Joseph Roevens PhD

About Joseph Roevens PhD

He’s a tenured professor at NHTV Breda University in the Netherlands and a research associate of its Center for Cross-cultural Understanding and Change. Roevens received his B.A. from Cornell University, advanced degrees from IEP, Ecole Centrale and HEC in Paris, and from the School of Advanced International Relations (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University.

In 2008 he obtained a PhD from Tilburg University. As a polyglot bridge builder, Joseph connects the fields of business, international relations, psychology, organizational development and ecological philosophy. His expertise covers managing people, leadership and change, with a focus on Semco-style participation, Zappos-like management and chaos theory.

Joseph started professional life as a European Union lobbyist, covering green and human rights topics. His work led him to an international PR position at Ecover, where he co-orchestrated the “Opening of Europe’s First Ecological Factory”. Based on those experiences, Roevens wrote “Organize with Chaos: a Simple Robust Business tool” (1996) with Robin Rowley. This self-published book opened up speaking invitations together with leading chaos theorists and management intellectuals, such as LExpansion/ICADs Brussels Conference, “The Strategies of Chaos”, IABCs Conferences in Brussels and NYC, and a private seminar with Nobel Laureate Dr. Ilya Prigogine.

Roevens worked for 12 years as an entrepreneurial pedagogue with the following organizations and business schools: Century 21, Nutrexpa, Vitamine W (now Levanto), Westerlund (now Babcock & Brown), Radisson Edwardian Hotels , Randstad Interim (via Belgian Bankers Academy), Antwerp University, Emerson College, Hochschule Bremerhaven, Real Software Academy, Regardz Conference Hotels (Golden Tulip), Hilton Hotels, Rotterdam Business School, Tilburg University, and Universitàt de Vic. Since 2005, Joseph is a professor at NHTV Breda University, in its Academies of Hotel Management, International Facility Management, and Tourism. He heads a self-managed team of lecturers and tutors, and supervises students doing their Bachelor Thesis on participative management and emergent change. He also created LeadershipTango, a new form of Leadership training.

On May 2015, Joseph was invited – together with his long-time mentor Ricardo Semler – to consult Zappos about its’ transition to full self-management.
Watch his lecture about Zappos on https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL08Ejq10aIsf9gs7oxFhbe4pfdCcQRG1n Follow his work on https://insight.nhtv.nl/tag/joseph-roevens/About

“Organize with Chaos” (1997, 1999, 2007), the Leadership & Organization Development Journal wrote: “I liked Organize with Chaos and intuitively felt at ease with the ideas…. It could be read in a couple of hours as the authors suggest, but I would recommend several sittings”. Gillian Stamp, Director of the Brunel Institute of Organization and Social Studies, wrote “Rowley and Roevens are so good at taking complex ideas and communicating in ways that touch the immediate – it is a real gift and means so many people can gain from their thinking and work”. About the 2007 edition, Art Kleiner, editor of strategy+business, wrote “I think your enhance “perturb“, attract “excite model” of ways to instigate change in an organization is very interesting. … I think that you have done a fair job of diagnosing one serious set of problems with conventional management”.

About Josephs PhD dissertation “Systemic Constellations Work in Organizations”, John Rijsman, Emeritus Professor of Economic and Social Psychology at the University of Tilburg, wrote: “this well-written work introduces academics and professionals to a fascinating new organizational approach”, and added “Joseph has always been at the forefront of where his subject is heading” and Hilda Martens, Professor of HRM at the University of Hasselt, said: “I find it very original, personal and complete!”