Madeleine (“Mads”) van der Steege, MA (Soc. Sc.), is a managing editor, award-winning female entrepreneur, business coach, researcher and writer on entrepreneurship, leadership, culture and gender issues. Madeleine comes from a family of entrepreneurs. She was a pioneer in the field of mediation in South Africa and later moved into general management and management assessment, training and development. In 2004 she won the ‘BWA Woman of the Year Regional Entrepreneur’ award. In 2007 she and her family relocated to the Netherlands, where she set up European operations and virtual warehousing for her sister’s Vancouver-based, organic pet food company Cranimals.com. In 2013 she returned to the organization and human development field when she founded Synquity, providing leadership solutions in the EU. She is currently EU representative of TLH Auctioneers and Adjunct Professor, Business & Management Department, Webster University, Leiden. She is a member of the management board of The Bijlmer Project which seeks to empower trafficked women (www.thebijlmerproject.com). Madeleine has been involved with GLI (Global Leadership Initiatives) since its inception. She lives with her husband and three children in a picturesque village in the beautiful flower bulb region of the Netherlands.