Prof Dr Koen Becking (1969) will become the new Rector Magnificus and Chairman of the Executive Board of Nyenrode Business University on 1st October 2020. In doing so he takes over from Prof Dr Miša Džoljić, who has held this position since 1 November 2012. Becking will also be joining the faculty of Nyenrode as a Professor. Becking is a political scientist, Honorary Professor of Stellenbosch University and since October 2012 he has been the Chairman of the Executive Board of Tilburg University. There he has been responsible, among other things, for strategy and policy, internationalisation, student affairs and external relations.
Koen Becking obtained his doctorate in 2001 at Utrecht University on the theme of labour relations and in 1999 his Master of Public Administration at the Netherlands School for Public Administration. He was a Professor by special appointment at the Stellenbosch University in South-Afica from 2003 to 2017 and he has been an Honorary Professor there since 2018. In 2019 Becking was appointed as a member of the International Advisory Council of the School of Management of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.
Prior to his appointment as Chairman of the Executive Board of Tilburg University, Koen Becking was, among other things, Chairman of the Board of the KRO, Director of the Dutch National Training Institute (ROI; now PBLQ) and member of the Board of the Centre for Public Sector Labour Relations (CAOP). Becking holds a number of ancillary positions, including the chairmanship of the Supervisory Board of the National Museum of World Cultures (Museum of Ethnicity, Tropics Museum, Africa Museum) and World Museum Rotterdam, and the chairmanship of the Strategic Advisory Council on Strategy and Policy TNO.
Under his chairmanship Becking has overseen a transition at Tilburg University, whereby a new course was set for the academic identity organisation, with a clear focus on growth and innovation. In doing so he has been involved in starting a variety of initiatives, such as the Virual Reality Lab Tilburg University and Mindlabs Tilburg, the European Network of Research Universities for Business and Economics and the Jheronymus Academy of Data Sciences, in collaboration with the TU Eindhoven. Besides this, he is a member of the Board of Brainport Development and Chairman of the Brabant-wide startup-programme Braventure.
Drs Petri Hofsté RA, Chairwoman of the Nyenrode Foundation: “We are especially proud that in Koen Beckling we are able to appoint a fantastic successor to Miša Džoljić. We are making this announcement in exceptional times. With great admiration I see how the executive board, faculty, staff and students have adapted themselves rapidly to a new reality, in order to enable the teaching and other activities from Nyenrode to continue. I am pleased that, with Koen, we have once more been able to attract a very experienced Chairman of the Executive Board, who will lead the strategic transformation that Nyenrode can look forward to in the recovery period following this crisis.”
Professor Becking: “I think it is marvellous to be able to form part of this leading business university. Nyenrode has a solid reputation and wishes to contribute to the development of responsible leaders, entrepreneurs and organisations by means of practice-oriented education and research. Certainly in these times of economic and social uncertainty due to the corona crisis, the relevance of the core values of Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Stewardship is manifest. I can fully identify with these values and with the ambition to be among the very best of European business schools.” Koen Becking is married and has three children.
The ceremonial handover of the Rectorate will take place on 20 November 2020, the 74th Dies Natalis of Nyenrode Business University.