How did you come up with the idea to become a REC Impact Fellow at UvA?

'Throughout my career as a Data Management and Governance Consultant, I have worked at the intersection of strategy, technology, and people, helping multinational organisations like Shell, Nike, Schiphol, and Booking.com not just adopt better data practices, but fundamentally change how they think about data and AI. What I have consistently seen is that the hardest part of AI and data transformation is rarely technical. It is organisational: building trust, changing behaviour, and creating the conditions for sustainable adoption.

Since starting my MBA in AI, Data and Analytics at UvA, I have been deepening my understanding of these dynamics and increasingly thinking about how to turn them into a structured advisory practice. REC Impact stood out to me as the right environment to do that, a collaborative space where practitioners, researchers, and entrepreneurs challenge and sharpen each other's thinking. The no-strings-attached nature of the fellowship reflects the kind of open, trust-based collaboration I believe produces the best ideas.'

What was your first experience on campus?

'My first meaningful experience on campus came through the MBA programme itself. What struck me immediately was the energy, the sense that this was not a traditional academic environment, but a place actively oriented toward relevance and impact. The mix of students coming from different professional backgrounds, all grappling with similar questions about AI and its role in organisations and society, made it immediately clear that UvA was a place where real-world experience is valued alongside academic rigour. That combination is what I find most compelling about being here.'

What is your 'Impact Project' or focus for this Fellowship?

'My focus for the fellowship is developing a practical AI adoption advisory practice, grounded in the insight that most organisations struggle not with access to AI tools, but with the conditions needed to use them well. Drawing on over two decades of consulting experience and my ongoing MBA program, I want to build a structured methodology that helps organisations, particularly mid-sized ones, assess their AI readiness, navigate the human and governance dimensions of adoption, and implement AI in ways that are responsible, scalable, and genuinely impactful.

I am especially interested in collaborating with researchers from the Faculties of Social and Behavioural Sciences and Economics and Business, where organisational behaviour, change management, and business strategy intersect. REC Impact's ability to connect me with SMEs, academic experts, and a broader ecosystem of partners is precisely what I need to validate this idea and develop it from concept to a viable service.'