Everyone is CEO of their own life

The route to a position in the executive board of a large corporation is hardly ever linear, but even so there are many ways in which one can get to the so-called 'C-Suite'. Marguerite Soeteman-Reijnen knew from early on she wanted to end up in the board, and carefully designed her career around it. That doesn't mean she simply copied her boss, quite the contrary: she speaks negatively of 'karaoke-managers' that only copy their boss' path and promotes authenticity as a value for successful managers.

Mattijs' story could not have been more different: from a young age, he wanted to become a doctor. Year after year he tried to get accepted into the study Medicine, and in the meantime he 'parked' himself in Economics. He never got accepted to Medicine and ended up spending eight-and-a-half year in Economics, before finally receiving his degree. From there on, he took his career step-by-step and tried not to plan too far ahead. His other dream - becoming a father - was more successful, and also played a big role in the rest of his career.

Despite these differences, Mattijs and Marguerite also share a lot of characteristics. Both feel very strongly about their ambition to continuously learn on the job, and are always open to change when necessary. Also, they underline that a position in the executive board is not always fun and games and open up about some of the more difficult periods in their careers. View the video for the full interview and more insights from Marguerite, Mattijs and Sander.