“I turned 50 last year and live in Haarlem with my girlfriend and two children, ages 8 and 10. We have a large group of friends and a busy social life. We like to eat together, travel together, things like that. Last year, for example, we went to Thailand, island hopping. The children came along too. They found it exciting at times, but mostly very fun.”

“After hotel management school, I started my own wine shop. At one point, I was asked to become an interim manager at a catering wholesaler. I did that for several years. After I integrated my wine shop into the wholesale business, it was time for something new. In my private life, I met someone from IT. He enthusiastically told me that mobile apps would be the future. Together, we started building a platform at the kitchen table. That grew into a company with fifteen employees.”

“In 2018, we received an assignment from Gemba through our IT company. They asked if we could link the asset management solution IBM Maximo to a mobile app and a dashboard for a special technical application. That actually went very smoothly. The collaboration went well, and Jack Lok, the director of Gemba, suggested taking over our company. In 2019, ten of us made the transition.”

“That was quite a thing. I was dreading it because I was used to deciding everything myself. It might not have worked at another company, and I wouldn’t have stayed long, but at Gemba, you get a lot of freedom and trust. It doesn’t feel like I’m being limited in my ideas. We think and work here a bit like entrepreneurs. I landed on my feet.”

“Together with my colleague Johan Knook, I maintain contact with our clients. We inform them about the latest technological innovations and introduce them to new developments. I am also involved in license management. I have been doing this for about two to three years now. My workday is never the same. One time I’m on the road to clients, the next time I’m sitting behind my desk for hours, puzzling over quotations and license checks. Then I have to shut myself off and focus. That variety is nice.”

“I get a look behind the scenes at large and interesting companies, such as Schiphol and clients in the oil and gas industry. When do you ever get that chance? And we work with IBM, which means we are always up to date with the latest developments. The technology and our clients are extremely fascinating. Asset management is complex. When I hear how my colleagues tackle and solve problems, I often think: wow, we really do that. We help clients with issues that they have sometimes been struggling with for years, and then we solve them in a short amount of time.”

“My goal is to get to know our clients even better. At large corporations, stakeholders often change positions, so it is important to stay in sync. That’s why we also want to introduce a monthly ‘thermometer,’ where we regularly contact clients. This way, we can quickly respond to any questions, problems, or plans for the future. If there is nothing, we will be done in a few minutes. And if there is something, we will make an appointment to talk further and make sure we have the right people there. We are currently working on the preparations and will be approaching the first clients soon.”

“There is a nice mix of people working at Gemba, and the culture is open, safe, and pleasant. You can say what you think, and you are valued. During lunch, we discuss everything. We also do a lot of corporate social responsibility. For example, we participate in ‘NLdoet’ every year. I once helped renovate a playground and cut reeds in a nature reserve. The reed cutting went so fast that the volunteers asked us to take it easy!”

“Our weekend trip to Winterberg at the end of 2024! That was really great. It was very well organized and extremely enjoyable. We hiked, ziplined, and did karaoke. I’m not really a singer myself, but I still participated.”