Home
I am an author of fiction and non-fiction books, as well as columns and articles, born in Harlingen in the Netherlands in 1942. Writing, reading and language have always been central to my life. Since 1981, I have lived in The Hague, a city in which I have increasingly come to feel at home.
After studying chemical engineering in Groningen and control engineering in Manchester, I obtained a PhD in Manchester for research into the mathematical modelling of the dynamics of multi-component fractionating columns. I subsequently served as an officer at a Dutch military laboratory during my compulsory military service, after which I held a number of positions within what is now AkzoNobel.
At the age of thirty-four, I became a management consultant — a decision that fits me like a glove. I founded a consultancy firm which eventually grew to sixteen employees before being sold through a management buy-out. Much of our work focused on helping companies improve their performance through methods I had developed and described in my publications. Following the buy-out, I continued to work independently, primarily on international assignments.
Alongside my consultancy work, I held part-time professorships for twenty-five years in technology management and entrepreneurship at universities in Delft, Rotterdam, Nijenrode and Delft again. Working with students on graduation projects and doctoral research gave me particular satisfaction.
Every person has talents that want to be developed. Encouraging that is part of both loving and leading.
– Hans Wissema
Over the years, I have written many scientific and professional books, as well as hundreds of articles. Some of my books have been translated into as many as twelve languages and reprinted up to twenty times. I have lectured and advised in many countries around the world. My last non-fiction book, on New Learning, was published in October 2022.
Since my student years, I have also written fiction, mainly columns and short stories. Human relationships have always fascinated me, and through novels I seek to explore the ways in which people shape one another’s lives.
My first novel, Siberian Lessons on Life, Love and Death, follows the journey of the abbot of a Russian monastery and a young Englishman traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok. Along the way, the abbot stops in various places to answer questions from local believers. During the journey, both protagonists undergo profound personal development through the abbot’s teachings. Many readers have told me that the life lessons in the book touched them deeply and, in some cases, even changed their lives. The idea for the novel came to me during a twenty-four-hour train journey from Novosibirsk to Krasnoyarsk through the vast Siberian wilderness.
After Siberian Lessons, I wrote Why I Love Bulgaria, inspired by a country I visit frequently and where I have many friends. Later, together with my three-year-old grandson, I wrote three children’s books, although these have not been published.
In May 2026, my second novel, Through You, was published in Dutch; an English translation has been privately published. One of the novel’s central themes is that we become who we are through the people we love. The story follows Irene, who develops from a shy and cautious girl into a free-spirited and celebrated painter. A second theme is the need to overcome the limitations imposed upon us during childhood. The novel takes the reader to the Green Heart of Holland, The Hague, England, Kenya and Argentina.
The common thread running through both my professional and personal life is the conviction that people should be given the opportunity to develop their talents. That belief is reflected both in my scientific work and in my novels.
