Specialization: Sustainability and Entrepreneurship
Status: Visiting Faculty
Professional Experience
Wouter Savrij Droste is a strategy advisor supporting organisations to be effective in integrating
sustainability. Motivating and supporting entrepreneurs and students to succeed elaborating on
sustainability business models belongs to his deepest passion. He has over 15 years of international
experiences within industry, professional services and NGO. For example, at the World Economic Forum
he got challenged in various roles in business controlling, strategic planning and development. He also
took on an active role at the World Economic Forum as a member of the Industry Committee and gave
overall support to the Centre of Global Industries in Geneva and New York in all daily business
management issues. He still actively enjoys the evolvement of the world-wide macro-economic and
political urgent issues. In parallel of his main duties he has been teaching since 2004 at GSD, the
University Institute for International Relations and Diplomacy in Geneva. He has been teaching the topics
Sustainable Development and Social Entrepreneurship at Bachelor and Master Level: sustainability seen
in context of system’s change and strategic planning. From 2011 on Wouter has been a strategic,
sustainability advisor consulting on strategic planning for organisations, businesses and entrepreneurs.
During this period, he also held different positions, like Managing Director of Ismat Group, Senior
Innovation Manager at Chiquita, Senior Consultant at Randstad and also Head of Strategic Planning Unit
at the ICRC, Geneva.
Academic Background
Wouter holds a bachelor’s in marketing & commerce from HEC Maastricht, Sittard (1995-1999); an MBA
from Business School Lausanne (2001, 2002) and a Master in Sustainability Leadership of Cambridge
University (2017). His dissertation on: “how a values-led approach in management could influence the
organisation’s strategy.” Besides he followed executive education on strategic finance at IMD, Lausanne.