Managing Director, Estivant Vakanties
Paula de Keijzer is the first female Managing Director of Estivant Vakanties, a Dutch tour operator offering group holidays for solo parents with children and solo travelers.
She brings over 25 years of international leadership experience in the hospitality and travel industry, having held senior commercial roles at Expedia Group, NH Hotel Group, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and Hyatt International, living and working across 12 countries on four continents for the last 30 years. Leading across so many different cultures as a female leader has shaped her deep passion for diversity and inclusion and for what it takes to build workplaces where that inclusion is genuinely lived, not just stated.
Paula is also a certified professional coach, bringing a holistic leadership lens to helping female leaders navigate the boardroom and find greater purpose in their careers. She is passionate about Employee Resource Groups as a driver of belonging within organizations, and mentors young professionals as they navigate their own career journeys.
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“I agreed to speak because this is a conversation I live, not just one I have opinions about. The IWTTF Forum matters because it doesn’t settle for corporate messaging. It asks for real practice, not just intent and travel, more than most industries, has the power to change how people experience independence, safety, and belonging in their own lives. That’s worth being honest about, in public, together.”