Meet current and previous Executive MBA students. Discover how the RSM EMBA has impacted their careers and their lives, what it was that motivated them to invest in their personal leadership development, and how they plan to use the experience to become a force for positive change in the world.
Annette van Lochem
Executive MBA Class of 2025
Dutch
European marketing manager at ViiV, part of GSK
Raza Padhani
Executive MBA Class of 2025
American
Software engineering manager at Wolt, soon-to-be entrepreneur
Aaron Tjong-A-Tjoe
Executive MBA Class of 2025
Dutch
IT consultant at Stichting Beheer ICT Rechtshandhaving, and owner and director of Sonic IT
Aakash Kulkarni
Executive MBA Class of 2025
Indian
programme manager at Philips
Phalk Jindal
Executive MBA Class of 2024
Indian
team lead at Infosys
Lusanele Magwa
Executive MBA Class of 2024
South African
investment specialist at asset management company Robeco
Sweta Hassani
Executive MBA Class of 2024
Indian and Dutch
product owner at Rabobank
Irene Diaz Soto
Executive MBA Class of 2024
Spanish
Senior technical expert lead at Save the Children
Diana Alvarez
Executive MBA Class of 2024
Colombian
Senior innovation project manager at Cargill
Charlotte Lowther
Executive MBA Class of 2023
British
Director omnichannel strategy at PVH Europe (Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein)
Nirmal Kumar
Executive MBA Class of 2023
Indian
Supply chain process manager at SBM Offshore
Perle Liebmann
Executive MBA Class of 2022
French
Head of Transformation & Digitalization DBS Africa & Middle East, Danone
Remko Schats
Executive MBA Class of 2022
Dutch
Medical Doctor & E-health Entrepreneur
Praveen Pakala
Executive MBA Class of 2022
Indian
Sr Project Manager IT at Cognizan
Hans van der Ploeg
Executive MBA Class of 2021
Dutch
Director Debt Capital Markets at Rabobank
Rene Idzenga
Executive MBA Class of 2020
Dutch
Senior bank supervisor at De Nederlandsche Bank (Dutch Central Bank)
Loraine Bout
Executive MBA Class of 2020
Dutch
Regional Intelligence Manager EMEA & APAC at Sensitech
Hannah Hoijng
Executive MBA Class of 2020
Dutch
Global Supply Manager Retail and Marketing – EMEA Procurement at Tesla
Chris Koehler
Executive MBA Class of 2020
Dutch, born and raised in Togo
Partner at FFund
Simon Linder
Executive MBA Class of 2019
German
Head of Accounting and Controlling BU Building+Industry, Winkelmann Group GmbH
Pearl Vyas
Executive MBA Class of 2019
Canadian
Director Clinical Marketing Strategy at Philips
Forge a world-class network that lasts a lifetime.
Our students come to RSM from a diversity of sectors, industries, geographies and roles. EMBA students are connected by a desire to think bigger, to see the global picture and to make a greater impact – in their careers and on the world. When you join your RSM EMBA cohort, you join a global community of excellence.
At RSM, everyone brings something to the table. Whether you’re an expert in finance, in retail, in technology, manufacturing and wherever you live and work in the world, you will be expected to share your knowledge, defend your ideas, experiment with new approaches and open your mind. In exchange, you will build a vibrant, international network that celebrates cultural diversity – and lasts a lifetime.
To view the full class profile of Executive MBA Class of 2025, please click here.
Over 18 transformative months you explore the critical issues, concepts and ideas that drive business around the world. From the foundations to the practice of management and leadership, you will dig deep into what it takes to lead at a global level. And you will have the chance to translate theory into practice. Because of its flexible, part-time format, you will be able to experiment with new approaches learnt on campus back at the workplace as you progress. And your own in-company project is a unique opportunity to apply new concepts and models to a pressing, real-life challenge you and your company face.
Running across the entire experience is our Personal Leadership Development Programme, a hands-on, collaborative approach, enriched by coaching, mentorship and the very latest thinking on leadership.
Classes take place every other week on Friday evening and Saturday (+ one start week per year).
To view the full EMBA curriculum, please click here.
Foundations of Management
A consolidation of your basic business skills through courses that are moderately theoretical will bring you back into learning mode and underpin the development of your analytical skills.
- Managerial Accounting
- Leading People
- Financial Management
- Business Analytics & Decision Making
- Marketing Management
- Study Trip*
Practice of Leadership / Electives
The elective period is your opportunity to select from a range of subjects designed to offer further specialised knowledge. Here is a selection of some of the courses that may be offered:
- Creating Customer Value
- Strategic Negotiations
- Change Management
- Managing Corporate Turnarounds
- ESG Strategy in Practice
Advanced Courses
These courses will help you dive into decision-making and achieving of goals, especially in times of uncertainty:
- Strategic Management
- Operations and Services Management
- Geopolitics and Economics
- The Business of Sustainability
Future Technologies in Business
- Closing Weekend: Future Executive Days*
*more information to follow
PLD is comprehensively integrated across the entire EMBA learning experience. Various elements and aspects from the core and advanced courses are integrated into PLD. Throughout your PLD you are supported by faculty, coaches and peers. You will explore leadership through class-based exercises, case studies and you will have one-to-one access to faculty and coaches.
This nine-month project is done in parallel with your regular EMBA studies. It gives you an opportunity to focus on a real management challenge in your own organisation.
RSM’s GEMBA and EMBA students have the exclusive opportunity to engage with several C-suite executives through our Meet the Strategic Leaders sessions throughout their programmes. This speaker series provides you with direct access to learn from influential global business leaders, fostering valuable insights and inspiring discussions.
Previous speakers have included:
Danielle Rainha, CHRO at SHV Energy
Danielle Rainha has more than 25 years of HR experience in different industries. She is a strategic leader with deep understanding of global organisational environments and diversity. In a dynamic and insightful session, Rainha shared valuable lessons from her inspiring journey to the C-suite of a Dutch multinational with 13,000 employees, serving 26 million customers across 25 countries on 4 continents. She also emphasised the critical role of managing people in nurturing and selecting future strategic leaders across the independently operating companies within SHV Energy’s portfolio, and elaborated on several strategic choices she had to navigate along the way.
The study trip exposes you to the complexities of global business via academic engagement with partner institutions and direct interaction with the local context. You will select a destination from a pre-determined portfolio which you will share with your EMBA cohort as well as the Full-time MBA cohort.
* Study trip is subject to rules and regulations around international travel.
Experience the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) trajectory, which is now offered simultaneously with your Executive MBA (EMBA), to work with and start your own search fund. This optional trajectory is designed to delve into entrepreneurial risk through identifying, acquiring, and growing established businesses. We will get you involved with active search funds and experienced entrepreneurs. We'll offer workshops to prepare for your entrepreneurial journey and an exclusive elective course on ETA. As a bonus, you'll also become a member of the entrepreneurship club.
Always dreamed about becoming an entrepreneur? This trajectory in the EMBA will set you on the fast track toward realising your dream. It guides you to become a CEO by acquiring a business, making your entrepreneurial aspirations a reality.
Learning inside and outside the classroom.
The concepts, ideas and frameworks that you explore with faculty in class are brought to life via rich exchange of perspectives and experience with your peers – movers, shakers and change-makers from every sector, industry and geography. And because of the part-time format, you are able to bring all this learning, richness and insight back to your workplace as you work through the programme. Meanwhile, project work, study trips, events and networking experiences will continuously challenge you to build new skills, try new approaches and translate theory into practice.
The RSM EMBA is an experiential, practical and intellectual journey that will empower you to reflect on where you want to go as a leader. And to build the professional and personal roadmap that will take you there.
The study trip exposes you to the complexities of global business via academic engagement with partner institutions and direct interaction with the local context. You will select a destination from a pre-determined portfolio which you will share with your EMBA cohort as well as the Full-time MBA cohort. Previous trips have taken EMBA students to Estonia, Iceland, and Dubai.
* Study trip is subject to rules and regulations around international travel.
You have a unique opportunity in your second year to use the new concepts, ideas, frameworks and approaches you have learnt to address a real-life challenge affecting you and your company. Your nine-month project (November - July) runs alongside your EMBA studies, bringing outstanding value both to you and to your organisation. It is a chance not only to learn by doing, but to leverage your evolving skill set across different functional areas of your business.
The Executive MBA experience is exponentially enriched by the networking dynamic. You will form part of a network of movers and shakers from all over the world and a breadth of different sectors, industries and roles. During your EMBA you will have a chance to forge life-long connections via numerous student clubs, associations and events, all while accelerating your leadership and team-building capacities, and broadening your perspectives and outlook.
We also host thought leaders and leaders from many of the world’s foremost multinationals. They regularly come to campus to lead panels, career workshops, seminars and interactive presentations. Whether it’s dinner with a visiting professor or networking with a Fortune 500 CEO, at RSM you will meet and be inspired by the world’s finest thinkers and change-makers.
Rotterdam is known as The Gateway to Europe. Our vibrant city is one of the world’s busiest ports, host to creative change-makers and professionals from all over the world, and a bustling hub for major global enterprises.
Founded on solid Dutch values of tolerance, global vision, collaboration, sustainability and analytical thinking, Rotterdam is bursting with culture, art, breath-taking architecture, dance and theatre. Europe’s major cities, London, Brussels and Paris are a short train ride away, and the city is just 30 minutes from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
Stay connected and one step ahead of the global market, trends and shifts. And reap the many advantages of studying in Rotterdam:
- Highly advantageous set of visa and immigration regulations in Europe.
- A vibrant, international city where English is widely spoken.
- Access to more multinational company headquarters (per capita) than anywhere else in Europe.
RSM’s GEMBA and EMBA students have the exclusive opportunity to engage with several C-suite executives through our Meet the Strategic Leaders sessions throughout their programmes.
This speaker series provides you with direct access to learn from influential global business leaders, fostering valuable insights and inspiring discussions. The sessions are part of the GEMBA and EMBA curriculum.
Previous speakers have included:
René van Vlerken
CEO of Euronext Amsterdam and managing board member at Euronext N.V.
Danielle Rainha
Global CHRO and board member at SHV Energy
As Tempelman
CEO at Eneco
World-class thought leadership on global business.
Our faculty are leading thinkers, researchers and practitioners of global business. Their research is published by top academic journals, and their expertise is regularly sought by the Financial Times, Harvard Business Review and a host of leading newspapers and media outlets. RSM professors investigate the most pressing and relevant dimensions of global management, and their thought leadership informs the decisions of C-suites and boards of some of the world’s leading business organisations.
Global scholars
RSM faculty research the most critical issues facing businesses around the world. From innovation to entrepreneurship to supply management and beyond, they shed critical new light on the challenges our organisations face in uncertain times. The Erasmus Research Institute of Management is ranked among Europe’s top three think tanks. Joining the EMBA programme at RSM will give you the opportunity to interact with world-class scholars on the critical issues that face your business and your leadership.
Industry leaders
No one understands today’s business climate better than those who actually navigate it every day — the leaders of industry and government. At RSM, you’ll get their expert perspectives first-hand, learning from big-name professionals who share invaluable insights about the real world, directly with you and your peers.
At RSM, we are porud to claim:
Faculty Members
Creating Customer Value is at the core of my teaching in the EMBA. I aim to convey the importance of taking a customer-oriented approach to marketing in my teaching, which oftentimes transforms how students think about marketing in their own business. We’ll see that the concept of “value” is truly in the eye of the beholder and can vary tremendously based on the background of your customers. My approach to teaching is to create value for my students, through a combination of case studies, in-class exercises and a guest lecture.
Mirjam Tuk Professor of Marketing
Leading People is about relationships – owning and managing them, influencing through them to make positive things happen in the organisation. You’ll learn which frameworks to use for managing performance, talent and team effectiveness. My students come to realise that they play a big part in their own success when they realise their strengths, behave authentically and become givers rather than takers in the system.
Patrick Flood RSM Visiting Faculty, Organisational Behaviour
RSM EMBA class discussions for International Investment Management, the elective I teach, are vigorous and dynamic. We focus on how leading investors manage equity portfolios. Having an international and culturally diverse class is important as it enables the sharing of perspectives about stock investing all around the world.
Constance Lütolf-Carroll RSM Visiting Faculty, International Investment Management
Teaching in the EMBA programme stands out as the most enjoyable and rewarding experience I have. I simply love the level of our participants and our conversations and I often feel like I am learning as much from them as they are – hopefully – from me. The dynamism and energy in these classes is amazing. I already look forward to the next group I’ll have the pleasure to teach.
Steven Sweldens Professor of Consumer Behavior and Marketing at RSM
You’re in good company.
Your journey at RSM does not end with graduation. On completing your EMBA successfully, you join our global RSM alumni community; a world-class network of nearly 50,000 change-makers. Our alumni span the globe and represent a diversity of industries and sectors.
We are a learning and support community offering all of our alumni a full schedule of services, from annual reunions to conferences, social events, educational sessions and discussion panels with experts. We also offer an exclusive service, RSM MentorMe, connecting current students with RSM alumni and to grow the spirit of RSM – to be a force for positive change that helps people and organisations to thrive worldwide.
Do you have any questions about our Executive MBA (EMBA) programme? Find answers to commonly asked questions in our FAQ section, covering programme structure, admission criteria, and more.
The study trip is one week long and it will give you the opportunity to expand your understanding of business in a significantly different socio-economic and cultural environment. A typical week abroad consists of lectures, in-class discussions and company visits to gain an in depth view of the local business and social culture. In previous years groups have gone to such diverse locations as Estonia, Iceland, and Dubai.
The Executive MBA programme has been specifically designed to offer a comprehensive and solid understanding of all functional areas of global business. The first year of the programme is structured into two modules, focusing on the development of analytical skills and critical thinking. The following half-year is devoted to leadership issues, allowing students to customise their experience. RSM’s Executive MBA curriculum is continuously adapted and modified to reflect the latest global trends. In terms of elective courses, you can choose up to three in total during Module 2. This is an opportunity to focus on the areas and topics that are most interesting to you and allows for a deep dive into a particular subject if you choose to do so.
Executive MBA students typically invest an average of 15-20 hours per week outside of classroom sessions. This time includes individual study hours, assignment work, and collaboration with study group members for group projects. While this figure serves as an average, it may vary depending on the student and the course. Additionally, as you progress through the programne, you'll develop strategies to streamline teamwork, potentially reducing preparation time for group assignments. A general guideline is to allocate three hours of study outside of class for every hour spent in class.
At RSM, we view the EMBA as a transformative journey. We strive to challenge our students' assumptions, prompting them to reflect on their approaches and consider new perspectives. Through our Personal Leadership Development programme, we assist students in leveraging their strengths and addressing their weaknesses. Employing innovative teaching methods such as in-class exercises, simulations, group work, discussions, case studies, peer reviews, and mentoring, we foster deeper self-awareness and empower students to apply their knowledge practically.
EMBA candidates engage in real-world scenarios, receive feedback on their performance, reassess their actions, and focus on areas for improvement. This process emphasizes reflection, exploration, and implementation. We frequently hear from our participants that they begin to encounter more new projects, become involved in strategic initiatives, assume leadership roles, or expand their leadership responsibilities. For some, this translates into career advancement and transition.
The In-Company Project (ICP) serves as an internal consulting opportunity. Projects can vary widely, addressing specific business challenges within your current responsibilities or exploring new business ideas proposed by your employer. Examples of past projects include IT outsourcing, departmental restructuring, launching a startup venture, or devising new processes for managing customer requests.
To access the complete list of Frequently Asked Questions, please click here.
