Executive board
Executive Board
The Executive Board leads Fontys. It makes sure Fontys achieves its goals in education, research and organisation. The Board is also responsible for the results.
Members are appointed for a four-year term, with the possibility of reappointment.
The Board has members, with a division of “horizontal” and “vertical” responsibilities.
The members are accountable to the Supervisory Board. They report both together and individually. The Supervisory Board checks whether they carry out their duties properly.
Members of the Executive Board:
Joep Houterman
Arian Steenbruggen
Joep has been Chair of the Exectutive Board since 1 March 2020 and a member of the Board since August 2018. Within the Board, he is responsible for strategy. His portfolio also includes internationalisation, audit, safety, knowledge security and governance. In addition, Joep oversees the institutes in the domains of Education & Arts and Science & Technology. He represents Fontys at the national level and in the regions of Eindhoven and Den Bosch.
oep is an experienced education executive. Before joining Fontys, he was Vice-Chair of the Executive Board of the “green knowledge institution” Aeres. Earlier, he served as a director at Nuffic and as manager/director at the Stoas Group. In 1987, Joep completed his degree in tropical animal husbandry (zootechnics) at Wageningen University.
Arian has been a member of the Executive Board since 22 August 2022. Within the Board, she is responsible for education & research and entrepreneurship. Her portfolio also covers sustainability and quality assurance in education and research. In addition, Arian oversees the Education & Research service (O&O) and the institutes in the domains of Economics and Health Care & Social Studies. She represents Fontys in the Tilburg region.
Before joining Fontys, Arian was Director of the Exact and Natural Sciences Domain at NWO (the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) and a member of NWO’s executive team. Earlier, she was Head of Research at the Faculty of Geosciences at Utrecht University and held several management roles at Wageningen University & Research. She completed her Geochemistry degree at Utrecht University in 1994 and earned a PhD in Geochemical Engineering in 1999.
Arian also serves on the Education Committee of the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (Vereniging Hogescholen).
Support & Advice
The Board Staff supports and advises the Executive Board. The team consists of a Board Secretary, two Deputy Secretaries, a Board Adviser and a Strategic Communications Adviser/Speechwriter.
Supervisory Board
The Supervisory Board checks whether the Executive Board makes the right decisions. Its tasks and powers are laid down in the Articles of Association and the Governance and Management Regulations. There is also a Supervisory Framework to support good oversight. This framework follows the national Code of Good Governance for Universities of Applied Sciences and sets the requirements for who may serve on the Board.
Members of the Supervisory Board are independent. They can think critically—about each other’s views and about the Executive Board’s decisions. The Board has seven members and is supported by the Secretary to the Executive Board. Members are appointed for four years and may be reappointed once. The maximum consecutive term is eight years. The Central Participation Council (CPC) gives advice on the appointment of new members.
De zeven leden van de Raad van toezicht van Fontys zijn:
- Marc Hendrikse - Chair of the Supervisory Board
- Raymond Knops - Deputy Chair of the Supervisory Board
- Kees Koedijk
- Godelieve van Velzen
- Gerinna Engwirda
- Meryem El-Bouyahyaoui
- Theun Baller