About me

meMy work and interest are all about how systems work and how we can influence their evolution. For more than a decade, I have been working predominantly in strengthening ways to influence social-economic systems to improve conditions for people living in these systems. I also work with organisations and help them to improve their functioning as a dynamic learning system.

I am passionate about understanding how change happens, within individuals, within organisations, within economies and societies. I learn about change both by reading and listening, but also through the work with my business partners and clients. I split my time between doing research, writing, and consulting clients who want to change themselves as organisations or want to be a change agent in their community or region.

My approach is to stimulate the co-creation of learning strategies and change activities. I support my clients in their explorations to make their own learning journey more meaningful and effective. Learning is at the heart of achieving change and my aim is to provide a structure for more meaningful learning.

me at the mesopartner summer academy

I work with organisations and teams and help them to make sense of the complex environment they are working in and find a way to make meaningful decisions under conditions of uncertainty. I provide advice, coaching and training for organisations and leadership teams to improve their ability to learn and adapt and achieve change in complex social systems like organisations, economies or communities.

me at the mesopartner summer academyI co-developed the Systemic Insight logic, which helps to structure exploration and learning approaches in organisations, communities or economies. Systemic Insight is based on various theories of how social systems and economies change. It takes an evolutionary approach to change, recognising that change needs to originate from within the system, is fundamentally incremental, and cannot be designed, only shaped.

If you are interested to learn more about our logic, the underlying theory, our methods and approaches, I’m also happy to speak at your organisation or event. I have had various speaking engagements in international conferences and events.

me at the mesopartner summer academy

My intent is to contribute to a positive transformation of our society so we will be able to live in a world that is more in balance with its natural resource base; afford equal opportunities for everybody while embracing competition and innovation; better able to manage dynamic change by building networks instead of hierarchies as a central mode of organising; and most of all, where people work together to use their intellectual and creative capacity to make a positive contribution to society and the planet rather than focus on increasing wealth of the individual – a world where non-zero-sum arrangements are the default. In this world, people can engage in things they are really passionate about instead of having to do a job they don’t like. Intrinsic motivation is seen as more important than reward or punishment and the value of work is re-evaluated to allow for a more equal distribution of wealth.

I continuously explore new knowledge and am working towards the better use of principles that integrate a diverse range of bodies of knowledge with the aim to make change initiatives more adaptive, effective and sustainable. Check out my blog post on ‘my areas of interest‘.

mesopartner logoIn 2016, I joined the German consultancy Mesopartner as a partner. Mesopartner is a knowledge firm that specialises in economic development, territorial development, competitiveness and innovation.

In the past, I have worked for different development organisations as programme officer or in short-term assignments with a focus on South and South-east Asia, and East Africa. I have worked in Bangladesh, Honduras, Kenya, Kosovo, Mongolia, Myanmar, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the US and Vietnam. My work has also included policy dialogue and advocacy work, specifically on aid effectiveness, and energy and climate change policy.

My full profile/CV can be found on my LinkedIn page.