Dirk Swagerman is partime professor Controlling at the University of Groningen. He works with the Faculty of Economics and Business and is also head of the Executive Master Finance & Control. Dirk started his career as an electrician with an LTS-degree. He studied administration (bestuurskunde) at the University of Amsterdam. He went to Michigan for his MBA and continued his education at Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University and Northwestern University. He also obtained a master’s degree in telecommunication in Delft. He obtained his PhD in 2000 at the Faculty of Technology and Management at the University of Twente. Beside his academic activities he is active as an independent organizational consultant. Among his main interests are questions like how organizations can be best in control and what that means for the organization’s governance. He is also member of the Supervisory Board of ‘Woningbouwcorporatie Far West’ in Amsterdam and chairmain of the audit committee; member of the committee for visitations of Reaflex; chairman of the ‘Stichting Blarickhof’(‘fonds gezondheidszorg’); member of the General Board ‘Waterschap AGV’ and member of their audit authority; as an external expert appointed as member of the Board of ‘Pensioenfonds Metalectro (PME)’ and also member of the Disciplinary Counsel of the ‘Vereniging van Registercontrollers’. He is married, interested in philosophy and likes to listen to classical music.

Dick de Waard works with Ernst & Young since 1977. He is partner for Ernst & Young Accountants LLP since 1995. Throughout his career, Dick has specialized in audit and advisory issues in the healthcare sector. In addition, since 1992 he has developed an above average interest in sustainability issues and the internal control and reporting of those issues. He is head of the Dutch E&Y team which is (inter)nationally involved in these issues for ten years now. He has been working as a professor in Auditing at the department Accountancy of the University of Groningen since 1992. Currently he is head of the department Accountancy and also responsible for the Executive Master program. Dick is married with Anita and has two daughters: Heilke (16) and Francien (14). They live in Assen. His favorite music is Pink Floyd, Led Zeppeling, Ozark Henry, David Bowie, Wishbone Ash, Frederique Chopin, Ludwig von Beethoven and more. He likes skating, running and playing tennis and his favorite writer is Hubert Lampo.

Kees Tillema has completed a Business Economics Masters degree at Groningen University in the Netherlands in 1997. Afterwards he has worked for 8 years as a business consultant at KPMG. In that period he has written a dissertation about the interfaces between cost management and quality improvements. In 2002 he received his doctorate. In 2005 Kees and Rob Vinke founded Het Zuiderlicht, a management consultancy firm specialized in economical en sociological challenges in organizations. Kees has written many articles and some books related to this area. He teaches management accounting and control for 5 years now at the Executive Master of Finance & Control in Groningen.