About me
With about 25 years of working experience, I help marketing and sales leaders turn their strategies into action and results. Shortening time to impact and increasing engagement of everyone involved in delivering those results.
Before becoming an independent consultant, I worked at Capgemini Consulting and a boutique strategy execution company, where I developed deep expertise in strategy execution, and prior to that in marketing and sales at amongst others Dell, where I honed my commercial acumen.
I bring a critical and challenging approach to strategic content, elevating strategic thinking while maintaining an informal, engaging and pragmatic process. This ensures strategies are well-substantiated, feasible and owned by everyone involved. Additionally, this develops the strategic leadership skills of all participants and makes strategy more fun and energising.
I live in Amsterdam with my wife and three children, in a home we built ourselves. Outside of work, I recharge by spending time with family and friends and enjoying sports like running and ice-skating.
Professional education
I studied business administration (MSc) at the University of Groningen, including coursework at Stanford University (Ericsson scholarship) and UCLA (exchange program). This education has given me a holistic view of organisations. My master's thesis on radical innovation was published as a book by Pearson Education when I was 26, making me one of their youngest management authors.
During my tenure at Capgemini Consulting and a strategy execution boutique firm, I participated in various internal training programs focused on generic consulting &, facilitation skills, strategy execution, and Commercial Excellence. At Dell I participated in various internal training programs related to account and sales management. It provided me with proven and practical frameworks that I still build on today. For the Commercial Excellence part that culminated in my book "More sales, same people".
Beyond these in-house programs, I have completed several methodological trainings, including Lean Black Belt (UPD), Scrum Master (Jeff Sutherland), Scaling Agile Foundations (Prowareness), and Sustainable Business Strategy (Harvard Business School). I stay updated on new methodologies and selectively apply what is most relevant to my clients.
I have learned that at the end of the day it's not organisations that make strategy work but the very people who work at these organisations. To this end, I have pursued various people and collaboration trainings such as Systemic Consultancy (Bert Hellinger Institute), Change Management for Professionals (de Galan & Voigt), Visual Meetings (Business Models Inc), Introduction to Psychology (School of Life), and Group Dynamics (IOD). I elaborate on my approach to putting people at the heart of strategy in my book, "The Execution Advantage."