About us
In 2021 Hanneke Frese started the process to create a foundation to fund international, cross-cultural academic or professional development opportunities for deserving adolescents and young adults who, without financial support, may not be able to benefit from such personal growth experiences. The Options for Growth foundation was founded in 2022.
Tim Frese and Paula Frese joined Hanneke in the Board of Directors in 2022.
- Hanneke Frese: Founder and President
- Tim Frese: VP, Finance and Compliance
- Paula Frese: VP, Marketing and Community
About Hanneke
Hanneke is an executive coach with more than twenty years’ experience specialised in working with highly diverse executives in a variety of industries and not for profit organisations with a worldwide reach. She enjoys working with executives with a strong specialised background, who want to develop further in how to build the human dimension capacity of their organisations.
Hanneke gained extensive strategic and operational human resources experience at business and corporate level at Citibank. She held the position of VP Human Resources at the investment bank in London, before moving to Zurich as Head of HR Private Bank (EMEA). Hanneke was later assigned to Citibank’s Head Office in New York as Global Head HR Strategy and finally global Head Leadership & Development Operations and Technology.
In 1999 she joined Zurich Insurance first as Chief Human Resources Officer for ZurichRe and in 2000 became Head Group Capabilities at corporate level and was appointed member of the global Group Management Board.
Inspired by her extensive corporate experience, Hanneke supports clients to discover their own, authentic way for living life with intent and strengthen their ability to get results in challenging environments. Changing conditions often show that useful behavioural patterns created in the past may need to be unwired and rewired into different ways of thinking, being and behaving to reach new levels of performance, creativity, and balance.
Hanneke regularly works as an Executive Coach on programs offered by INSEAD Business School and the Kets De Vries Institute. In addition, she dedicates herself to volunteer activities in business school quality improvement systems all over the world and as a member of academic advisory boards.
In 2022, Hanneke founded the Options for Growth Foundation to support funding international, cross-cultural academic or professional development opportunities for deserving adolescents and young adults living in Switzerland.
About Tim
Tim is a Finance and Accounting Professional with a keen interest in understanding how businesses operate and can optimize their resources. Tim currently works as Head of Global Financial Planning for Läderach.
- 15+ years of experience in a variety of industries
- Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
- Adept at learning new skills and adapting to change
- Committed to delivering results in a fast-paced and demanding environment
- Fluent in English, Dutch, German and proficient in Spanish
When I was 18, I had the opportunity to spend a year as an exchange student in the United States—a formative experience that sparked my lifelong curiosity for other cultures. During my studies, I continued to meet and collaborate with people from diverse backgrounds, which deeply shaped my perspective and values.
These experiences are a key reason why I am involved with the foundation Options for Growth. The foundation enables young people to access similar life-changing opportunities, and I’m proud to support its mission of fostering personal growth through international exchange and education.
About Paula
Paula is a freelance Customer Experience (CX) Consultant with a strong focus on customer journey design, process optimisation, and reporting through storytelling. Over the past 12 years, she has collaborated with more than 100 clients/companies across the globe.
She holds a Bachelor degree in International Tourism Management from Tio, University for Applied Sciences, Amsterdam and relocated to the UK in 2011 to join Market Force—an organisation specialising in performance measurement and improvement for multi-location businesses. Starting as a Project Coordinator, Paula managed client onboarding and implementation before progressing to Key Account Manager. In that role, she led accounts in sectors such as hospitality, retail, grocery, and self-storage—an experience that significantly broadened her perspective.
In 2016, Paula returned to the Netherlands and joined Multi-Value, an organisation offering mystery shopping, audits, training, coaching, and advisory services. She quickly advanced to the directors’ team, where she oversaw both operational and client services. This role demanded high levels of creativity, adaptability, and a strong focus on achieving both strategic and financial goals.
In 2020, Paula launched her own company and has since taken on a variety of challenging interim assignments, supporting organisations in enhancing their customer experience and operational excellence.
Beyond her work in CX, Paula has a passion for architecture and interior design. She studied interior design in 2020–2021 and has supported several clients with their renovation projects. Personally, she is currently working on her third home renovation.