“Stay close to yourself. Do the things you enjoy, because those are often the things you’re good at too — and don’t let parents, family or friends push you down a direction that, deep down, you know isn’t the right one.”

Short biography
Olaf Sleijpen is a Dutch economist and central banker, serving as President and Governor of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) since 1 July 2025. In this role, he leads the Dutch central bank’s work on monetary and economic analysis, financial stability and supervision, and represents the Netherlands internationally. As a member of the European Central Bank’s Governing Council, he helps shape euro area monetary policy and contributes to discussions on inflation, growth and financial conditions across Europe.

Sleijpen has been a member of DNB’s Executive Board since 2020 and has held a range of senior positions within the bank, combining policy work with hands-on supervisory experience. Earlier in his career, he worked at the European Central Bank as counsellor to President Wim Duisenberg and held leadership roles at pension fund ABP and pension administrator APG. Alongside his work at DNB, he is a part-time Professor of European Economic Policy at Maastricht University and holds a PhD in economics from the University of Groningen.