Coffee Matters

Born in Denmark and raised in Copenhagen, Aileen Christensen spent her childhood between the cobbled streets of the city and the wild west coast of Ireland, her mother’s homeland. Though geography says otherwise, she considers herself half Danish, half Irish—and half Australian, after years spent under Melbourne’s big skies.Aileen has held nearly every marketing role imaginable at her employer, Elsevier, from customer engagement to digital acquisition, and currently leads the GenAI strategy for its 200+ global marketing team. Alongside her day job, she’s completing an Executive MBA, fuelled by strong coffee and early morning study sessions.For Aileen, coffee isn’t just a drink, it’s a ritual, a connector, and a reminder that the best ideas often start with a good cup and great conversation....this is her story

Iris Posthouwer is an author, keynote speaker and trainer, specializing in boundary-setting and communication in professional settings. She aims to make uncomfortable conversations more comfortable. She works with teams and leaders across sectors — from healthcare to media — helping people navigate tension, speak up with clarity, and stay human in difficult conversations. Her bestselling book “Iets met grenzen stellen” (“Something About Setting Boundaries”) has resonated widely in the Netherlands. This is her story...

Marie Körbl is a Dutch performer, musical theatre artist and theatre maker whose work is centered around the narratives of womanhood She trained in Urban Contemporary Dance (JMD) at the Amsterdam University of the Arts and holds a Master’s degree in Musical Theatre from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London.Marie has also appeared in major musical theatre productions performing the role of Vlinder in Zodiac the musical, Frenchy in Grease & cover Sophie in MAMMA MIA! UK.Marie will soon appear in Aletta – de Musical (Theater Oostpool & TEC Entertainment), a comedy musical about the life of Aletta Jacobs, the first female doctor in the Netherlands and a pioneer for women’s rights. The production premieres 21 March 2026 in Amsterdam and will tour nationally.

Roy van Rosmalen was born in Nijmegen, the Netherlands andmoves through the world with an eye for the unseen, capturing atmospheres that others might overlook. His work balances architecture, nature, colour and texture—subtle yet charged with an inviting tension. With his company, Roy scouts locations for feature films, series, and commercials, always in pursuit of the perfect setting. Beyond this, his photography transforms fleeting moments into tangible art, available for those who seek to own a piece of his vision. Somewhere in the background, the crackle of vinyl—a craft he’s mastered since the age of twelve—spins his story forward.

Tony Tonnaer is a Conscious Consult with over 20 years experience in building sustainable denim brands. Tony has always had a love for denim, starting his first job in the denim industry in 1997 at Pepe Jeans as product manager working together with denim experts like James Veenhoff (House of Denim), Jason Denham (Denham), Karl-Heinz Müller (founder Bread&Butter) and Fred Gehring & Ludo Onnink (Tommy Hilfiger).After Pepe jeans he helped revive the Dutch denim brand Kuyichi putting them on the map as the first sustainable denim brand in the European market. In 2011 Tony made his own mark on the industry when he launched his brand ‘Kings of Indigo’ that became one of the key pioneering denim brands at the forefront of sustainable innovations. This is his story today...

Jan Roelfs is a key note speaker on Personal Leadership in Group Dynamics and Personal Positioning in the Demanding World of Media. He studied Political Science and International Relations in Amsterdam before joining the Public Relations firm Hill & Knowlton and eventually fulfilling one of his dreams to become a sports host at RTL Television in the Netherlands, Sport 7 and the international pay TV Sports channel Canal +.His voice is known by millions on Dutch national broadcast corporation NOS as a member of their sports presentation and commentator team. At NOS he is thecommentator on all the big Football events (Champions League, World Cup), and other events as the Olympic Summer and Winter games, the Tennis Grand Slams; Melbourne, Paris, London, New York. A regular to Monks Coffee, I'm thrilled he's joining me on Coffee Matters today.

Johan Kenhuis, elite swimmer and Olympian has two Olympic medals (bronze in Sydney 2000 and silver in Athens 2004) and many championship medals under his belt and I’m thrilled he agreed to chat to me today on Coffee Matters.Johan was born and raised in the country side (Twente in North Holland) He grew up working in a traditional butcher shop owned by his parents as a teenager. As the youngest of 5 children, born into a family of swimmers, he had to join the swimming club for at least one year after getting his swimming diploma and then decide if we wanted to continue. His Father and uncle were waterpolo players, in fact the whole family were swimmers and waterpolo players. He tried waterpolo but wasn’t good at the game, but was a really fast swimmer. At age 15 he decided to pursue swimming seriously. Not because he dreamt of going to the Olympics, but because he wanted to be really good at something.

Jessica Hjarrand is a 'soft infrastructure development' expert. She has been working to reform systems by building partnerships between people for over 20 years, mainly in the areas of education and early childhood development but also on freedom of expression and the empowerment of women. Most of her work has been focused on systems and people living in countries affected by conflict of all kinds, including war. Since this recording, she had been working with UNICEF in Ukraine. This is the 7th country affected by conflict that she has worked in. She was in the Middle East for the Arab Spring, in South Sudan after it got its independence and in Libya after the Revolution among a few of her experiences. Jessica says she is driven to leave the world better than she found it, and to have fun doing so, but also to leave behind something that inspires others to act as well.  Is this 12 part series I speak to our amazing customers about their lives and journeys and also why coffee matters to them. Follow for a new episode every Monday