What has your career been like so far?
After graduating, I started working at ASML as a Business Engineer. For the first four years I had this role in the Netherlands. One year ago, I moved to the US on a long term assignment to build a similar Business Engineering team in our factory in Wilton, Connecticut. My team’s goal is to make decision making in the factory more data driven. We do this by building capacity models and data visualizations and providing data-driven advice to our management. A typical OML role, I would say. Although, arguably, the actual main goal of my role is to bring some Brabantse gezelligheid to the US.

Why did you choose the industry you work in now?
Well, during my studies I repeatedly have said that I never wanted to work at ASML. My assumption was that ASML already had enough smart people working for them and gave relatively simple roles to overqualified university graduates. During my job search, I found out those roles do exist, however there are many more interesting and challenging roles in ASML for Industrial Engineers. I like the fast pace of working in a factory, especially at a company that is impacting the world. Furthermore, it is a growing company in the growing semiconductor industry, which means there are plenty of opportunities to grow and get your ideas into practice. By the way, more than five years later my friends and family still like to remind me every now and then of me saying I never wanted to work here.

Where do you get the most energy from during and after your work?
At work, three things: making impact, learning new things, and working with a team. I get energy from the tangible impact of my team on decisions in our factory. The steepness of the learning curve is a key driver for me when I choose what to work on. On working with a team, one of the things I learned in this role is that often the most effective way to get work done or solve a problem is simply putting people together in a room from different departments, who often don’t talk to each other that much. Next to that, I found out this year it gives me a lot of energy to be able to build a team from the ground up. After work, as a typical Dutch guy from my age I like riding my road bike. Besides that, reading fiction, business books and biographies and occasionally writing, which helps me to structure my thoughts.

What is the key thing that you have learned during your studies that you use a lot and appreciate?
The helicopter view (or birds eye view): the ability to elevate yourself over a process or a problem. On study materials, the factory physics book is one of the few study books that comes in really handy at work. The committees I did for Industria also formed me: a full-time board year, organizing multiple events and writing articles and columns for SCOPE!

What advice would you give current students?
Don’t take yourself too seriously and try to enjoy this great phase in your life.

You can change a question, which one would you change and why?

Old question:

Why did you choose the industry you work in now?

New question:

Which course would you add to the IE curriculum to setup students for success?

Why:

Looking back, I think a lot of the courses prepared us as students for a potential career in academics, not so much for working in a big company.

What has your career been like so far?
My career started at NedTrain where I developed a mathematical model which scheduled preventive maintenance activities such that life cycle costs are minimized. This model helped me graduate, but it helped me as well to discovered that I’m not a full-time coder. After graduation, I joined EY as a supply chain & operations advisor, where I helped multinationals in re-defining their supply chain operating model. This was a time with lots of fun, a steep learning curve and lots of travel. But in the end I wanted to understand the supply chain from inside out, that’s why I joined FrieslandCampina, a company with a unique and complex supply chain. Within FrieslandCampina I am currently responsible for the supply chain & network strategy of business group Ingredients, after having had 2 planning functions within the S&OP department.

What makes you happy in your work?
My main driver at work is the opportunity to make a difference and add value. In my current role I work closely together with technology, logistical and market experts that only see a part of the puzzle. They are experts in their field and have a lot of ideas to improve, but need help to bring their ideas together and prepare for decision making. That’s exactly my playing field and where I hope to add value: translating complex challenges into easy digestible information that is ready for decision making.

What was the most important moment in your career and why?
As an industrial engineer you’re almost designed to think and make decisions in a rational way and in many situations that will work out just fine. But in some situations it is better to listen closely to what your gut-feeling is telling you. My decision to leave EY was such a situation. Giving advice to multiple multinationals, lots of travelling and having fun colleagues, I was living the dream right? Because of this rational image of reality, I had quite a hard time to make the decision to leave EY. In the end I am very happy that I listened to my gut feeling and I haven’t looked back since.

What activities did you do besides your studies? And how has that affected your career?
During my studies I have been part of the Introduction, Gala, Tappers, Crew and Race of the Classics committees and participated in the Industrial Research Project. I enjoyed these committees so much because we became quite close as a group and it created a cohesive environment where everyone could add value. In essence that is exactly the climate I want to create in my project teams. So I always make sure that the team gets to know each other well up front and make sure we always celebrate successes as a team.

What subject or skill you wish you would have learned in university and why?
During our studies we learned to search for the optimal solution, but what happens when we have found that optimal solution? How and where do I sell this idea, who are my stakeholders, what drives them and what is important for them to be convinced? These questions are really important to ask yourself and dedicate some time for. In an ideal world, I would have liked to learn these skills in university.

You can change a question, which one would you change and why?

Old question:
What subject or skill you wish you would have learned in university and why?

New question:
Which function/job did you dream of while being a student, and how and why did that change over time?

Why:
What you found important in the past might differ from what you find important today because of the experiences you gathered. How did these experiences shaped your look at your dream job?