The Van Gogh Museum is managed by the Director (Emilie Gordenker), the Managing Director (Adriaan Dönszelmann) and the Supervisory Board.
The Van Gogh Museum Foundation operates through a Board, consisting of the Director, Managing Director (Adriaan Dönszelmann), and a Supervisory Board. The Director chairs the Board, which administers the Foundation and is responsible for its day-to-day operations. The Board’s duties also include the implementation of programmes and activities. Everything the Board does is in keeping with the Foundation’s mission.
As of 1 February 2020 Emilie Gordenker is director of the Van Gogh Museum. She is in charge of Museum Affairs (Collection and Research, Collection Management and Restoration, Registrar’s Office, Collection Information, Education and Interpretation, Exhibitions and The Mesdag Collection) and Public Affairs (Marketing, Pressoffice, Digital Communication, Development, Visitors Service, Events, Publications).
Emilie Gordenker (1965, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America) holds a B.A. in Russian and East European Studies (Yale University) and a Ph.D. in the History of Art, specialising in 17th-century Dutch and Flemish art (Institute of Fine Arts, New York University). Before becoming Director of the Mauritshuis in 2008, she was Senior Curator of Early Netherlandish, Dutch and Flemish Art at the National Gallery of Scotland.
Adriaan Dönszelmann joined the Van Gogh Museum on 1 July 2011 as Manager Business Affairs. He was appointed Managing Director two years later. Adriaan is responsible for the Staf (Information manager and Professional Services), Staff Office, Quality & Business Control, Operations (Security, Facilities, HR, Finance and IT), Van Gogh Museum Enterprises (Buying and Merchandise, Logistics and Planning, Retail, E-commerce, BtoB and New Business) and the Meet Vincent van Gogh Experience.
Adriaan Dönszelmann (1972) received his Master’s in Town and Landscape Planning at Amsterdam University in 1997. After graduating, he spent just over ten years in a series of (financial) executive posts at Unisys, Logica, Telfort/British Telecom and Deloitte.
He moved over to the cultural sector in 2009, when he became Operational Manager at the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam. Adriaan was jointly responsible there for rationalizing the museum’s commercial operations. He was also closely involved in its takeover of the management of the Portuguese Synagogue, and in the integration of the Jewish Historical Museum, the Portuguese Synagogue and the Hollandsche Schouwburg as a single enterprise.
Vincent Willem van Gogh (1953) is the great-grandson of Theo van Gogh, the artist’s brother. Having made his career as a lawyer, Willem van Gogh joined the Van Gogh Museum in 1999. He was initially responsible for the museum’s shops, before becoming Advisor to the Board in 2009. In his current role, Willem van Gogh works as an ambassador to expand and strengthen the museum’s network.
Babette Meerdink-Schenau (1974) studied Dutch Law at Radboud University (Nijmegen) and International Trade Law at the University of London. She began her legal career at Houthoff Buruma before working for many years as a (legislative) lawyer at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. Babette also worked as a Clerk at the Enterprise Division of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal. She became Secretary to the Board of the Van Gogh Museum in September 2017, providing the Board with policy and legal support.
