Former DSM Chief Executive and Postkandidaats Bedrijfskunde Doctoraal graduate, Feike Sijbesma is challenging business leaders to take decisive action to combat climate change. He is convinced they hold the key to ending the planet’s dependence on fossil fuels.
“Almost 200 world leaders met in Paris in 2015 for COP21 and pledged to hold global warming to one and a half degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. At COP28 last year in Dubai we had a stocktaking and found we are not on track to do this, and we have never been on track since we signed that agreement.”
Nevertheless, he refuses to be pessimistic as technological advances are gathering pace and in India, solar energy is now cheaper than power generated from oil and gas, and he is urging the companies responsible for emissions to seize the initiative and decarbonise.
A new experience
One of the few business leaders with a scientific background, Feike qualified with a Masters in Medical and Molecular Biology at the University of Utrecht: “I’m proud to say I am a biologist and, if I had to decide again, I would study the same subject, I’ve always been fascinated with the origin of life and the complexity and beauty of nature.” However, as he wasn’t certain he was meant for a career in the laboratory, or as a teacher, he enrolled on an MBA at RSM, becoming one of the first group of students to be taught at Rotterdam after its relocation from Delft.
“This was a new experience for me as I was used to lectures in the morning and practicals in the afternoon. At RSM, there was a lot of group work and we talked a lot. After having some time to get used to it I realised I liked it, and gained a broad perspective of business. The most important thing I learned was to ask the question why and that’s helped me a lot over the years. Why are things what they are?”
Following graduation in 1987, Feike joined biotech company Gist-brocades and rose to senior roles before the company was bought by the Dutch multinational DSM. In 2007 he became its CEO.
Change was constant. He explains: “My teacher passed away too early and I never got the chance to know him, only his books. Charles Darwin was always an inspiration and The Origin of Species taught me that you must be able to adapt to a changing environment to survive and that applies to organisations as well as species.”
Raise the anchor of your boat
Feike spent 33 years at DSM, as the former mining company was transformed into a global science-based leader in nutrition, health and sustainable living: “If change management is to be successful, and you want to fish in different waters, you have to raise the anchor of your boat. Organisations tend to find this very scary as you are leaving the certainties of life behind. But you will never achieve change and continue to be prosperous if you don’t do this.”
DSM combines its commercial success with a pledge to build a better world, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and part of the World Food Programme. Feike passionately believes that companies are part of society and should contribute as part of their core business, as the DSM mission says, to make brighter lives for all.
Get to know who you are
“What advice would I give to today’s young people? I would say the same to them as I said to my own two sons, the eldest studied Economics at Erasmus University, Rotterdam.
“Explore yourself, get to know who you are, unwrap the package. Find out what drives you and what is your passion. If you know your strengths, then you can support people you work with and the wider community.
“All students at EUR are privileged because they have the opportunity to study. I would say most people in the Netherlands are also privileged. If you are among them, look to see what you can do to make a difference for other people in the world.”
