About Suzanne
Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.
After more than 20 years in the corporate world, Suzanne Mau-Asam has seen it all: the good, the bad, and the ‘we’re not sure what’s happening here.’ But here’s the thing: she doesn’t stop at quick fixes or standard solutions. As a sociologist, certified somatic coach, learning and development specialist and embodied leadership expert, Suzanne brings a level of depth that most programs don’t even touch.
Her approach? It’s all about connections
Connections between your cognitive skills, your emotions, and your body. Between your past, present and future. And between people. While most learning and development, leadership, DEI or wellbeing strategies stick to cognitive intelligence, Suzanne knows that real, lasting change happens when you combine brainpower with emotional insight and bodily awareness. That’s how you go beyond knowing what needs to change and start living it.
A personal mission
Suzanne’s story is deeply personal. Growing up in two cultures taught her early on how powerful diversity can be. It also showed her what happens when people feel excluded. That experience shaped her ambition for creating workplaces where everyone feels like they belong, where they don’t feel like they have to wear a mask, and where they can do their best work.
I had the pleasure of working with Doors Open for the senior management of Nationale Nederlanden. Together we were responsible for delivering leadership workshops for the managers of all the business units in Europe and Japan. Part of this included coaching the senior leaders.
Suzanne is an expert in the field of leadership development and a competent workshop supervisor for small and large groups. She is an experienced coach with unique skills as a somatic coach, which she has gained at the world famous Strozzi Institute of Embodied Leadership.
Boudewijn Bertsch
SPI Management LLC
The power of Doors Open
As the founder of Doors Open, Suzanne and her team partner with leaders and teams who want to move beyond surface-level strategies and make real progress.
She also started The Female Hub in The Hague, a community where women grow their leadership skills, find support, and thrive together.
Whether she’s guiding a leader through a pivotal moment, helping a team or organization align on what truly matters, or sharing insights on stage, Suzanne’s work is practical, deeply human, and built to stick.
Ready to explore what’s possible for your team or organization?
Suzanne is here to help. Let’s start the conversation.
Trusted by
Featured on
MT Sprout Magazine
interview from October 15th 2026
In this article, Suzanne explains why so many professional women adapt at work by putting on masks: the pleaser, the perfectionist, the rescuer, the imposter and more. These masks offer protection until they become automatic and start draining your energy. Drawing on her own early years at Shell and on the three layers beneath every mask (biology, biography and context), she shows why insight alone isn’t enough. Listening to your body is what creates room to choose.
JM ouders magazine
interview from October 15th 2026
A personal interview about family life between cultures. Suzanne has Dutch and Curaçaoan roots, and her husband grew up in Portugal and England. Together they raise a daughter and two bonus sons in a home full of languages, traditions and hospitality. She shares why they make room for emotions almost every evening. Adapting to different worlds is valuable, she says, as long as you don’t lose yourself along the way. It’s a theme she also explores in her book.
Harper’s Bazaar
interview from October 9th 2026
In this interview for the Harper’s Bazaar Business Club, Suzanne looks back on the road to her first book: from years of fitting in at large corporations to building Doors Open and The Female Hub. As an entrepreneur, she says, there is nothing to hide behind, and that is exactly what taught her to step into the spotlight. She explains the masks we wear at work, where they come from, and how your body helps you stay true to yourself.
Den Haag FM “De Ochtendshow”
interview from June 24th 2026
During the interview, Suzanne shared not only the vision behind her book but also practical tips and insights for immediately putting embodied leadership into practice. According to Suzanne, effective leadership doesn’t start with what you do, but with how you are present. In the conversation, she gave listeners concrete tools to develop greater self-awareness, better cope with challenges, and lead more powerfully based on their own values.
Psychologie Magazine
interview in the March 2026 edition
An in-depth article on embodiment and embodied leadership, in which Suzanne explains how we often live from our heads and overlook the signals from our bodies. Drawing on her own story and insights from sociology, neuroscience, and the polyvagal theory, she shows how you can learn to use your body as a compass rather than an obstacle. It includes practical exercises, such as centering, to get started right away.
Psychologie Magazine
November 2025
“’Embodied’ means that you learn here by gaining new experiences through your body, rather than through your mind by thinking about them. And although the word ‘leadership’ immediately makes me think of managers and CEOs (which I am not), this two-day retreat is suitable for everyone since, as Suzanne emphasizes: the training is more about personal leadership. It’s about how you can guide yourself through challenging situations at work and beyond.”
– Saskia Decorte
March 2026
An inspiring TEDx talk about how our experiences unconsciously shape the “masks” we wear, and how Embodied Leadership can help you learn to listen to your body again, break old patterns, and become more visible with greater authenticity, presence, and impact.
Are you ready to be brave?
We’re here to help you
