#Iconic_Audencians: Shirley Akkerman (MSc IM 09), climbing from peak to peak

  • Business
  • Le 28 août 2023

Shirley Akkerman, MSc IM 2009, consultant & e-commerce entrepreneur

After studying for her bachelor in The Netherlands with periods in Helsinki and Paris, before joining the International Master programme which took her to Nantes, Warsaw and Barcelona, Shirley declared she would never go back to live in her home town of Rotterdam in The Netherlands. At 23, with a bachelor and a master’s degree ticked off her to-do list, Shirley was not yet ready to enter the real world (her own words). With wanderlust still in her system, she bought a one-way ticket to Nepal and headed for Everest Basecamp on her own. “It was to do the scariest thing I ever did,” she says.

When she finally returned to lower altitudes, Shirley spent nine years in e-commerce, driving the brand XD Design with the iconic anti-theft Bobby backpack, running 8 successful kickstarter campaigns and leading projects with a hands-on crash test approach. Today Shirley has changed direction and, in the past year, she has become a consultant and e-commerce entrepreneur, purchasing her own products, having her own brands and selling them in Europe, on marketplaces and in her own web shops.

Shirley is insatiably curious and driven by a passion for people, nature, animals and things. She still has the mountain bug and has climbed some great peaks such as Mont Blanc in France, Toubkal in Morocco and Huayna Potosi in Bolivia. When we catch up with Shirley, it’s been 13 years since she graduated from Audencia and she is happily settled - in Rotterdam. Let’s discover which direction her career is taking her today.

 
 
For the third year in a row, we are delighted and proud to showcase 12 new profiles of Audencians from around the globe. The alumni that you will discover have very generously given up their time for an interview for which we are immensely grateful.
 
Discover all the portraits here


 
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