Esther van Opstal

Esther van Opstal has extensive experience in HR management and leadership positions. Esther is currently serving as the Director of HRM/CHRO at Universiteit Leiden, overseeing a large workforce and collaborating closely with the academic hospital LUMC. Previously, they held the position of Chief People Officer and HR Director at Mazars, where they were responsible for HR strategy and execution for the Netherlands. Esther also worked as the Regional HR Director for BeNeLuxFrance at DLA Piper, leading HR activities for multiple countries. Prior to that, they were the Head of Human Resources at Delta Lloyd Group, managing HR responsibilities for various business units. Esther has also held HR management roles at ING Verzekeringen Nederland, NN, and ING Group. Esther holds a General Management Traineeship from ING Group and has experience in project management, online business development, and occupational safety and health.

Esther van Opstal completed a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Psychology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 1990 to 1995. Esther also obtained a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Human Movement Sciences from the same university between 1989 and 1996. Esther attended the Rijnlands Lyceum Wassenaar/International School Wassenaar from 1984 to 1989 for their secondary education. Prior to that, they attended Dutch School Cobham/International School of London in the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1983. Esther's education also includes various professional programs and courses. These include completing the Embodied Facilitator Course, an ICF accredited program in London, at Integration Training in 2016. In 2014, they attended the London Business School for a program on Human Resource Strategy in Transforming Organizations and also completed a Corporate Governance course at the Governance Academy. From 2011 to 2013, Esther enrolled in the TAPOC The Art & Practice of Ontological Coaching program at Newfield Network, which is an ICF accredited program. Esther also participated in two executive development trainings: Vigilant Leadership and Humanising the organization, at CEDEP - Executive Development in Fontainebleau between 2010 and 2014. Lastly, they joined the Bert Hellinger Instituut Nederland in 2020 to 2021 to study Systemic Dynamics in Organizations & Systemic Consultancy.