Kristel Baele new President of Erasmus University

15 October 2015

Governance

Kristel Baele is appointed as President of the Executive Board. The executive manager in education will succeed Pauline van der Meer Mohr on the first of December 2015.

Kristel Baele has been interim Chairman of Hogeschool Leiden since May. Previously, she was Vice President of Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen. The Belgian-born Baele studied Political and Social Sciences in Ghent and Antwerp and has been living and working in the Netherlands since 1991. She started her career in the Netherlands at the TU Delft, where she was a board member of the university library and Director of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Technology.

Other positions and mindfulness

Next to her regular functions, she holds different other positions. For example, as a member of the Education Council (Onderwijsraad) and the advisory boards of EP-Nuffic (an organisation that promotes internationalisation) and the VSB fund (that provides scholarships). She is also a member of the supervisory boards of the Police Academy and Hogeschool van Hall Larenstein.

Baele is also President of the association for mindfulness coaches in the Netherlands and Flanders, and she provides guest lectures about Buddhism and leadership.

'Strategic leader and connector'

“Kristel Baele is an experienced manager in the field of higher education, in which she has a large network”, says Hans Smits, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Erasmus University. “She has a track record in the amicable management of large, complex organizations. In addition, Kristel Baele is a strategic leader and a connector focused on innovation. Finally, she has a strong international and social orientation. With her background, Kristel Baele is perfectly suited to lead the Strategy 2018 of Erasmus University, focussing on raising the profile of the university, study success, labour market, top research and internationalization.

Baele lives in Lathum (near Arnhem) and has a pied-à-terre in Leiden, because of her work for the Hogeschool Leiden. She has been appointed for a four-year period. The current President, Pauline van der Meer Mohr, will leave Erasmus University after six years.