Sandra Berendsen took a break from the boardroom for a while. Her dairy farm called, and she found herself working with milking robots in the middle of the night. Now, she is back as a supervisory board member. Berendsen ranks first in this year’s Next50 Supervisory Board Members, Management Scope’s annual list of the next generation of top members of supervisory boards. She is a supervisory board member with a keen eye for the human aspect and has diverse interests: 'If you make a decision that benefits one party, it has direct consequences for the other. If you overlook that, you have a problem—no matter how sound your decision is.'

When a fast-growing company has to appoint a supervisory board, it means that the CEO or founder has to get used to the fact that he or she is no longer the boss. What consequences does this have for the supervisory directors in question? ‘Sympathy for the situation of high-growth is important, but the governance must be in order as soon as possible.’