Teaching
MBA Teaching
At the London Business School, Freek has taught core courses on strategic management and general management. He currently teaches a popular elective called on Entrepreneurial Mindset and one called Strategies for Growth and Transformation.
This latter course deals with the question “Where should tomorrow’s growth come from?” It analyses how effective managers organise their companies to achieve strong, continuous growth. Successful case examples reveal that often, especially in fast-changing environments, growth strategies are not ‘designed’ by managers but they emerge from within the organisation. However, this is not – or better, does not need to be – a random process: Students learn how the most successful business leaders control this emerging process; they shape and manage their organisations with an eye on the future, in such a way that profitable growth will occur.
Executive Education
Freek has also taught in numerous executive programmes: short courses ranging from half a day to several days in which executives are introduced to the latest thinking in strategic management and learn some practical tools that they can apply to their own companies. It covers topics such as strategic innovation, execution and profitable growth.
Freek’s teaching is focused on 1) strategic management but always with an explicit view on 2) leadership, and 3) strategy execution. His teaching style is highly interactive, aimed at supplying practical insights and tools, using a variety of teaching methods, such as cases, video, short lectures and discussion.
Testimonials
(provided anonymously, by Executive MBAs)
- Professor Vermeulen is excellent. He is thorough and engaging. He is also very entertaining.
- Freek was very energetic and sincerely enthused.
- Excellent, energetic, full of passion and enthusiasm.
- Awesome. Entertaining, clear, good communicator.
- Fabulous.
- Freek is knowledgeable on the topic and provides useful examples.
- Excellent – very enjoyable.
- A unique piece.
- Excellent style and control.
- Easy to understand. Amazing.
- Passion about the subject came through.
- Vast amount of knowledge on the subject.
- Excellent – engaging with very clear explanations and illustrations.
- Enthusiastic lecturer.
- Freek is really very good at what he does. He’s always well prepared and engaging.
- Excellent.
- Very good teacher.
- Excellent teacher.
- Very good. Entertaining and knowledgeable.
- Freek was excellent – good cases, good discussions, good media usage, good structure, fun and full of useful learning points!
- Provides great perspective from different angles and incorporates own experience very well.
- Freek orchestrated very well and kept a good pace.
- Freek conveyed well, maintained a good balance between academic theory and case examples.
- Very well organized.
- Very entertaining, thoughtful and instructive.
- He combined a deep knowledge of the subject with effective humour and a great style.
- Freek was absolutely outstanding.
