Prof. dr. A.H.G. (Alexander) Rinnooy Kan
Honorary supervisor Prof. Dr. ir D. den Hertog - 2017 –Tilburg School of Economics and Management
Rinnooy Kan (Scheveningen, 1949) studied mathematics in Leiden and econometrics at the University of Amsterdam, where he received his PhD in mathematics in 1976.
He then became Professor of Operational Research at Erasmus University in 1980 and Director of the Econometric Institute in 1983. In 1986, he became Rector Magnificus of the same university. In between, he also held visiting professorships in the University of California (Berkeley) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), among others. His research was conducted in the area of Operations Research.
In the 1990s, he was Chair of the Vereniging van Nederlandse Ondernemers (Association of Dutch Entrepreneurs) and a member of the board of the ING Group. In 2006, he succeeded Herman Wijffels as Chair of the Social and Economic Council after he was unanimously nominated by the employers' and employees' representatives in the SER. In 2012, Rinnooy Kan's term as Chair came to an end. Rinnooy Kan's subsequent positions include member of the Innovation Platform, until the platform was disbanded in 2010, and Chair of the Supervisory Board of De Nederlandsche Bank.
In 2007, 2008, and 2009, he was named by the Volkskrant as the most influential man in the Netherlands.
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