and Professor of Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam. She specialises in labour economics, with a particular focus on employment, health, social insurance, and the relationship between labour market policies and individual well-being. Gielen is a research fellow at the IZA Institute of Labor Economics and the Tinbergen Institute. She has published extensively in leading international academic journals and contributes to policy discussions on labour markets and social security. Through her research and advisory activities, she aims to bridge the gap between academic research and evidence-based policymaking.
Prof. Alexander Rinnooy Kan
Alexander Rinnooy Kan is a Dutch mathematician and economist. He is a distinguished professor of Economics and Business Studies at the University of Amsterdam. Rinnooy Kan has held prominent roles, including Chairman of the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (2006–2012) and Member of the Senate (2015–2019). He has also served on the boards of ING Group and VNO-NCW, and is involved with various cultural institutions. He was appointed Commander in the Order of the Netherlands Lion, and Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Prof. Esther-Mirjam Sent
Esther-Mirjam Sent is a Dutch academic, economist, and politician. She is a Professor of Economic Theory and Policy at Radboud University Nijmegen. Sent is a specialist in behavioural economics, experimental economics, and the philosophy and history of economic thought. She wrote several influential works, including The Evolving Rationality of Rational Expectations (1998) and co-edited Science Bought and Sold (2002). In 2021, she became the chair of the Labour Party (PvdA) in the Netherlands, after serving a decade
in the Dutch Senate.