Kathleen van der Wilk-Carlton has more than 25 years experience in international HR management, initially with the Shell Group in the UK, Latin America and the Netherlands, and in recent years as an independent consultant.

Her passion for dual career support grew from 1995 when she set up the Shell Group’s programme of career and employment advice for the partners of international staff worldwide. She managed that service, which became a model of best practice, until early 2004. Through this role, Kathleen identified the need for a concerted international effort to improve the access of partners to employment by relaxing work permit regulations and initiated discussions with other companies leading to the set up of Permits Foundation.

Previous positions included managing expatriate services, expatriate policy development, staff planning and development for graduate engineers, employee relations, remuneration policy, international recruitment and strategic manpower planning.

Kathleen is a graduate in chemistry with a postgraduate diploma in personnel management. She lives with her husband and two sons in The Hague.