I was born in Belgium to a Dutch father and a Chinese mother and was educated at the European School before moving to the Netherlands at the age of 21.

My life has taken me through very different worlds. I have experienced periods when very little seemed possible and years when almost anything was possible. I have lived with extreme wealth, travelled extensively and been closely involved in the personal, family and business matters that came with that life.

During my marriage, I often found myself involved when something needed to be understood or solved. It could be a problem within one of the businesses, an issue involving employees or advisers, a family matter or several things happening at the same time. I would start asking questions, looking for what did not make sense, gathering information and finding the right people when specialist expertise was needed.

I did not think of that as a profession at the time. It was simply the way I approached things.

After my divorce, my life changed completely. I spent several years rebuilding my life and understanding the experiences that had shaped it. That eventually led me to write Diary of a Rich White Woman, my first book.

Today, I live a much quieter and more independent life in the Dutch countryside. Looking back, I can see that one thing has remained remarkably consistent throughout very different chapters of my life. When I’m faced with a complicated situation, my instinct is to understand. I want to know what is really happening, what may be missing from the picture and what can actually be done about it.

That same way of thinking is now at the heart of my work as an Independent Trusted Advisor.