This is where we build
what comes next.
The ideas shaping tomorrow are already forming in the minds of founders, leaders, and teams who sense what’s possible.
We help bring that into focus, form, and motion.
Strategic Advisory & Innovation Management
bend & stretch, est. 2019 supports organizations and leaders in making more positive impact in the world.
We work at the intersection of strategy and humanity, where bold ideas meet the people and processes that make them real. Where clarity opens the door to momentum. And where lasting impact begins from the inside out.
How we work
Unlock the mission
We start where it matters – with what you are actually trying to create – by understanding where you are, where you want to go, and what’s getting in the way. No assumptions.
Strategy you can move on
Together we translate your ambitions into a clear, actionable strategy, one that you and your (emerging) team can understand, own, and execute. Every strategy is built to realize the mission.
Impact that lasts & ecosystem integration
We build the leadership capacity and ecosystem connections that turn a good strategy into lasting, sustainable change. The right people in the right room changes everything. We connect experts, stakeholders, and collaborators to spark the kind of thinking that doesn’t emerge in silos.
From complexity
to clarity to action.
You’re navigating growth, innovation, and change – often at once. Maryama Marong works with you to shape direction, align your people, and translate your vision into strategies you can actually move on.
Innovation Management · Strategic Advisory · Business Model & Brand Strategy
High-trust. High-impact. Built around your long-term purpose.
This is not a standard advisory retainer. It’s a genuine collaboration, designed to elevate strategic thinking, deepen leadership presence, and create the conditions for meaningful transformation.
We invest time in understanding where you are, where you want to go, and what will actually get you there. Then we build it together.
About Maryama Marong
Founder bend & stretch, Open Vision’s consulting branche
Maryama Marong advises organisations and founders on translating bold aspirations into clear, actionable strategies. With a background spanning over ten years in management consulting, strategic marketing and communications, she guides teams from ideation through to execution – always with an eye on long-term purpose and sustainable impact.
Maryama holds a Master in Business Administration, has completed executive education at INSEAD and is a certified Agile Coach. She also guest-lectures at the University of Amsterdam Business School and is a mentor at AMS Institute (a collaboration between the municipality of Amsterdam and MIT’s Senseable City Lab) guiding urban-tech ventures through their Startup Booster programme.
Over the years, Maryama has worked with global names such as Nike, Heineken, CBRE and Vodafone Ziggo, as well as media brands including TNW and the Financial Times. She has also led and supported innovative initiatives at Conscious Business Institute, Amsterdam Economic Board, Amsterdam Business School, Rocket Internet, Zadkine, Summa College and ROC van Amsterdam.
If you’re ready to bend new possibilities and stretch your ambitions towards a brighter future, Maryama is the partner who will help you turn vision into reality.
Testimonials
Navigating change host
“Having had the pleasure of experiencing Maryama as a host and presenter, I can confidently say that she excels in captivating her audience from the moment she steps on stage. Her ability to engage participants is unparalleled, and her workshops deliver powerful, meaningful insights that resonate both professionally and personally. Her expertise and passion make her an invaluable asset to any event or gathering.”
— EMEA Recruiter, Nike Inc.
Strategic innovation
“Maryama was pivotal in moving our organization’s strategy into one of collaboration and co-creation. She led over ten of our internal teams in creating new education programs and value propositions with our regional ecosystsem. Which attract more students, are more engaging, and are continuously updated through our partnership with industry leaders. We’re grateful for Maryama’s work in fostering such partnerships in education innovation, and leading our teams through change as a trusted advisor.“
— Education Innovation Lead, Zadkine
Portfolio optimization
“Maryama’s strategic acumen and ability to uncover opportunity have been invaluable to our firm. By conducting a thorough analysis of our services portfolio, she swiftly pinpointed areas of strength and guided us toward new market segments perfectly aligned with our capabilities. Her insights were both incisive and motivating, enabling our teams to refine our value proposition and confidently pursue growth initiatives.”
— Partner, CBI
Unlocking your mission
We look at the model, the brand, and the people who make it real. All at once. Because a strategy that lives only on paper isn’t a strategy. We shape direction, align your team around it, and build the processes that make results inevitable.
Ready to build what comes next?
Whether you’re stepping into a new direction, preparing a conversation that matters, or ready to move on a vision you’ve been carrying.
This is where it begins.
Choose your entry point
Consultancy
Navigating growth, complexity, and innovation.
Ready to move from complexity to clarity? And from clarity into action?
For organisations, founders, and teams seeking clarity on direction, innovation, and positioning. Let’s collaborate to shape direction, align your people, and build strategies centred on long-term purpose. We help translate ideas and aspirations into clear strategies and practical pathways forward. Maryama works with you to shape direction, align your people, and build strategies you can actually execute — with purpose at the centre.
This is a high-trust, high-impact engagement designed to elevate strategic thinking, deepen leadership presence, and drive meaningful transformation.
Interim innovation management
When you need experienced leadership inside the organization to drive innovation programmes, build internal capacity, and keep momentum going.
Strategic Advisory
Clear-eyed guidance on direction, positioning, and growth. From shaping strategy to aligning teams around a shared vision of what comes next.
Business model & Brand strategy
Translating ideas and aspirations into offers, models, and narratives that are coherent, distinctive, and built to last.
This is for founders, executives, and teams ready to move:
Startups navigating next-stage growth | Corporates driving innovation | Multistakeholder organisations | Public & private sector leaders | Teams in transition
Training & Workshops
To resolve a challenge, unlock direction, gain high-level perspective.
Hands-on workshops and training programmes designed to strengthen strategic thinking, creativity, and leadership capabilities. Topics include ideation & concept development, validation and testing, vision & horizon development, branding & positioning, Design Sprints, and bespoke programmes tailored to your organisation’s ambitions and challenges.
Moderation
Meaningful conversations and events that add value
Professional moderation for conferences, panels, and leadership dialogues. From conference chairing to co-creative sessions and Socratic Design™ dialogue moderation, we design and guide conversations that create clarity, connection, and momentum.
Some of our clients
Our commitment
We’re committed to driving positive impact by partnering with founders, leaders, and teams to develop strategies and offerings that contribute to a brighter future. We align businesses with their highest level of impact while integrating inner development & capacity building into leadership. Because lasting external impact begins with internal growth.
Integrating ecosystems
We connect the right people -experts, stakeholders, and teams; to spark cross-pollination and co-creation. This collaborative energy fosters new ideas, strong communities, and deeper self-awareness, all of which are essential for succeeding in today’s ever-evolving business landscape.
A futureproof education case: bend & stretch has co-created over 20 new and innovative educational programs for Zadkine with partners such as TUI, ASML, Securitas, VDL, Hoya Vision and many others.
