In negotiating rooms across Brussels, twenty-seven nations once debated the future of European finance. Maps lined conference walls. Position papers stacked high on tables. And at the Dutch delegation, a young policy advisor absorbed every tension between regulatory ambition and market reality.
Today, Folker de Witte brings that front-row seat to the classroom at NYU Abu Dhabi. The Adjunct Lecturer of Business, Organizations and Society speaks with the measured precision of someone who has witnessed firsthand how grand sustainability commitments can either flourish or falter. "As a regulator, you can only move so fast," he says. "There are certain limitations, so there also needs to be a bottom-up approach where you have more flexibility than the law itself."
It is this tension between regulatory frameworks and market innovation that has shaped De Witte's career, taking him from universities to the corridors of EU power, and now to the Gulf, where he is helping students and institutions navigate the complex terrain of sustainable finance.
From lectures to legal reform
De Witte's path into Law began in the Netherlands, where he completed his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) at Utrecht University before pursuing master's degrees (LLMs) in Legal Research at Groningen University and Comparative, European and International Law at the European University Institute in Florence. It was during his PhD at the European University Institute, focusing on financial market regulation, that sustainable finance began emerging as a critical field.
His doctoral thesis, Decoding EU Disclosure Regulation on Retail Investment Products, deepened his understanding of how financial regulations communicate risk and opportunity to investors, shaped in part by his simultaneous work at the Dutch Ministry of Finance.
As a Policy Advisor in the Financial Markets Policy Directorate and member of the Sustainable Finance Expert Group there, he represented the Netherlands in Brussels, negotiating the future of European financial regulation. “I really got a front row seat with the discussions,” he says of those negotiations.
The experience taught him that regulatory change requires understanding not just legal frameworks, but political realities and competing interests across diverse economies and markets. The exposure has shaped his academic work ever since, informing his teaching and research at NYUAD, where he joined as faculty in January 2025.
Capital for change
De Witte’s dual focus on sustainable finance and financial technology addresses two of the most pressing questions facing modern markets: how to channel capital toward meaningful environmental and social impact, and how emerging technologies can make finance more efficient and accessible.
He is particularly interested in what he calls “transition finance” — moving away from simply rewarding companies that are already green toward supporting those willing to transform.
“What we should be doing is trying to find companies that are not yet green, but have credible transition plans, and give them the capital and tools needed to move towards new business models,” he explains. The approach addresses everything from cement production to real estate, where sustainable transformation is both essential and capital-intensive.
Looking to the future, De Witte sees artificial intelligence as potentially transformative in reducing the burden of sustainability reporting and assurance, and in widening access to financial advice.
“If you want personalized financial advice, you need considerable wealth to hire an individual consultant,” he notes. “But now we're seeing this move also towards AI financial advice, so that could potentially democratize access to financial services.”
Teaching the future of finance
A central part of De Witte’s role at NYUAD is teaching. While his research centers on sustainable finance, De Witte teaches across Business, Organizations and Society and Legal Studies, covering business ethics, business law and capstone supervision. He treats each class as its own group with its own rhythm, staying attentive to what students signal through their questions and discussions — an aspect of the job he particularly values.
The UAE context also offers unique opportunities for his work. “There’s a real can-do mentality in Abu Dhabi,” he says. “Decisions are made with clarity and speed, which creates room for genuine progress.”
His current research focuses on developing taxonomies and legal frameworks to ensure that transition finance delivers on its promises — that capital flows to companies genuinely transforming their business models rather than those merely making hollow commitments.
It is work that sits at the intersection of law, economics, policy, and environmental necessity, requiring exactly the kind of cross-disciplinary thinking that drew him to NYUAD in the first place.
“There's a sense of ambition and long-term vision here,” he reflects. “And I think that makes it a very exciting place to be.”
