The Van Gogh Museum is managed by Director Emilie Gordenker, the Managing Director Mark Minkman (a.i.) and the Supervisory Board.
The Van Gogh Museum Foundation operates through a Board, consisting of the Director, the Managing Director 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.
Mark Minkman is appointed as interim Managing Director of the museum. He is responsible for the divisions and departments of Van Gogh Museum Enterprises, the Staff Office, Finance & Control, HR and Operations.
Mark is a consultant at Andersson Elffers Felix (AEF) and is currently interim director of the Stichting Regionale Publieke Omroep on behalf of AEF. He previously spent seven years as Director of Paradiso Amsterdam. Between 2005 and 2013 he was Financial Director of the VARA broadcasting corporation.
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.
