General manager Workplace Vitality Hub/WPVH (Founding partner TU/e)

Marieke van Beurden graduated at the University of Utrecht in management and organisation sciences, supplemented by a post-doc in Public Information Management at the TIAS Nimbas/ Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Marieke has since successfully taken on a variety of roles as project and program manager for (technological) innovation projects. She co-founded the cooperative Slimmer Leven, an organisation in Health innovation which has the aim of future-proofing the current systems around health and care. Currently she functions as board member of Slimmer Leven.

As Program Director at Eindhoven University of Technology, she directed technological research roadmaps for vitality and health, realizing programmes and funding for education, research and valorisation. Spinning out from this role she initiated the Workplace Vitality Hub. For this collaboration initiative she brought together knowledge institutions, academia, technology partners, employer- and employee organisations, health insurance companies to create a real-life living lab with focus on vital work environments. In the role of general manager she built up the team and the organisation she is currently heading.

WPVH Research & Education – Mental Health (Founding partner Fontys Hogescholen)

Eveline Kersten graduated from Tilburg University in Social Sciences, specializing in Sports and Leisure. She then worked for over seven years as a policy officer at the Municipality of Tilburg, focusing on youth policy, communication, and city marketing. For more than twenty years, she has been working at Fontys University of Applied Sciences in various roles with different focus areas, characterized by innovation and connection. She thrives in areas where innovation and development are needed, and where connections with external partners are crucial.

In her current role, she has taken on the responsibility of initiating, facilitating, and conducting research. She is an active researcher at the Leren Floreren research group at Fontys, where she focuses primarily on the mental health of young people and early-career professionals. Additionally, she is committed to employee vitality and mental well-being through Fontys Vitaal. She is also involved in the Workplace Vitality Hub, where she leads the Mental Health research program, aimed at improving mental health for employees in the Netherlands. Her challenge lies in adopting an innovative approach with new ideas that will enhance the preventive well-being of office workers across the country. In all these roles, Eveline draws inspiration from positive psychology, a field of science that focuses on what is possible and what opportunities exist. This mindset is central to everything she does.

WPVH Research & Education – Nutrition (Founding partner Fontys Hogescholen)

Martin van Bendegom graduated from the Open University of the Netherlands in Management Sciences, specializing in Marketing & Supply Chain Management. He worked for two years as an assistant accountant at BDO. After taking a gap year for military service, he started working at Rabobank, where he spent over 28 years in corporate banking, both at the headquarters and local offices. In addition to this role, he also provided training for colleagues in the field of corporate lending.

After this period, Martin retrained as a lecturer and began teaching at the Arnhem and Nijmegen University of Applied Sciences. Two years later, a position opened up at Fontys University of Applied Sciences, prompting Martin to transition to Eindhoven. At Fontys, his focus is primarily on broad prosperity. In this role, he is also involved with the Workplace Vitality Hub, as broad prosperity also encompasses individual and societal vitality. Martin’s ambition is to raise awareness of broad prosperity among a larger audience, with the goal of making the world a better place together.