Marlies grew up in a small inland town in the Netherlands, discovering her love for travel and sailing during her business studies. During this time, she also developed a fascination with leadership and team dynamics while working as an assistant trainer, creating role-play scenarios for executive corporate training. It was here that she realized how bias and varying information can shape people’s behaviour. After a successful corporate career that allowed her to start exploring the world, she accidentally discovered yachting over 20 years ago and knew she had found a new calling: she has been sailing ever since.
With extensive experience racing and cruising in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, East Coast of the States, Northern Europe and even remote places in the Arctic, Marlies is also an accomplished offshore sailor with numerous Atlantic crossings under her belt. Having worked her way up the ranks on both small and larger sailing and motor yachts, learning valuable lessons from each of her captains and crews – sometimes discovering the kind of leader she did not want to be.
Her curiosity and determination drive her to keep learning, combining personal experiences and insights from the people she works with, along with more formal training. She focuses not only on mastering technical skills but also on personal growth and improving her leadership abilities, so she can be a stronger leader and better support her crew.
