Leadership

The DAE Executive Board is responsible for the overall management of the Academy and is in charge of the school's general administration. Members of the Executive Board are employed part-time and are appointed, suspended and dismissed by the DAE Supervisory Board. The Supervisory Board also determines the remuneration for the members of the Executive Board.

Studio Leaders (BA), Department Heads (MA), coordinators and tutors are accountable for the curriculum, acting under the overall supervision of the Executive Board.


The Academy’s Management Team is responsible for the overall support of the educational process and includes the Finance, Communications, HR and Operations teams.

The general email address of the Executive Board is ExecutiveBoard@designacademy.nl

→ Henri Beelen Secretary Executive Board / Administrative Secretary Supervisory Board Henri.Beelen@designacademy.nl

→ Joyce van Wanrooij Executive Assistant Joyce.vanWanrooij@designacademy.nl

The Design Academy Foundation was set up by notarial deed on 21 February 1947.

In accordance with the provisions of the Higher Education and Academic Research Act (Wet Hoger Onderwijs & Wetenschappelijk Ondezoek), the separation of management and supervision is laid down in the statutes. The Executive Board (College van Bestuur) manages the academy and is accountable to the Supervisory Board (Raad van Toezicht) as statutory regulatory body.

The Supervisory Board of Design Academy Eindhoven aims for a diverse representation and is therefore made up of six members with various professional backgrounds in the worlds of culture, education, communication, business, finance and government.

The Supervisory Board is a legally required, independently appointed supervisory body that sits above the Executive Board of Design Academy Eindhoven. The Supervisory Board appoints the members of the Executive Board, and approves the budget and the annual statement of accounts. In addition, the Supervisory Board oversees the standards of the academy’s management and the education it offers. In doing so, it follows the Dutch Governance Code (Branchecode Governance), which is a system of basic principles and rules regarding good and adequate management and supervision. The Supervisory Board also acts as a sounding board for the Executive Board.

The Design Academy Eindhoven Supervisory Board consists of these members.

→ Meta Knol – Chair
Date of birth: 31.07.1969
Position: Art Historian & Independent entrepreneur at the crossroads of Culture, Science, and Society. Auxiliary positions: Board Member Rembrandt Foundation, Board Member Kunsten92, Board Member Hope Foundation, Chair of the Board Tonality Foundation, Member Advisory Board Veerstichting, Chair of the Jury Abe Bonnema Prizes, Member Program Committee Dutch Research Agenda (NOW), Co-founder Ministry of Future

→ Willemien Boot — Secretary
Date of birth: 24.07.1965
Position: CFO Bolsius Group Auxiliary positions: Treasurer Foundation Medisch Werk Mumbai and Member Supervisory Board Anna Zorggroep, Geldrop

→ Samir Bantal — Member
Date of birth: 26.05.1977
Position: director AMO at OMA Auxiliary positions: None

→ Judith Meeng — Member
Date of birth: 12.03.1961
Position: JM WORKS consultancy (HR Interim management & coaching, Team interventions), Director HR a.i. Gro-up Auxiliary positions: Supervisory Board Salvation Army, Supervisory Board Regional Public Broadcasters, Supervisory Board PC Funeral, Supervisory Board Thyssen Krupp Veerhaven

→ Steven Jongejan — Member
Date of birth: 24.12.1972
Position: employee FMR, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Auxiliary positions: Member Supervisory Board Jan van Eyck Academie Maastricht, Member Supervisory Board Stichting Spinoza Lyceum Amsterdam

→ Elies Lemkes-Straver — Member
Date of birth: 13.08.1957
Position: Director-owner LS X-Links Consultancy (LS Consultancy BV) Focus on innovation, (regional) economic strategy and implementation, socio-economic development, triple helix cooperation, governance, organizational development,( interim) management, public private partnership, cross-overs business modelling e.g. agrifood, high tech, design. Auxiliary positions: Chair of the advisory committee for the Action Plan “Growth of the organic production and consumption" of the Dutch ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food quality. Member of the board of SKAL Biocontrole, independent governing body , set by the ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food quality, supervising the organic food chain in the Netherlands. Member of the supervisory board of Verus, Dutch Association for special education.

Supervisory Board retirement schedule
Supervisory Board Members are appointed for a period of four years and may be reappointed immediately upon expiry of this term for a second term. As a rule, no member of the Board is entitled to serve longer than eight years consecutively. The DAE Works Council is entitled to nominate one candidate for the Supervisory Board. To ensure a smooth transition, members of the Supervisory Board resign according to a predetermined retirement schedule.

Meta Knol
Joined March 2023
To be reappointed March 2027
Retiring February 2031

Steven Jongejan
Joined March 2023
To be reappointed March 2027
Retiring February 2031

Judith Meeng
Joined January 2021
To be reappointed January 2025
Retiring December 2028

Samir Bantal
Joined January 2021
To be reappointed January 2025
Retiring December 2028

Willemien Boot
Joined July 2017
To be reappointed July 2021
Retiring June 2025

Elies Lemkes-Straver
Joined February 2024
To be reappointed February 2028
Retiring January 2032

Download Organogram

DAE's management team was overhauled in 2021 to better reflect the needs of the school and help clarify DAE's internal structure. The team consists of the heads of the MA and BA programmes, and the heads of finance, operations and communications.

The Management Team is responsible for overseeing both the educational and organisational aspects of the school. It reports to the Executive Board.

It does not determine any of the curricula, which are set by the MA Heads and BA Studio Leaders, with advice and suggestions from the BA and MA Course Committees.

The current members of the Management Team are:

→ Henri Beelen
Board Secretary
Henri.beelen@designacademy.nl

→ Ali Taser
Head of Finance and Control
Ali.Taser@designacademy.nl

→ Janneke Schreuder
Head of BA Programme
Janneke.Schreuder@designacademy.nl

→ Ilse Meulendijks
Head of MA Programme
Ilse.Meulendijks@designacademy.nl

→ Rolf Jansen
Head of Operations
Rolf.Jansen@designacademy.nl

→ Raffaela Vandermuhlen,
Head of Communications, Presentations and Public Relations
Raffaela.Vandermuhlen@designacademy.nl

→Evelyn Janssen,
Head of Human Resources
Evelyn.Janssen@designacademy.nl