Patrick van Veen (1970) is a behavioural biologist and founder of Apemanagement®. As a speaker, author and curious researcher, he seeks to inspire people and encourage reflection. His mission is to translate scientific insights from biology into practical knowledge that can be applied in organisations, education and society.

Professional experience
Patrick strongly believes that sharing knowledge alone is not enough — you must also remain actively involved in organisations to understand what is truly happening and to continue gaining new insights. After studying biology (Utrecht University), he worked for ten years at a life insurance company, where he discovered how strongly our primate behaviour still influences the workplace. He began recording his observations in notebooks, which eventually led to his first book, Help, Mijn baas is een aap! (Help, My Boss is a Monkey!) (2004). This book has now been reprinted more than 25 times, translated into German and Russian, and became a bestseller in the Netherlands. During his time at the insurance sector, he also took a management course, which laid the foundation for Apemanagement®, which he founded in 2002. Until 2007, he continued to do interim work for various pension funds alongside his work for Apemanagement. Thereafter, he devoted himself entirely to his own company.

Jane Goodall
However, in 2008, he took on a new role when he was asked to join the board of the Jane Goodall Institute Netherlands, volunteering part of his time to work for this organisation. In 2012, he joined the global organisation of the British primatologist Dr Jane Goodall, with whom he maintained a warm personal relationship until her passing in 2025. From 2017 onwards, he had the privilege of leading the Jane Goodall Institute Global for five years as global chair, during which time he regularly visited projects, research teams and chapters abroad. He also regularly represented the Institute at international conferences and visited various countries together with Dr Jane Goodall. He cherishes the lessons he learned from Dr Jane Goodall about intercultural cooperation, nature conservation, chimpanzees and working within large international organisations, lessons he incorporates into his lectures and training programmes. He remains affiliated with the Institute as a senior advisor and advises two chimpanzee sanctuaries in Africa. He considers his more than 15 years of experience within the Institute invaluable in understanding how organisations must operate under challenging circumstances.