Dr A.H.G. Rinnooy Kan was appointed unsalaried Professor of Policy Analysis in the Private and Public Sectors in the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) on 1 September 2007. This is a new research chair. The appointment marks Rinnooy Kan's return to the university where he obtained his doctorate in 1976.

The chair, which is housed within the Amsterdam Business School at the FEB, is aimed at fostering a better understanding of the effectiveness of negotiation processes, including how they operate in the public and private sectors, and at national and international levels. With his in-depth knowledge of socio-economic issues gained from work in both the private and the public sector, Alexander Rinnooy Kan will be able to make a valuable contribution to education and research at the business school. His activities will include giving lectures and classes, and acting as a link between the academic and corporate worlds.

Rinnooy Kan graduated cum laude in Mathematics from the University of Leiden in 1972, and obtained his PhD in Mathematics from the UvA in 1976. He has been Crown-appointed member and chair of the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER) since 2006. He previously served in various academic functions, including as Professor of Operations Research and Rector Magnificus of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. Following this appointment he held various administrative functions in the public and private sectors. These included membership on the Board of Governors of the ING Group and chairmanship of the corporate association VNO-NCW. Rinnooy Kan received an Honorary Doctorate in Economics from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 1994.