Marketing is evolving rapidly. AI is reshaping creativity. Sustainability expectations are rising. Performance pressure is intensifying.
In this environment, how do we lead responsibly, without losing sight of the people behind the data?
Join us on campus as alumni, faculty, and practitioners come together to explore what it means to put humans first in today’s marketing practice. Because marketing doesn’t just move markets — it shapes behaviour, experiences, and impact.
Step back from the day-to-day and reflect on a central question: what changes when we consciously place human dignity, lived experience, and long-term responsibility at the centre of our decisions?
Marketing with Purpose: Putting Humans First
Keynote: Radical Humanity: Putting the Human Back at the Centre of Business by Dr Lalin Anik
Across sustainability, accessibility, talent, AI, and brand leadership, a shared thread keeps emerging: purpose becomes real through the everyday choices we make about who we design for, how we listen, and which trade-offs we are willing to hold.
In this keynote, Dr Lalin Anik will introduce her lens of Radical Humanity, an approach that places dignity, lived experience, and long-term impact at the heart of marketing leadership.
Through relatable stories and contemporary marketing realities, Dr Anik will invite you to reflect on the tensions you recognise from your own organisation and consider how to keep humanity central in high-performance environments.
Alumni Panel: Purpose under Pressure, moderated by Prof Peeter Verlegh
Following the keynote, Prof Peeter Verlegh will lead a conversation with MSc Marketing alumni working at the intersection of commercial performance and broader impact.
Together, they will discuss:
- How purpose translates into real organisational decisions
- The tension between short-term results and long-term value
- What “putting humans first” looks like under commercial pressure
- Honest reflections on career paths and leadership trade-offs
Dr Aylin Aydinli, Programme Director of VU's MSc in Marketing, will also join the panel to bring the educational lens: how do we prepare the next generation of marketers to lead in an increasingly complex landscape?
Reconnect over networking drinks
After the programme, there will be ample opportunity to reconnect with former classmates, meet alumni from other cohorts, and continue the conversation with faculty over drinks and a light buffet.
For this event, we kindly request a small participation fee of €12.50