After working for 20 years at executive board levels, and for the last 10 years in the public sector, Merel van Vroonhoven was Chair of the Executive Board of the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets and has decided that it was time to begin a new phase in her career. She wants to be a special education teacher and has started her training as a primary education teacher this autumn. She wants to make a more direct contribution and be closer to the people that are in need. In addition to her role in education, she continues to apply her managerial experience as a member of different supervisory boards.

From April 2014, Ms. Van Vroonhoven was Chair of the Executive Board of the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) for more than five years. From 2009 until 1 April 2014, Ms. Van Vroonhoven was a member of the Executive Board of Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways), where she gained significant experience working in public/private environments. Prior to her employment with NS, she fulfilled various senior leadership positions with the bank and insurance company ING, both in the Netherlands and abroad.

Until 2007, Ms. Van Vroonhoven was the CEO of the pension business of the insurance company Nationale-Nederlanden, after which she joined ING Investment Management Europe. There, as a Member of the Management Committee, she was responsible for the insurance portfolio and fiduciary asset management.

Ms. Van Vroonhoven strives for diversity within organisations. This stems from her belief that the strength of a business (and society) lies in the fact that every person is unique and different, and that it is the differences that make organisations stronger.