I am a scholar of U.S. and global history, specializing in transatlantic relations, and multinationals as makers of international relations. I teach at an International Business school at the Hanze Hogeschool Groningen, and at the Department of American Studies at the University of Groningen. I am a PhD researcher at the University of Leiden.

I grew up in a small town in the province of Friesland. Although I live in the city of Groningen and I enjoy the academic climate of this place, I still feel strongly connected to the open skies of the countryside. I worked on board of a sailing ship and sailed half-way around the world for nearly two years before I started working in higher education, an experience that is with me up and until today.