Maarten van Beek
- Auteur
Maarten van Beek writes about work as if it were life - because, in truth, it is. For nearly three decades he has moved through organisations large and small, from factory floors humming with routine to boardrooms echoing with ambition - including ING, Unilever and Mölnlycke. He has served, among other roles, as CHRO and carried global responsibility for branding and communications. Along the way he discovered something unsettling: strategy is rarely the hardest part; behaviour is.
He has lived across five continents, travelling from Geleento Leiden, Beijing, Geneva, Ithaca (NY), London, São Paulo, Singapore, Gothenburg and The Hague He reads people, senses a room, and understands how organisations move and connect.
He has lived across five continents, travelling from Geleento Leiden, Beijing, Geneva, Ithaca (NY), London, São Paulo, Singapore, Gothenburg and The Hague He reads people, senses a room, and understands how organisations move and connect.
Maarten van Beek writes about work as if it were life - because, in truth, it is. For nearly three decades he has moved through organisations large and small, from factory floors humming with routine to boardrooms echoing with ambition - including ING, Unilever and Mölnlycke. He has served, among other roles, as CHRO and carried global responsibility for branding and communications. Along the way he discovered something unsettling: strategy is rarely the hardest part; behaviour is.
He has lived across five continents, travelling from Geleento Leiden, Beijing, Geneva, Ithaca (NY), London, São Paulo, Singapore, Gothenburg and The Hague He reads people, senses a room, and understands how organisations move and connect.
Maarten teaches, thinks and writes. He has served on boards and supervisory boards including Cordaid, UAF (the NGO for Student Refugees), NPO (Dutch Public Broadcasting), the Dutch Employers’ Association (AWVN), and the International Leadership Association (ILA).
He wrote HR Impact: The Power of Craftsmanship (2020). His columns blend lived experience, research, gentle provocation and a touch of dry humour. He believes sharpness can coexist with kindness, and that reflection often travels further than outrage.
When not writing, he walks through The Hague’s ‘Zeeheldenkwartier’, studies art with patient curiosity, cooks for friends, or retreats to his wine cellar — where conversations slow, certainty softens, and honesty, like good wine, improves with age.
He has lived across five continents, travelling from Geleento Leiden, Beijing, Geneva, Ithaca (NY), London, São Paulo, Singapore, Gothenburg and The Hague He reads people, senses a room, and understands how organisations move and connect.
Maarten teaches, thinks and writes. He has served on boards and supervisory boards including Cordaid, UAF (the NGO for Student Refugees), NPO (Dutch Public Broadcasting), the Dutch Employers’ Association (AWVN), and the International Leadership Association (ILA).
He wrote HR Impact: The Power of Craftsmanship (2020). His columns blend lived experience, research, gentle provocation and a touch of dry humour. He believes sharpness can coexist with kindness, and that reflection often travels further than outrage.
When not writing, he walks through The Hague’s ‘Zeeheldenkwartier’, studies art with patient curiosity, cooks for friends, or retreats to his wine cellar — where conversations slow, certainty softens, and honesty, like good wine, improves with age.
Boeken van Maarten van Beek
Maarten van Beek
HR Impact - De kracht van vakmanschap
De vele inzichten en voorbeelden in dit boek bieden een breed perspectief en geven HR-professionals handvatten om richting te geven aan de toekomst.
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Maarten van Beek
Thoughts
In these essays Van Beek reflects on leadership, organisations, work, power and craft -often with facts and research, sometimes with stories from the places where real work happens, and occasionally from the wine cellar where real conversations tend to begin once the meeting has officially ended.
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Interviews en artikelen (2)
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Thoughts - On people, labour and organisations
| 12 juni 2026
Wat zegt werk eigenlijk over wie we zijn? In Thoughts bundelt Maarten van Beek 145 columns over leiderschap, organisaties en de menselijke kant van werk. Met scherpe observaties, humor en verwondering laat hij zien waarom organisaties uiteindelijk altijd draaien om mensen.