Business & Management Faculty

Specialization: International Management, Marketing  

 Dr. Yang Fan is specialized in strategic and international management, with focus on strategic partnerships and collaborative innovation. Before joining Webster, she taught strategic management and international business at both undergraduate and graduate levels at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. She also supervised student’s theses, internships and consultancy projects. Prior to joining academia, she worked in the fields of sales and marketing in FMCG and in the consulting industry. Yang did her Ph.D. at London Business School on strategic & international management, her Master's at Manchester Business School on international business & management, and her Bachelor's at Shanghai Jiao Tong University on English literature and business studies.  

Christine Fitzgerald is an independent consultant, coach and public speaker who has provided business education in North America, Europe and Asia. She has been an Adjunct Professor of Psychology and Management at Webster University since 1985 and was head of the department of Behavioral and Social Sciences from 1992 until 1999 and from 2000 until 2003. Since early 2018 she is the Senior Learning Coach for the Global School for Entrepreneurs in Amsterdam, she has been a member of the management team and a lecturer at Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences’ program in Entrepreneurship and Small Business, and was part of the faculty of the New Business School in Amsterdam (now Nyenrode New Business School) where she directed the coaching program for undergraduate degree students and gave courses in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management. She served for nine years as Assistant Professor of Marketing at Nyenrode University and has also been a faculty member of Echelon University and the Hotel School of the Hague.

Her corporate experience includes a professional post at Chemical Bank (now Chase Morgan Stanley) in New York City where she worked in marketing research and strategic long-term planning, project management, and corporate training. A magna cum laude graduate of Pace University, she received the MA in developmental psychology from Columbia University. She is the recipient of the Prince Fellow Award for Distinguished Excellence in Teaching, the Pace University Award for Excellence in Psychology, the Percy H. Johnson Award for Academic Excellence and was a three-time nominee for the William T. Kemper Award for Excellence in Teaching (2009-2010, 2004-2005 and 1999-2000). 

Dr. Truus Poels LLM is an experienced manager in Human Resource Management, Change         Management, and Organizational Development. She worked as Head of Human Resources in a variety of companies and has experience with multinational companies. She also worked as a Senior Management Consultant with, e.g., health, governmental, defence, industry, financial, and pharmaceutical organizations. She regularly speaks at international conferences and gives guest lectures for organizations and universities. 

Dr. Poels has a PhD from Utrecht University. A model of organizational rhythmics was developed in her PhD thesis, Rhythmics of Organizational Change. She is a founder and chairperson of the Innovation Platform Rhythmics of Organizational Change (I-RO). The I-RO’s members are CIO's, directors of HR, and professors of universities. This platform examines the theme of organizational changes with the aim of developing practical and useable rhythm instruments for more effective and successful change processes.

Dr. Poels worked for several universities and lectured in Organizational Development and Change, (International) Human Resources Management, Organizational Behavior, Innovation & Creativity and Management and coached students with their research and theses. She has been a Professor at the Antwerp Management School since 2014 and at Webster Leiden Campus since May 2015. 

Sandrine Suman received her MA in Management and Leadership from Webster University the Netherlands in 2014. She earned her BA in European Studies from the University of Hull, UK in 1993 & spent time at the University of Pisa, studying Art History and International Relations at the University of Pisa.

She worked at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol for an international ground handling company in various roles for 17 years, the last 5 years as Manager Passenger Services – part of the Management Team, and responsible for the departments dealing with customer facing operations. In this capacity, she managed Operations and Human Resources both strategically and tactically in all aspects, as well as working on numerous projects to improve inter- and intra-organizational processes.

Currently, Sandrine is the Career Planning & Development Officer at Webster Leiden Campus, and teaches Operations Management, Human Resource Management, Career Development and Leadership courses and supervises senior theses, and internships at Webster Leiden Campus.

She also teaches Change Management, Leadership and Professional Skills Development, and supervises MBA theses at the Academy of Master and Professional Courses at The Hague University of Applied Sciences.

Additionally, she is consults on Learning and Development, and process improvement projects, works as the executive producer for the Involved Stage performance art group, and participates in research focused on appreciative and strengths-based learning & development approaches and organizational learning.

 

Dr. Robbani has a multidisciplinary background with a PhD in Applied Economics (Antwerp) and three Master’s degrees: M.Com (Bangladesh); MBA (Philippines); and MILE (Switzerland). He has more than 20 years of university teaching experience, including six years at the School of Business and Economics of Maastricht University (Netherlands) and two years at the Hague University of Applied Sciences. Every year he teaches two summer courses on Finance and Accounting at Maastricht University. 

 Arie Barendregt (56) has been active in European business-to-business sales and marketing management since 1980. He is commercial director at De Jong Verpakking in De Lier, an independent Dutch corrugated board packaging manufacturer. Arie has been a part-time teacher of Total Cost of Ownership at t NVC in Gouda and of Professor Strategy and Competition as well as Managerial Economics in the Executive M.B.A. program at Webster University in Leiden since 2002. He also teaches Strategy and Competition and Marketing Management in 3 M.B.A. programs at Hogeschool Den Haag (where he received the “lecturer of the year” award in 2012, 2013, and 2014).

Arie also owns a consulting company, Stracom Intelligence, and has publications on strategy, marketing, and competition in various journals. Arie completed his postgraduate marketing NIMA-C in 1994, and then finished his M.B.A. with distinction at Kingston University in 1996. In May 2008, he received the top title RM, Register Marketeer. He obtained his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Kingston University in January 2011, with research focusing on the unknown competitor study practices of small Dutch business-to-business enterprises. His thesis, Do Small Enterprises Study Competitors, is available worldwide through 30 internet bookstores.            

Mr. Boumans has 20 years of teaching experience. He’s currently teaching at VU University in Amsterdam, universities of applied sciences in Utrecht (faculty) and Amsterdam, Maastricht School of Management (adjunct faculty), IBO and Webster Leiden campus.

He has also worked with different banks in the fields of commercial and investment banking with small and medium sized companies as well as larger corporates in the Netherlands and abroad. As a consultant, he advised DSI (Dutch Security Institute) in Amsterdam and many international companies in the Netherlands during the last 3 years. He obtained his M.B.A., with a specialization in finance, from Erasmus Rochester University (1988). 

Marcel de Lijster is the business owner of “Down 2 Earth Dutch,” With his company, he helps organizations to build programs for skills management and lifelong learning that support the continued employability of employees. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Marcel de Lijster worked in the financial industry as a banker.

He has 27 years of working experience in the financial industry, for 23 of which he held leadership and management positions. He worked at one of the largest banks in Holland. He can be branded as a real people manager. He is also an “acknowledged” coach and helps people with their personal and career development. He has experience and knowledge of Strategic Management, Organizational Behavior, Leadership, Change Management, Risk management, and Financial Control.

He holds an M.B.A. degree with an emphasis on Management from Webster Leiden Campus. He has been a member of the Webster faculty since 2004 and teaches courses in Organizational Behavior, Management, Managerial Leadership, Decision Making, and Strategic Management. 

Dr. Foster received his Ph.D. at the Training Research Laboratory of the University of Illinois. His experiences include work in contract, credit, and marketing management in steel and electronics industries in the USA; and faculty member of Universities in Canada, Ireland, Germany, and the Netherlands. He has offered classes and workshops in many parts of the world, and has (co)-authored more than 200 academic papers, chapters, & books, which have appeared in English, French, German, Dutch, & Chinese. He has taught psychology and management at Webster for over 15 years and is currently Professor of Organizational Behavior at MSM--The Maastricht School of Management, and a Management Development Consultant in private practice.     

Charlene Lambert’s interest in foreign languages was instrumental in developing her desire for an international career. She earned a B.A. in Modern Languages from St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, a Master's in Planning from the University of Ottawa, Canada, and a Certificate in Economic Development from the University of Waterloo, Canada. She has worked for the past 20 years in the fields of international city marketing, foreign direct investment, regional economic development, and entrepreneurship for organizations in both Canada and the Netherlands.

As an appointed member of the European-funded research program COST (Cooperation in Science and Technology), she is participating in the study to strengthen interdisciplinary research.        

Maja Micevska Scharf holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Claremont Graduate University, USA. She has held appointments at universities and research institutes in the USA and several European countries. She has been mainly engaged in applied research, and has extensive experience in modeling and policy analysis using large datasets. Her work has been published in academic journals and collections.     

Bernadette van Houten has an academic background in communication, with later specialization in intercultural theory, methodology, and medical anthropology. She has lived and worked in the USA, Guatemala, and Aruba. She has had extended training and advising missions in Mexico, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Lithuania.

Ms. van Houten is the director of Consultants Intercultural Communication in Amsterdam. She coaches managers for international assignments and facilitates international teams throughout the world. She lectures and facilitates seminars on intercultural and diversity management for universities throughout Europe. She is a member of the International Academy of Intercultural Research. She has been a faculty member of the Webster Leiden Campus since 1998. 

Over the past 15 years, Ms. an Opijnen’s main focus has been on social sustainability and justice in the Netherlands, Europe, Africa, and Asia. In the different positions she has held, she has operated on operational and strategic levels within organizations and in relation with external stakeholders. Where applicable, she also touches upon the more systemic change that projects or problems require.

The main fields in which she initiated and carried out projects are: sustainable supply chain management, human rights, sustainable business development, strategy & policy development, leadership and economic & business transition to a new economy, and sustainable society. Furthermore, Ms. Van Opijnen has been teaching Responsible Business at the Nyenrode New Business School since 2008.

She holds a Master of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Arts in Applied Ethics. She successfully fulfilled the basic auditors training for SAI and followed several trainings in the area of systemic work and leadership. 

Dr. Victor RODRIGUEZ holds a B.K.O. teaching certificate (Twente University, 2011) and a Ph.D. (doctor) degree in Applied Economics (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 2008).  Dr. Rodriguez is a senior expert in the economic and legal aspects of intellectual property rights and innovation. 

He has been affiliated with several learned societies.  He has been conducting innovative research in the field of biological material transfer agreements in biotechnology and license agreements in pharmacogenomics.  In addition, he has extended experience in European Union consulting projects on patents, corporate R&D, and innovation.  Further, he was one of the Managing Editors for the Special Issue on Corporate R&D of the journal Economics of Innovation and New Technologies.  He has contributed articles to international refereed journals.  Previously, he was an Assistant Professor in Economics in the Department of Legal and Economic Governance Studies at the School of Management and Governance of Universiteit Twente in The Netherlands. 

He was a tenured researcher in the TNO Innovation Policy Group and a visiting scholar at the University of Ottawa and the Conference Board of Canada. He also carried out research at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC and at the Cordoba Science Agency.  Finally, he has proven external advisory experience, a track record in acquisitions of external funding for research, and access to a relevant network in his 17 years of experience. 

Madeleine is a managing editor, award-winning female entrepreneur, master coach, researcher, and writer. She was ‘Woman of the Year Regional Entrepreneur’ in South Africa in 2004. In 2009 she established European operations for Cranimals, a Vancouver organic pet food company.

In 2013 Madeleine founded Synquity in the Netherlands, which offers training in leadership and coaching solutions. She is also an adjunct professor at Webster Leiden Campus, the EU representative for TLH Auctioneers, and a management board member of The Bijlmerproject. 

Tjebbo Kessler has an academic background in General Economics (University of Amsterdam), Business Administration (Bocconi University of Milan) and Financial Services Management (Financial Planning: Erasmus University of Rotterdam) and Investment Analysis: VU University of Amsterdam).

After graduation, Tjebbo Kessler started his career as an investment banker with NIBC in the Hague, where he was responsible for loan and equity investments in The Netherlands and Eastern Europe, within several positions. He started out as an entrepreneur in 2000. His experience comprises trade intermediation in Italy, co-founding a Financial Services company in Antwerp, venturing in Eastern Europe, and most recently, a start-up Fintech company in the Hague and Brussels. Since 2007, he has been an active lecturer, thesis supervisor and internship supervisor.

His lecturing experience comprises Financial Management, Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship. In recent years, he has taken increasing interest in the impact of the human factor in business development and has become an accredited coach. In line with this focus, he is active as an associate with a company in executive coaching in Rotterdam.

Sukai is a Serial Social Entrepreneur, an EQ Master Trainer, and a Startup Investor in Europe and   West Africa. She is an active member and champion of the Startup Community in Amsterdam and Den   Haag. She is also an advocate for "universal" human values, women's education and achievement of financial independence.

Sukai Ceesay holds a bridge-study Masters of Industrial Engineering from The University of Michigan and EMU, and an Executive MBA from, Harvard Business School.

Sukai is the Founder/CEO of Royal Blue & Orange International Trading, after 14 years at Domino's Pizza, LLC as a senior management responsible for Europe, Middle East and Africa. She is also the founder of AVIM Leadership Consulting and of a unique nonprofit organization called Global Village Children (GVC).

 Ms. Drost is an economist with a professional career spanning thirty years. For two decades, she served at the Netherlands ministries of Economic and Foreign Affairs. Ms. Drost was seconded by the Dutch Government to the Taskforce for Greece and between 2011 and 2013, she provided expertise and technical assistance to the Greek Ministry for Economic Development and Trade in order to develop and implement an export promotion strategy for Greece.

Prior to serving her government, Ms. Drost worked for the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and engaged in policy research at the International Center for Research on Women in Washington D.C. Ms. Drost holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master's degree in economics with a concentration in Mathematical Economics, Econometrics and International Trade and Finance from the American University (AU) in Washington DC.

Her expertise ranges from economic diplomacy, international trade & development policy to SME finance. Ms. Drost is a Dutch national and resides in the Hague, Netherlands.

Dr. Mahtab Munshi holds a Masters and PhD in Statistics from the Florida State University and a Masters in Applied Statistics and Informatics from the Indian Institute of Technology. She has worked on various academic research projects including analyzing the impact of missing data within observational studies, analyzing repeated measures of blood pressure and their effect on death due to coronary heart disease, meta-analysis of the pulse pressure coefficient for predicting death due to coronary heart disease, studying the various markers of frailty and their effect on mortality, and modeling the relationship between alcohol consumption and death in the elderly population.

Her professional career includes experience at pharmaceutical companies in Europe, USA, and India during which she supported clinical studies in various phases of development and provided expertise for study design, sample size selection, power calculations, analysis methodology, and interpretation of results.

Steven Carnes is an independent consultant and serial entrepreneur who focuses on mission-critical projects for multinational corporations, primarily in the Aerospace, Automotive, Energy and Life Sciences sectors in addition to M&A work (Due Diligence, Valuations, and Integration) for various PE groups. His academic studies includes an MBA from the Kellogg School, two masters degrees in robotics (Northwestern University and University of California at San Diego) and an international foreign exchange at Erasmus University.

He has taught various courses ranging from Computer Science (National University) to Marketing, Logistics, and Finance (Rotterdam School of Business) in addition to numerous workshops on strategy (competitive analysis), market research and Go-To-Market roadmaps, financial valuations, and LEAN / 6-Sigma Operations improvement. His corporate experience includes consulting at Deloitte & Touche, NASA, and independent projects across 15+ industries including 3.5 years in Asia and 7+ years in Europe.

His passions include interim turnaround management, clean energy, robotics and technology transfers / commercialization.