‘Run by alpha males’: Ex-employees on toxic work culture at Rotterdam’s climate center
Former employees of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) in Rotterdam say the organization, founded to help the world prepare for climate change, has been plagued by a toxic work culture marked by intimidation, public humiliation, and burnout.
More than 20 former staff and associates told NOS the atmosphere was “toxic,” describing the center as being run by “alpha males” and “roosters." The GCA denies the claims, though director Patrick Verkooijen admitted his tone “can sometimes be sharp.”
The GCA was founded in 2017, largely funded by the Dutch government and countries including Norway, France, and Denmark, to link climate science with practical solutions.
The center has been linked to prominent figures, including Ban Ki-moon, who served as the UN’s eighth Secretary-General from 2007 to 2016. According to several sources, Verkooijen used his ties to Ban Ki-moon, who once called him “the most exceptional person I’ve ever met,” to pressure employees.
NOS obtained WhatsApp messages in which Verkooijen told an employee after an argument that Ban Ki-moon was on his side. That employee later said the messages were “unlawfully shared” and “misleading,” adding the dispute had been resolved.
Several ex-staff described being assigned "impossible tasks" and then blamed publicly when they failed. “It grinds you down mentally,” one told NOS. “It destroys your self-confidence.”
Another former employee, Shuaib Lwasa, now a professor at Erasmus University, said, “When I look at GCA’s website now, almost no one who worked there when I did is still around.”
In a written response, Verkooijen said he knows his tone “can be sharp” but that it stems from “strong involvement and a results-driven way of working.” He added that GCA has evolved “toward a coaching and inclusive approach.”
The Ministries of Infrastructure and Water Management and Foreign Affairs acknowledged they had received informal signals about Verkooijen’s dominant role but said those “were not of such nature that action was taken.”
