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What has your career been like so far?
I started my career in the port of Rotterdam, in a metal factory owned by Van Leer, then one of the largest packers in the world. I worked there for a total of 10 years (internationally), as a process improver and as factory manager. In search of complexity, but in the Netherlands (because of small children) I started working at LUMC as director of facilities. A wonderful world for an engineer, at a time when the TUe did not yet realize that the logistical processes in a large hospital could be very complicated. After this I became board director of the hospital in Dordrecht and later in Gouda. Now I am the Data Protection Authority and protect the privacy of data of Europeans. Besides my work, I have always had many side jobs and volunteer roles. I sit on several supervisory boards in healthcare, sit on a government committee, coach directors and administrators, provide training on moral dilemmas and guide long-term unemployed people back to work.

Which course would you add to the IE curriculum to setup students for success?
Philosophy/ethics. With the increasing development and deployment of data and AI, it is important to keep thinking carefully throughout the process about what is really needed and what the undesirable effects may be in the longer term. By including philosophy or ethics, it becomes more normal to include this thinking from the very beginning.

What would be your dream job and how do you plan to get there?
Actually, I have everything in my combination of roles and responsibilities right now. Because of the mix, I am stimulated in different ways. There are issues I really need to chew on intellectually as well more practical challenges. I can lean on my experience and learn new things every week. Am I able to connect different worlds and can use the large network I have built to both help individuals as well as have impact on a much larger scale through my work. My studies have taught me autonomous thinking , to look for meaning and be comfortable around technology.

What was your greatest professional setback and how did you deal with it?
When I was asked to join the Board in Dordrecht, I felt resistance during the interview. At the time I dismissed it, but in retrospect, the honor of getting such a great job at a young age made me ignore that feeling. In hindsight, that feeling (of course) turned out to have been right and so I left after only 2 years. Since then, I always tried to actively listen to my intuition. For me, intuition is solidified experience, which is fed with experience, knowledge, feeling and insights. Because I fully rely on that intuition, work takes much less energy and I have had time for everything over the past 15 years.

What advice would you give current students?
To follow your heart and if you’re not sure yet, to pause and find out where it wants to lead you. And to regularly check if that is still the same.
To only go, and stay, in environments where you feel wanted and welcome; that choice has made all the difference for me since making it many years ago.
In Eindhoven you are surrounded by ‘techies’ while the world consists of a multitude of interests, talents and skills. So consider volunteer work and side jobs in addition to your studies and career to broaden your horizon and receive different kinds of insights and satisfaction.

You can change a question, which one would you change and why?
Old question:
Which course would you add to the IE curriculum to setup students for success?

New question:
What would you have liked to know before starting this role?

Why:
I became the factory director after a few years of observation, but Sten started straight out of university. I am curious how he experienced it.

What has your career been like so far?
After completing my Master Operations Management and Logistics I have joined KPMG as an IT consultant in the Eindhoven office.

The first 6 years of my career at KPMG I developed my self as an IT auditor. As an IT auditor I assess and evaluate the effectiveness of IT systems and controls to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and mitigate risks with impact on the financial processes for our clients. In the first 2,5 years I also spend 1 day a week at Tias business school following the executive Master of IT-Auditing. This study helped me to become a better IT auditor.

In my work as IT auditor I focused on using Technology and Data Analytics to make our work more efficient and effective. After 6 six years being an IT auditor I took my experience to focus on Advisory projects related to Supply Chain optimization, and Tax transformation. Instead of auditing our clients I now got the opportunity to really help my clients to translate observations into solutions to improve their processes.

After 5 years on the Advisory side, I am back in the Audit leading our transformation towards a more digital and data driven audit.

Since 2019 I am Development Manager of several colleagues. In this role I guide colleagues in their development throughout their career at KPMG. Furthermore, this year I will take over the role to lead our business unit Eindhoven, where I will combine my role of managing engagements with a leadership role where I will focus to further strengthen our high performance culture.

What makes you happy in your work?
Difficult to choose one, as there are multiple things that makes me happy. But I will limit it to two:
1. Develop solutions to solve complex problems in an efficient and effective way
2. Working for large clients in an international and complex environment where I have the opportunity to travel abroad work in another culture, and where the challenges that our clients face are complex

What was the most important moment in your career and why?
That happened recently when I was informed that I will be in the process to become a Director at KPMG.

Generation ‘Z’ is joining the workforce. They are digital natives and it is said they approach work differently and strive for meaningful work and push for sustainability. How do you think will Gen Z change your work?
Our clients are heavily investing in innovation, technology, and digitalization. They expect that we leverage their investments. Therefore we as consultants need to develop new technology and data-driven services in order to stay competitive in the market. Generation Z will help to accelerate this transformation as they breath Technology

How did being an alumni make a difference in your career?
To be honest I am not an active alumni, but I definitely see the benefit to create new business relationships. So I will be more active going forward!

You can change a question, which one would you change and why?
Old question:
How did being an alumni make a difference in your career?

New question:
What are your career ambitions for the next 5 years

Why:
It would be great to hear more about their future plans in their career next to looking back.