Brussels Metropolitan Area
My driving force: create meaningful growth for businesses, brands and people Captivated by the power of multisensorial branding & design, interacting and connecting emotionally with people's daily lives | Building a positive path to purpose-led brands doing good with sustainable impact | Putting people first I enjoy working hands-on with teams and partners, taking ownership of projects and driving them through to completion, end-to-end. *** For over 15 years, I have been leading intercultural and cross-functional teams as Managing Director, guiding design and marketing experts across brand experience, corporate identity, packaging & product identity. Serving clients across Europe in a variety of B2C and B2B industries, from local jewels to regional and global brands, accelerating brand performance. I partner with business leaders and marketeers to co-create and innovate, breaking down barriers and accelerating the transition to a healthier and more sustainable, inclusive and regenerative economy. Marketeers represent the voice of the citizens; without this crucial stakeholder, companies can only achieve a part of their sustainability goals. To this end, DESIGN is a powerful transformation vector for POSITIVE CHANGE, contributing to a future that works better for everyone, helping people find ways to actively contribute to the changes we want to see in the world, step by step. *** Along my journey, I have always been driven by a blend of passion for people & perseverance, with a long-term perspective (aka 'grit'): >> setting a North Star: continually strive to keep the team passionate, inspired and motivated to help the company achieve its vision and goals while fulfilling its purpose >> developing the team’s ability to continually adapt to external change, complexity and uncertainty: sense-making of organisational change, strategic agility, organisational resilience >> engaging the team by enabling entrepreneurship, self-leadership and local autonomy while supporting psychological safety for learning, innovation and growth - giving freedom and self-expression to immerse in new opportunities and to speak up with ideas, concerns, questions, mistakes *** I strongly believe in ethical and effective leadership for the good of all, where success is not only determined by efficiency or performance but also by the way people interact, develop and flourish. An organisation is only ever as good as the people it creates, through work.
Smarter process. Stronger Design. Iconic Brands. At Perspective, we work with brand owners and retailers on how to get more out of their design process for brands and packaging. From start-ups to multi-market portfolios, we partner with leadership and brand teams to turn complexity into clarity. Helping brands of all sizes grow with smarter design into distinctive brands, across packaging, communication and retail touchpoints. [email protected] +32 487 33 84 31
How to make brand and packaging design not only more creative, but far more effective? The Effectiveness Gap is our new podcast series where we talk with experts, partners, and brand owners, who shape every step of the design process. Together, we uncover lessons learned and new perspectives on how to close the gap and achieve greater impact.
Interim and fractional change & growth partner, supporting founders, executive teams and senior leadership in moments of growth, transformation and organisational change. I work closely with teams to bring focus, structure and alignment, translating strategy into concrete actions, coordinating stakeholders and ensuring execution in day-to-day operations. My work spans business leadership, growth and organisational transformation, leveraging brand & marketing as drivers of impact, and aligning teams around strategy and execution. [email protected] +32 478 33 84 31
Partnering with Autimatic to grow its impact and advance its inclusive employment mission, connecting neurodiverse talent on the autism spectrum with employers in data-focused roles (administration, automation and AI). Driving business development by identifying, engaging and connecting employers with Autimatic, building partnerships that create concrete job opportunities and support organisational growth. Initially in a structured part-time capacity (2 years), now continuing on a limited, occasional basis. [email protected] +32 487 33 84 31
End 2015 I have decided to continue to provide my management services and also lead/grow the Amsterdam best-in-class team up to ±25 people, helping our clients with strategic design missions for leading B2C and B2B brands (FMCG, Retail, Professional)l brands in Europe, mainly for Unilever (Calvé, Knorr, Unox, Solo, Conimex, Bertolli, Hertog), Barry Callebaut (Ruby, WholeFruit Chocolate, Elix, Treat Tomorrow, Chocolate Academy, Van Houten), Südzucker Group (Tiense Suiker, Candico, Cukier Królewski, Südzucker, API Beefeed), HEMA, LambWeston Meijer, AkzoNobel, Nestlé, Dr Oetker, Superunie, Lactalis, Upfield, WEPA (BlackSatino, Satino), Princes Foods, DetailResult Groep (Dirk, Dekamarkt), Boxine (Tonies), Van Gogh Museum Enabler of a joint 'Packadore' exhibition at Dutch Design Week 2021 as part of Rethinking plastics at Yksi Expo: ‘Brains that buy Green’ -- Packadore is a sustainability collective of likeminded packaging industry experts who set out to reduce the environmental impact of packaging and commit to the UN's SDG's (www.packadore.com) SGK (formerly Brandimage|Anthem) is a leading global design agency that defines, creates, produces and transforms packaging and brand experiences to amplify brands, giving them the freedom to speak louder, scale faster and grow stronger. Awardwinning designs from the SGK Amsterdam|Brussels team at the Pentawards Global Packaging Design Competition and at the Vertex Awards: - Pentawards GOLD: The Life Laundry (2017), Eternal Oceans (2016) - Pentawards SILVER: Unilever’s Omo sustainable packaging design concept (2021), Jonahs (2020), Unilever Knorr Ambient Soups (2019), Minted (2018) - Pentawards BRONZE: Unilever’s Knorr Veggie Wraps (2021), Oxo (2020), Green Rebels United (2020), Second Life Tea (2020), Catitude (2019), Green Finger Food (2019) - Vertex Awards GOLD: BIO+ (2022) - Vertex Awards SILVER: BIO+ (2022)
Following the acquisition of Brandimage (independent branding and design network) in October 2011 by Schawk, Inc - SGK (owning Anthem Worldwide), I have decided to provide my management services to the Brussels entity to drive strategic expansion of the business, working collaboratively with the strategic and creative experts in Europe, in the US and in Asia. Major accomplishment: drive sustained exponential growth. Following the acquisition of Brandimage, I saw the opportunity to leverage the full SGK offer and global network reach, ‘one step at a time’: * In 1 year I have grown Tiense from a local Belgian ‘packaging only’ long-relationship-client' to a global ‘from the shelf out’ client in 2014, enabling Anthem to become their exclusive partner for global expansion and growth * 'From the shelf out' creative development of all touchpoints throughout the customer journey (design, digital, content) for the launch of their unique Belgian Sugar specialties accross key markets outside the EU (Middle East, North America and Asia) which led to a significant increase in total TO for the Südzucker Group * Select talent & resources, bridging Central Brussels Team with all Anthem/Brandimage sites (Hilversum, London, York, Atlanta, Singapore) working on T-Sugars, dealing with local sites' management, steering local teams, striving for strategic, creative and operational excellence Visual brand identity and strategic packaging design missions for Unilever, Barry Callebaut, Südzucker Group/Tiense Suiker, Ferrero, Alpro, Vandemoortele, Nestlé, KMDA (Antwerp Zoo Society, Elisabeth Center Antwerp), Hanmi Japan Pharmaceutical, Palm Breweries, Orangina-Schweppes
Leading, co-owning (40%) and growing the Brussels branding and packaging design consultancy: accelerating brand performance through design for clients in Belgium - Kellogg’s, Campbell Foods, P&G, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Friesland Foods, Bacardi Martini, Lotus Bakeries, Inbev, Tiense Suiker, KMDA (Antwerp Zoo Society, Elisabeth Center Antwerp), Delhaize, Palm Breweries, Orangina-Schweppes, Douwe Egberts Master Blenders, Henkel, Fountain, Soubry, Iglo, Georgia-Pacific, Bongrain, Omega Pharma, Stassen, Eden Chocolates, Marlux, Ansell, ICI Dulux, Reckitt Benckiser, Leroy Merlin Brandimage - Desgrippes & Laga was formed in 2008 from the merger of originally French agency Desgrippes Gobé, international brand consultancy and Laga, a leading American design and innovation agency. With a team of 300 experts in all important markets in the world, Brandimage - Desgrippes & Laga offers holistic services designed to deliver rich emotional brand experiences for consumers, from brand strategy and consumer insight, to brand identity, industrial design, package design, graphics, innovation, interactive, retail experience and architecture in one integrated offering.