Marilieke Engbers earned her PhD in 2020 at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam with research on “What Remains Unsaid in the Boardroom and Its Impact on Strategic Decision-Making.” She has over 20 years of experience guiding supervisory boards, executive boards, and other governance bodies, helping organizations align governance with behavior so that what is said is also put into practice.
Marilieke as a Speaker
Marilieke applies her expertise in strategy, culture, leadership, and governance to help leaders grow in their roles, combining compassion with sharp insight into human behavior. She primarily works with supervisory boards, executive boards, and other decision-making bodies that want to evaluate themselves, helping them identify blind spots and act consistently with their intentions. Her approach is both critical and empathetic, recognizing that people are often unaware of their blind spots. She is also mindful of her own blind spots and strives to make “the unsaid” discussable in collaboration with clients, colleagues, and others.
Career
Alongside her consulting work, Marilieke researches how governance can be improved through a behavioral approach. She studies how leaders and supervisors can align what they say with what they do and how they can manage power, conflict, and distrust honestly. She teaches strategy execution and leadership at the Vrije Universiteit’s Register Controllers program.
Writing plays an important role in her work, helping her explore and refine her thinking. She publishes her academic insights in books and articles, including Onder Commissarissen (2021) and Eenzaam aan de Top: Over het Ongezegde, Macht en Denkfouten, co-authored with her husband Pim Bouwman.
