About
I’m a serial entrepreneur with experience in the US and Europe whose mission in life became the circular economy. Initially by building a circular economy scale-up and then as CEO of Circle Economy Foundation. Recently, I became an investor by joining Regeneration.VC. This connected several dots for me: start-up up life and real action on the ground, the holistic view on what needs to happen from a leading foundation and now sitting on the other side of the table backing and working alongside world changing entrepreneurs. If you are one of them - come talk to me! I regularly post and give key notes on circular economy and regenerative principles. Follow me here on LinkedIn to make a bigger impact together! Specialities: circular economy, regenerative economy, donut economy, nature-based, digital strategy, venture capital, investment, entrepreneurship, new business models, leadership, corporate development and M&A, storytelling, investing, organisational transformation
Experience
Venture Partner
Regeneration.VC · Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
We invest in world changing entrepreneurs at an early stage who use circular and regenerative principles in the design, use and re-use of products or services. We believe that consumer brands will lead the way and this will pave the way for the next wave of climate tech companies. We supercharge our portfolio companies with an unmatched advisor network, industry relationships and in depth expertise on circularity and regeneration.
Member of the Board of Advisors
Cleantech for Benelux · Brussels, Brussels Region, Belgium
Present
We are a coalition of leading cleantech startups, scaleups, investors and ecosystem enablers in the Benelux region. Together, we work with policymakers at a national, Benelux Union and EU level to create a clear and convincing path for scaling breakthrough solutions that power a sustainable future
Chief Executive Officer
Circle Economy · Amsterdam
We are a global impact organisation with an international team of passionate experts based in Amsterdam. We empower businesses, cities and nations with practical and scalable solutions to put the circular economy into action. Our vision is an economic system that ensures the planet and all people can thrive. To avoid climate breakdown, our goal is to double global circularity by 2032. As a Supervisory Board member for over 4 years, I was asked to step in as CEO and this interim role became permanent during the COVID period. In this role, I set strategy, oversee the daily operations of our foundation and try to get the most out of the highly talented team.
Member Supervisory Board
Together with my colleague board members, Robert-Jan van Ogtrop, Louise Vet, Herman Wijffels, we were responsible for guiding the organisation in the right direction and making sure the right management was in place. In addition, I chaired the Audit and Finance committee together with Herman Wijffels.
Coach and Supervisory Board Member
ParkBee · Amsterdam Area, Netherlands
ParkBee provides a simple, zero-investment solution to make private parking accessible to the public. It cooperates with existing, global parking app providers to make the private garages available to their user-base through their platform. The innovative solution of a keyless, cloud-based system for entry and exit of a garage from one click of an app, creates parking opportunities which have never previously been possible. As Entrepeneur in Residence at YES!Delft, an innovative tech incubator at Delft University, I mentored ParkBee in the very early deals, helped raise several investment rounds and coached management. Served on the Supervisory Board as the delegate of the founders.
Ceo
Black Bear brings the circular economy to tires. A Cleantech 100 company, Black Bear produces carbon black from end of life tires for the tire, rubber and paint industry. With our break-through technology we preserve valuable raw materials and dramatically reduce CO2 emissions and pollution. I built and grew the company from three people to a team of 30+ people, raised over 30 million euros, formed a strong team and constructed and operated the first industrial size factory. Black Bear has positioned itself as a leader in the circular economy and was chosen as a Tech Pioneer by the World Economic Forum.
Svp Strategy & Corporate Development
Telegraaf Media Groep · Amsterdam
Responsible for Strategy, M&A, Investments and Business Development • Led new strategy process with broad collaborative bottom-up input and received board approval • Screened 50+ opportunities and completed 5 M&A/Investment transactions • Assisted CEO in selecting team and setting agenda
Head of Strategy and Sales Planning
Headed up strategy development, business intelligence and sales planning/reporting teams. Also responsible for internal transformation program "Take the Lead". Member of Management Team. * Implemented new cloud based business intelligence system to harvest big data * Helped refinance and restructure company * Defined new strategy based on lead generation and web & mobile presence for SME's
Svp Corporate Development
Strategy and Corporate Development for the New Media division of Ericsson
Education
Harvard Business School
MBA, Business
IMD
Executive course, Marketing
Delft University of Technology
Msc, Applied Physics
THNK School of Creative Leadership
Scaleupnation, Course on scaling companies
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