Netherlands
External Collaboration & Innovation Director for Grooming & Beauty (part of Personal Health) Lead external innovation and partnerships to accelerate R&D. Build ecosystems with startups, academia, and industry; scout technologies and IP; embed external insights into the innovation pipeline
Transforms the way organizations learn through immersive, experiential learning. IT'S UP TO YOU creates tailored, lifelike simulations that empower employees to experiment with real-world workplace scenarios in a safe and controlled environment. Through structured reflection and commitment, they then turn insights into meaningful, lasting behavioral change. Leveraging immersive learning, our scalable approach enables organizations to implement role-play style learning at scale. Originally founded in 2013 as a non-profit to help tackle bullying in schools (used by 350.000 youngsters), IT’S UP TO YOU’s accredited learning methodology drives lasting behavioral change (NJI, 2013; Movisie, 2024).
Driving customer & business development for chemXplore Analytics, a platform providing chemical industry insights and data-driven analytics for investors, consultants, supply chain professionals, marketers, and policymakers. 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 ✔ Built a platform delivering comprehensive analytics and insights tailored to the chemical industry
In charge of the ‘Innovate Beyond’ portfolio: Defined long-term innovation themes aligned with BU Industrial Coatings (2B€ revenue) strategy and global trends. As part of the Marketing Management Team, worked closely with marketing, product teams, and R&D to embed external innovation into commercial programs 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: ✔ Co-created and (in)validated 9 new business, service, and profit models, shaping future revenue streams ✔ Led cross-functional teams to develop these new market propositions ✔ Part of the Marketing Management Team, responsible for market innovation strategy
Incubator Lead in the AkzoNobel Incubator, driving internal venture incubation, corporate venture investment, and innovation culture to explore disruptive new business opportunities. ➊ 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘂𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ✔ Explored, validated, and scaled 13 new business ideas (10 invalidated), leveraging Lean Startup, Design Thinking, and Business Modeling experimentation (with 160+ customer interviews) ✔ Designed a praised "innovation accounting" model & developed "AkzoNobel’s transformative innovation processes" ✔ Evaluated trends in robotization, AI, and IoT, assessing their impact on AkzoNobel’s future value chain ➋ 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘂𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 & 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (𝗖𝗩𝗖) ✔ Assessed IP positions and competitive landscape of startups during scouting phase ✔ Steered startups to success by focusing on early customer desirability & viability testing ✔ Created strategic partnerships, including various R&D collaborations on technical feasibility exploration ✔ E.g. scouted 43 paint robotics startups, selected 3, and secured 1 minority-stake investment ➌ 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗸𝘇𝗼𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗹 ✔ Trained & coached 12 teams in Lean Startup, Design Thinking, and Agile innovation ✔ Participated in www.letspaintthefuture.com, sourcing breakthrough innovations in the paint & coatings industry Examples of product/service development from AkzoNobel Incubator: ✯ Partnership with Les Companions, a paint robot for apartment buildings ✯ Hull-borne Invasive Aquatic Species Risk Management for port authorities
Managed global service improvements, cost reduction initiatives, and business development projects within AkzoNobel’s Marine Coatings operations, driving efficiency and revenue opportunities. ➊ 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 & 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 ✔ Led the Seastores segment service improvement, increasing On Time In Full (OTIF) by +0.5% through SKU availability optimization, operational changes, refined SLAs, and harmonized customer service procedures ✔ Lowered pending invoicing value by 20% across 4 South Asian countries by implementing eInvoices and optimizing the Order-to-Cash process, accelerating cash flow ✔ Benchmarked COGS across 6 national supply chains, identifying €210K in immidiate savings opportunities ➋ 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 – 𝗔𝗸𝘇𝗼𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 ✔ Recommended entry into decorative chrome for the bathroom & kitchen market, identifying a €33M business development opportunity
Consulted for clients including Air France-KLM, ProRail, KPN, and Sabic, delivering IT transformation and business process improvement projects. 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 ✔ Led Capgemini Netherlands’ Industry 4.0 / Smart Industry initiative ✔ Designed & implemented ProRail’s Rail Data Quality Dashboard to improve asset management ✔ Coordinated an IT upgrade for Air France-KLM’s Sales-Revenue-Accounting system across the Netherlands & France (~60K daily bookings) ✔ Implemented Portfolio Management for an Information Management department 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 & 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 ✔ Prince2 Project Management | Lean Six Sigma Green Belt | Change Management ✔ BPMN Process Modeling | Agile / Scrum