Partner at Houthoff
Public Law
“During a board meeting, I once got mad at someone who behaved disrespectfully and I ventilated my anger publicly in strong words. Sometimes it’s necessary to hold someone accountable for their behavior at the very moment, but the way I did it didn’t end well. It led to the person in question being angry as well. He left the boardroom and when I tried to convince him to come back, that didn’t work. I learned a lot from this.
If a situation like this would happen again, I would choose to dismiss the meeting and speak to the person privately. Addressing someone’s behavior publicly in a strong way is embarrassing to everyone and relationships can be damaged permanently. Negative behavior should never be given a platform; emphasizing negativity does not fit with my belief that focusing on a common goal produces the best results.”
Marry is involved in public-private regulatory matters, and specialises in public economic law and corporate governance. She is a trusted boardroom adviser. Marry’s expertise ranges from research issues, advising on the effects of proposed legislation, regulatory aspects related to the regulatory authorities, the enforcement of existing laws, and conducting various proceedings. An example of her expertise is the leading role she played in the widely discussed liquidation of Vestia’s €20 billion derivative portfolio.
Marry combines her legal work with non-executive director roles, including as a supervisory director for De Nederlandsche Bank and KLM.
She is also the chair of the theatre production company Internationaal Theater Amsterdam. Marry has previously served as a supervisory director for Royal Haskoning DHV, GVB Amsterdam and the health insurer VGZ. In addition, she lectures on boardroom dynamics at the Governance University and organises Round Table meetings for supervisory directors, during which matters such as governance issues are addressed.