After three decades in traditional financial leadership, Klaas Ariaans made a radical shift: from managing people to unlocking their autonomy. Since 2017, he has led one of Europe’s boldest corporate transformations — turning ABN AMRO’s largest division into a self-organizing system of over 350 autonomous teams.
Backed by research from VU University Amsterdam, Klaas’s work proves that people thrive when given real trust and responsibility — and that cultural transformation isn’t just possible inside large institutions, it’s necessary.
Today, Klaas is on a mission to build a global coalition of organizations that lead with purpose, self-management, and human clarity. He believes in being a rebel inside your own system — and in laughing often while doing serious work.
