From leading Fairphone to shaping food systems, the Dutch entrepreneur continues to challenge what business can be.
In a business world often driven by speed and quarterly gains, Eva Gouwens has always stood for something quieter— and stronger. As the former CEO of Fairphone, the Amsterdam-based company that dared to design the world’s most ethical smartphone, she spent six years proving that business can serve both purpose and profit. Today, she’s turned her energy toward a new frontier: tackling food waste and reshaping supply chains at the Robin Food Coalition.
Though no longer in the limelight of the tech world, Gouwens remains a guiding force in the broader conversation around fair business practices. Her journey reflects a consistent mission: to lead with values, act with intention, and challenge industries to do better.
Fairphone, where Eva served from 2017 until 2023, was not your typical tech start-up. Founded as a campaign against the use of conflict minerals in consumer electronics, it soon evolved into a bold experiment: could a smartphone be made ethically, sustainably—and commercially? Gouwens helped answer that question with a quiet but determined “yes.”
“I believe in the power of business to make the world fairer”
Coming from a background at Tony’s Chocolonely, another Dutch brand rewriting industry standards, Eva brought a unique blend of business sense and moral clarity. She didn’t aim to outpace Silicon Valley giants on specs or speed. Her ambition was bigger: to build a tech company where transparency, human rights, and longterm thinking weren’t side notes, but centre stage.
Under her leadership, Fairphone launched several iterations of its modular smartphones, built to be repaired rather than replaced, and assembled with responsibly sourced materials like Fairtrade gold and recycled plastics. Just as notably, the company invested in better wages and working conditions for its manufacturing partners— an uncommon move in a notoriously opaque supply chain.
By the time she stepped down in September 2023, Eva had helped transform Fairphone from a passionate start-up into an award-winning social enterprise with global recognition. But she wasn’t interested in legacy. She was interested in momentum.
“I believe in the power of business to make the world fairer,” she once said—and she continues to prove it. In her current role as a business consultant at the Robin Food Coalition, Eva is applying her experience to a new set of challenges: building a more circular and equitable food economy. Much like her work at Fairphone, it’s a mission that intersects sustainability, systemic change, and community impact.
Under her leadership, Fairphone launched several iterations of its modular smartphones
Those who’ve worked with Eva describe her as understated but tenacious, pragmatic yet idealistic. She doesn’t shout. She listens, builds, and leads by example. Her impact can be measured not only in awards or product sales, but in the ripples she’s sent across the European sustainability movement—especially among young entrepreneurs looking to do things differently.
In an era where ‘green’ has become a marketing gimmick and ‘sustainable’ a slippery buzzword, Gouwens has shown what genuine, principle-driven leadership looks like. Whether it’s in consumer electronics or food systems, her work consistently asks the right questions: Who made this? What’s its real cost? Can we do better?
Eva Gouwens may have stepped away from the CEO spotlight, but her influence remains, not only within the DNA of Fairphone, but also in a broader movement reimagining capitalism for a new generation.
As one chapter ends and another begins, one thing is clear: she’s not done redefining what business can be.