ERIM's new Scientific Director Marno Verbeek will further leverage the dual impact of management research

As of July 1, <link people marno-verbeek _blank>Professor Marno Verbeek will succeed <link people ale-smidts _blank>Professor Ale Smidts as Scientific Director of ERIM. After a period of seven years of academic leadership of ERIM, Ale Smidts will now be able to fully concentrate on his role as Professor of Marketing Research and his directorship of the Erasmus Centre for Neuroeconomics.

By keeping a constant focus on research quality, talent and impact, Ale developed ERIM into the third hotspot for research in Europe after London Business School and INSEAD. Building on the fundamentals laid out by ERIM's founding director Professor Berend Wierenga, Ale developed a truly systemic quality incentive system with an eager eye in the continuous search and support for the best academic talent. Thus he directed ERIM from a research driven to a both managerial and academic impact driven organisation.

Henk Schmidt, Rector of Erasmus University Rotterdam, recognises ERIM to be one of its crown jewels, with top notch research. He considers ERIM to be exemplary as to how a graduate school should function in a modern university as well as a great example of multidisciplinary research.

Commenting on this succession, George Yip, Dean of RSM says: "ERIM is a solid example of a successful partnership between management and economics research. The alliance has proven to be of world class. I want to personally thank Ale for his dedication and wish him good luck in his innovative research pathways at our school. And of course we welcome Marno and wish him many challenging opportunities to further."

Philip Hans Franses, Dean of the Erasmus School of Economics, adds to this: "indeed combined research on management and economics has shown to be very relevant and impactful. Ale has shown great leadership and we thank him for that. We are looking forward to continuing the cooperation and wish Marno all the best in bringing ERIM to the next level."

Marno Verbeek will focus his leadership on four key strategic priorities. He will further strengthen ERIM's academic performance by investing in a research environment and support structure that attracts, develops and retains top researchers in all career stages. He will further increase the quality and international appeal of the doctoral programme, both towards new doctoral students and towards top business schools that are hiring the new PhD's. He will further invest in capabilities to broaden and increase the research funding base. And last but not least, he will strengthen ERIM's visibility and reputation in management practice and society at large: the dual impact of management research.