Research Names the First Corporate Psychopath in History
WHO:
EurekAlert! - Dr Clive Boddy, Associate Professor of Management at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), researched the case and is described as a pioneer in corporate psychopathy.
EurekAlert! - Jeronimus Cornelisz was a merchant manager and under-merchant employed by the Dutch East India Company.
EurekAlert! - Wiebbe Hayes led a group of survivors stranded on a different island.
EurekAlert! - The Dutch East India Company was the world’s first multinational shareholder-owned company.
EurekAlert! - The study appeared in the *Asian Journal of Business Ethics* and is titled “Asia Bound: shareholder capitalism, corporate psychopathy and psychopathic leadership.”
Phys.org - Its article describes new research into personality traits associated with toxic corporate leaders.
WHAT:
EurekAlert! - The study identifies Cornelisz as a likely earliest documented example of a corporate psychopath and says he displayed all 10 core characteristics in a recognised corporate-psychopathy framework.
EurekAlert! - The characteristics include using charm to gain trust, surrounding himself with loyal supporters, removing challengers, dividing rivals, creating fear, avoiding responsibility, and pursuing power, money and control.
EurekAlert! - After Cornelisz consolidated power, around 100 men, women and children were murdered under his leadership; some women experienced sexual violence.
EurekAlert! - Hayes’s group found two freshwater wells, seabird eggs, fish, wallabies and seals. A follower said the food could sustain all survivors for a “thousand years”.
EurekAlert! - Boddy called the episode “effectively a natural experiment in leadership,” contrasting Hayes’s cooperation and survival efforts with murder and abuse under Cornelisz.
EurekAlert! - The study links psychopathic leadership to workplace bullying, harassment, reduced employee wellbeing, higher staff turnover and organisational failure.
Phys.org - The article states that research suggests traits associated with toxic corporate leaders may have existed at the birth of global capitalism.
WHERE:
EurekAlert! - The *Batavia* wrecked on reefs off Western Australia; survivors were stranded across isolated islands.
EurekAlert! - Hayes’s group was stranded on a different island from Cornelisz’s group.
EurekAlert! - The Dutch East India Company founded what became one of the world’s first stock exchanges in Amsterdam.
WHEN:
WHAT:
EurekAlert! - The *Batavia* wreck occurred in 1629. About 200 survivors were stranded; senior officers sailed to present-day Jakarta to seek rescue.
EurekAlert! - The Dutch East India Company founded the Amsterdam stock exchange in 1602.
WHY:
EurekAlert! - Cornelisz justified the killings as necessary to conserve food and water, while the study says they also removed people he viewed as rivals.
EurekAlert! - The study says its findings support placing greater emphasis on character, ethics and values when selecting senior leaders.
HOW:
EurekAlert! - Boddy systematically assessed Cornelisz using a recognised corporate-psychopathy framework rather than relying only on historical interpretation.
EurekAlert! - Cornelisz consolidated authority by replacing council members with loyal supporters, demanding personal oaths of allegiance and isolating potential opponents.
EurekAlert! - Hayes organised searches for fresh water and food that found wells, eggs and sources of meat.
(UPDATED October 22, 2026 02:17 UTC)
New research identifies Jeronimus Cornelisz, a Dutch East India Company manager, as a likely early documented example of a corporate psychopath. In 1629, the ship Batavia wrecked off Western Australia, leaving about 200 survivors stranded on isolated islands while senior officers sailed for help. Cornelisz seized control, replacing council members with loyal supporters, demanding oaths and isolating potential rivals. Around 100 men, women and children were murdered under his leadership, and some women suffered sexual violence. The study says Cornelisz displayed all 10 traits in a recognised framework, including charm, fear, evading responsibility and a drive for power and control. On another island, Wiebbe Hayes led survivors in finding freshwater wells and food. Researcher Clive Boddy calls the episode a natural experiment in leadership, contrasting Hayes’s cooperation with Cornelisz’s violence. The study links toxic leadership to workplace harm and urges greater attention to ethics when appointing senior leaders.