Leo studied Andragogy and Mass Communication and has already spent several years working in art education. He was Programme Director at the Netherlands Film Academy in Amsterdam and Senior Policy Advisor and later Head of the Quality and Education department at Amsterdam University of the Arts (AHK). Since 2012, Leo has held various positions at HKU University of the Arts Utrecht, including Head of the Teaching, Research and Quality Assurance Office, and most recently, Director of Theatre.

Leo has extensive experience in setting up and guiding accreditation processes and strategic educational consultation. He has been an active member of various consultative bodies within the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences for many years and possesses a wealth of knowledge about education policy and job market research.

“When I had to explain to a lecturer at the conservatoire around 15 years ago what quality assurance was, he quickly interrupted me, saying: “What do you mean, quality assurance? Leo, we talk about nothing but quality all day long!” Nowadays, accounting for and safeguarding the quality of teaching is fully accepted and a reasonable requirement of the government. It has been turned into an accreditation system with assessment frameworks, and every university of applied sciences has a quality assurance policy. But I have never forgotten that one sentence. It has to do with a certain quality culture that I also sense at the KABK: at the academy they probably also talk about nothing but quality all day long… I want to take this culture as my starting point. I feel honoured to be able to come and strengthen it and to tie it in with the formally imposed frameworks.”