Owen has a Surinamese background and comes from a family with two entrepreneurial parents who moved to the Netherlands in 1970. His father started out as a young entrepreneur in Suriname, which eventually led to a large events company in the Netherlands. “My parents may not have had an academic education, but perseverance is something I definitely learned at home. In that respect, I’m actually very proud of my background – not everyone has that kind of foundation,” Owen says.

From an early age, Owen felt underestimated or even judged as less capable than some classmates with similar potential. Although his final primary school test results (Cito) would normally have warranted a recommendation for general secondary education (havo) or pre-university education (vwo), he was advised to follow a pre-vocational route (vmbo-k). “The reasoning was: your parents haven’t studied at that level, so who’s going to help you with your homework?” Owen recalls. Dwelling too much on what lay behind that advice drives him crazy: “One thing that definitely played a role was a whole load of prejudice.”

Initially, proving himself at vmbo-k took a lot of energy. “During the first two years, I was demotivated and content with just getting passing marks. But at a certain point, I realised I was capable of much more, and I wanted to show that. So I really stepped up. Still, I can imagine others might just resign themselves to the situation.”

He successfully completed his vmbo-k education, then moved on to vocational training (MBO), and later progressed to higher professional education (HBO). While working – including in a managerial role for IT teams at Apple – the idea of taking the next step kept nagging at him. “No one in my immediate family has ever obtained a university degree. I really wanted to break through that ceiling and show my nieces and nephews that it’s possible – that it can be done.” He looked for a recognised business programme with an international focus and, in 2024, was accepted into the Part-time MBA in International Business at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

MBA
As someone who progressed through vocational and applied routes, Owen is an exception in his MBA cohort, but he doesn’t see that as a disadvantage. “I prefer to view it as a strength – that I’ve taken a different path than most of them. Although I do notice I sometimes doubt my own abilities more than my fellow students. They often seem more self-assured,” Owen explains. His lecturers encourage him to believe in himself. “They believe I’m here because I’m capable. The lecturers really have faith in you – sometimes even more than you have in yourself. They just want you to succeed, regardless of the path you've taken. The trust they show me is really special – a stark contrast to those formative years in primary school.”

As someone with lived experience, he’s often matched with professionals who have questions about the MBA programme. “The MBA programme really understands the importance of representation. When people from a background similar to mine are considering the programme, a brief chat about how I experience the programme and balance it with my job can really strengthen their sense that: ‘this is something for me too’.”

Leadership
Whereas Owen experienced in his school days that people held him back because of his cultural background, as a manager he now actually notices the benefits of that background. “The mix of the collectivist values from Surinamese culture and the more individualist mindset from Western culture helps me to understand a wide range of people – and that really benefits me when managing teams.” In his leadership role at the Municipality of Amsterdam, he actively looks for ways to challenge stereotypes. For instance, within the municipality, it is rare to be hired as a manager from outside and with a commercial background. “I enjoy encouraging people to develop themselves, and I also like to use myself as an example of what’s possible.”