Keynote speakers

• Paulien Wesselink, social entrepreneur and founder of O My Bag
• Tjeerd Bartels, head of sustainability at Action

UvA Leadership Seminar: Sustainability in Retail

Here the MSc Business Administration welcomes their 800 students for an inspirational seminar with top speakers from the professional practice. The seminar is part of a series where guest speakers will share their vision on the challenges ahead of us and help the almost graduates to reflect on their future roles and potential impact. In the session of 6 February, we will discuss sustainability in retail in 2 very different market settings. We have invited Paulien Wesselink, who founded O My Bag, that focussed on a higher-end, sustainability conscious market segment from the start. She started a small business selling leather bags in Amsterdam and recently moved to Singapore to lead the further global expansion from there. We also invited Tjeerd Bartels, head of sustainability at Action, a global retailer that is head-quartered in the Netherlands. The success of Action is based on it's abilities in the lowest price segments in retail. Naturally low prices will come with challenges with respect to optimizing sustainability. Mark van der Veen, director of the UvA Graduate School of Business will moderate a Q&A with students.

Programme

12:45: Doors open

13:00: Paulien Wesselink (O My Bag) and Q&A 

13:45: ASF-George Molenkamp Thesis Award 2025 ceremony

14:00:  Tjeerd Bartels (Action) and Q&A

14:45: Closing drinks

Candidate shortlist

Our ASF Thesis Prize 2025 evaluation committee (headed by Almasa Sarabi, award coordinator) has shortlisted the following excellent MSc theses:

1. Min-Chun Chiang – "Does EU subsidiaries’compliance with the NFRD generate spillover effects on the ESG performance of their non-EU parent companies?"
   MSc Accountancy & Control - Control track
   ​​​​Supervisor: Ann-Kristin Grosskopf
    
2. Helena Murnice – "Robust optimization model for cost-efficient livestock feed"
   MSc Data Science and Business Analytics
   Supervisors: Dick den Hertog & Claudia Orellana Rodriguez
    
3. Anna Vernooij – "Unpacking Environmental Concern in Digital Green Nudging: Insights from a Large-Scale Field Study on a Sustainability Oriented App"
   MSc Business Administration – Digital Marketing track
   Supervisor: Dale Rickert

Read more about the ASF-George Molenkamp Thesis Award.

Venue

DeLaMar Theatre
Marnixstraat 402
1017 PL  Amsterdam

Participation

Participation in this UvA Leadership Seminar is possible, but the number of available seats is limited. You are welcome to join upon registering your participance. You will receive a confirmation a few days before the event. Please submit your registration through registration link.