Congratulating the cohort, Dean of RSM Prof. Aukje Hassoldt said their achievement took courage, hard work and resilience throughout the 18 months of weekend classes and assignments. Their next steps in this new phase in their professional growth would be about using their expertise as people who care about business and society to create positive impact.
Academic Director Prof. Erik Roelofsen acknowledged the hours that the new graduates had spent studying, away from family members and friends. He congratulated them on creating new paths for themselves with their new knowledge, confidence and leadership skills. He asked them to consider what they might not have anticipated would come out of their 18-month programme, for example learning that leadership is not about yourself but about how much you care for others, and is more than just plans and strategies. It means having the ability to inspire people to bring those plans and strategies alive, he said, and it’s worth pausing to think every now and again about where you are and how far you have come.
“To lead is to care, and to care is to lead,” he concluded.
The EMBA class of 2025 represented 30 different nationalities and 36 per cent were Dutch. The student cohort, 68 per cent male and 32 per cent female, came from a wide range of industries and sectors: from IT, manufacturing and construction, consumer goods and electronics, from energy and utilities, financial services and insurance, the public sector, from non-profits and NGOs, and from the health industry, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, the chemical industry and from shipping and logistics.
Eight of the graduates appeared on the Dean’s honours list, with six graduating cum laude, and two graduating with the highest academic honour, summa cum laude.
The Student Award, chosen by faculty members involved in teaching the Class of 2025, went to Aruna Narandran, described as ‘an excellent student and a great classmate’. In a video message recorded in Singapore where she was about to be married, she talked about initially having imposter syndrome when she joined the cohort at the beginning of their studies. Later, that cohort became a close-knit group of people who showed up for each other. What she learned most from the programme, she said, was the importance of presence, and how to be more awake with the people around her and to be generous with her time and curiosity.
The Faculty Award for the best teacher in the programme is chosen by students. It went to Ronald Poppe, who taught them financial management.
The Farewell Speech was given by Euphrasia Wong who described the class developing its own rhythm for the hours of preparation for the weekend study sessions in Rotterdam, and finding the thread of transformation that ran through the journey. She described her peers as driven, curious and eager to grow, and of them all being aware that as strategic managers, today’s problems are not clear and simple. “Leadership is a lifelong practice of showing up with both head and heart,” she concluded.
The new graduates were welcomed to the 55,000-strong RSM alumni network by Associate Director Alumni Relations Meta Haag-Mikec.
There’s an Open Day for the Executive MBA in Rotterdam on Saturday 15 November 2025. Find out more.
Watch the EMBA 2025 graduation on YouTube: RSM Executive MBA Graduation Ceremony 2025.
