Mirella C.B. Visser LL.M., Managing Director of The Centre for Inclusive Leadership, The Netherlands
Mirella started her career as management trainee at ING Group, the international financial services company. She held various managerial positions and served on the board of ING Financial Services based in Hong Kong, with management responsibility for business units in South East Asia. She continued her career at KPMG, where she led post-merger integrations of international financial services companies.
In 2004, she founded the Centre for Inclusive Leadership, aimed at developing inclusive leadership styles in international organizations. In this capacity, she has advised numerous international companies, NGO’s and the European Commission.
Mirella is an experienced non-executive director at companies and NGO’s. She served on the supervisory board of Royal Swets & Zeitlinger (2006 – 2011), world leader in information services, and on the advisory board of the European Leadership Platform. Currently Mirella chairs the Board of Trustees of the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation (working in more than 20 countries with 500 employees) and the board of Population Services International Europe, that aims at improving women’s health and reproductive rights in developing countries. In addition, she serves as vice chair of the supervisory board of Media Pensioen Diensten, the pension provider for the media and creative professions. Since 2011 is a member, appointed by royal decree, of the European Integration Committee, of the Advisory Council on International Affairs, the independent advisory body of the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Her other activities include being president of the chapter Non-Executive Directors North-Holland of the Dutch Association of Executive and Non-Executive Directors, writing columns for Managementbook Magazine and serving on the jury to select the (Dutch) Management Book of the Year in 2015, 2016 and 2018.
Passionate about women and leadership Mirella co-founded several businesswomen’s organizations, including the European Professional Women’s Network (2002), which she led as president until 2010. For her extensive work in promoting women’s leadership in the Netherlands and Europe she was nominated for the title ‘European of the Year 2007’ in the category ‘Campaigner of the Year’ by European Voice (The Economist). Arnold Schwarzenegger won the title.
Mirella’s Dutch book on strategic leadership for women (De Zijderoute naar de Top) was nominated for the title of ‘Management Book of the Year 2010’ in The Netherlands. In 2011, she published ‘The Female Leadership Paradox – Power, Performance and Promotion’ at Palgrave Macmillan, to address the paradox that women are excellent leaders while yet so few are visible in leadership positions. Mirella is a frequent speaker and workshop leader at companies, women’s networks and international conferences, such as the St Petersburg International Economic Forum and JUMP.
