Team lead & business developer

Team lead & business developer
47 years old - Has been with Nedapper for 23 years - Is always on the lookout for something new - Doesn't do things just for the sake of it and always aims for success - Loves building new propositions together - Considers genuine curiosity to be essential
From electrical engineering to sales
When I was almost finished with my Electrical Engineering degree, it was shortly after the 2003 crisis and there were very few job openings. I applied for a technical role at Nedap. Embedded systems, exactly what my degree was focused on. I had a really great interview with Jan Hendrik Croockewit, although I also felt it went a bit awkwardly.
The next day he called and said: “Jeroen, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that we would really like to have you on board. The bad news is that it won’t be a technical role. We want to offer you a commercial position.” I was just happy to have a job. So I thought: let’s just get started. I don’t know exactly what it’ll be, but we’ll see if it’s a good fit for me.
“In hindsight, that might have been the best thing that could have happened to me.”
I wasn’t exactly sure why they saw that in me. In any case, they were right. I was also a bit atypical given my background. For example, I danced at a high level, was proud of it, and was perhaps just a little more interested in people than I realized.
“I think it’s cool to discover what something can mean for a client”
I started at Nedap in healthcare. At the time, that team consisted of only three people; I was the fourth. My first assignment was immediately special. I had just completed my technical training and was given the opportunity to launch a new offering on the market together with my colleagues. While others worked on the technology, I spoke with customers to find out what was needed.
At the time, it was basically just one big server you could buy. You’d set it up in your building, and the software would run on it. My challenge was to sell this as a service, including the infrastructure. The first question I’d often ask clients was, “Do you have internet?” Often, the answer was simply no. Then I’d explain how it worked and why it could be beneficial.
Looking back on it now, that was a bold move. Not only was the product new, but so was the way we offered it. But that’s exactly what I enjoyed back then: trying something new, building something together that didn’t exist yet, and seeing if there was a market for it.
Actually, I’ve been trying new things all the time. At Nedap in the healthcare sector, we sold one of the first internet services in our market. After that, I was involved in Europe’s very first NFC project. NFC on cell phones was really “awesome” back then. Nokia was the market leader at the time, and we decided to go all in on it.
That was pretty special, and we even won an award for it. Not only was the technology new, but the market was new, too. In theory, that’s almost bound to fail, but as a team, we believed in it and went for it together.
“I think it’s cool to discover what something can mean for a client.”
Later, we did the same thing at Light Controls with Luxon and at Staffing Solution. And when I look back on what I did at Nedap, I see a clear common thread running through it all. Because what I’ve always loved, right from the start, is taking on new things and discovering what they mean for customers.
Near Field Communication (NFC) is a technology that allows devices to communicate wirelessly over short distances.
For me, that came together most clearly at Nedap in security. At first glance, it looks like you are working on something simple, such as access control. A card that opens or closes a door. But behind that lies a much bigger challenge.
How do you determine who can access which areas in an organization with tens of thousands of employees? Our largest customer has 200,000 employees. Or take LEGO. How do you decide from Denmark who should have access to a specific location in Singapore? Those are no longer technical issues, they are organizational challenges.
I really enjoy that, and it’s where I feel right at home. You try to understand what is really going on with your customer. First, you figure out what the real problem is. Are multiple clients facing this issue? Is there a market for it, and is it big enough? And does Nedap have something unique to offer in that area?
“I enjoy bringing people together to build new things.”
You deal with so many different aspects: customers, markets, partners, business models, and technology. Because you work across so many disciplines, success only comes when people combine their knowledge and insights. Then you try to fit all those puzzle pieces together into a solution that genuinely adds value. That is business development at the forefront of the market.
“Looking back, I think I learned from home that meaningful results are always achieved together. Maybe that is why I enjoy building new things so much. Not just to come up with them on my own, but to bring people together around an idea.”
The connection that makes the difference
A good example is LEGO. We participated in a tender but were not selected. Based on the requirements at that moment, we couldn’t fully deliver what they were looking for. But a tender is ultimately just a snapshot in time. It captures the needs at a single moment, while the organization continues to evolve over the next fifteen years.
So we called them and said: “We understand why you’re not selecting us based on the current requirements. But you’re facing a problem over the next fifteen years. Don’t you have confidence that we can work with you to develop great solutions?” To which they replied, “Yes, we do have that confidence.”
We then quoted Abraham Lincoln: “If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I would spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Their reaction was: “If you’re all talk, then prove it.” From there, we started working together to understand what they were really trying to achieve. In the end, we won the contract after all. Not because we could check every box, but because trust and a good working relationship had developed. That’s what I love most about this work.
What I have seen in almost every organization we work with is that they ultimately choose Nedap because of who we are as an organization. Not so much because of what we do, but because of how we do it and how we collaborate.
It is because of the Nedappers who are genuinely interested. That motivation to truly understand what is happening at a customer and help solve it is something I have seen throughout Nedap. I think that’s what connects us and what customers value most. At the same time, it always requires that extra bit of effort.
“When you have genuine interest… that’s incredibly beautiful.”
That genuine curiosity is essential. Keep asking questions. Keep challenging your own assumptions. Do I really understand this? Customers can sense it, and it builds trust. It’s like closing your eyes and knowing that someone is standing behind you, ready to catch you if needed. That drive to truly understand the other person is,ultimately, just genuine interest.
You can't do it alone
If my colleagues had to describe me, there would surely be some who would say that I tend to chart my own course. Maybe that’s because I often work closely with clients, usually on something new that barely exists yet. That often requires working independently and setting my own direction. At the same time, of course, that doesn’t tell the whole story about a person. That’s perhaps the paradox of human nature. We all have different sides.
“You’re just one person, so you always do it together.”
Ultimately, you can only achieve something by working together, because you can’t do anything on your own. I find it truly wonderful that we ultimately achieve results thanks to each other and can reflect on that together.
I still remember a moment at a colleague’s birthday party very well. I’d been working at Nedap for a few years at the time. Jan Hendrik and I looked at our team and said to each other, “Imagine having this team as your competitor.” I’ve never forgotten that feeling. Ultimately, the strength doesn’t lie in a product or a proposition. At its core, it’s the group of people who stand up for one another and say to each other, “We’re going to do this together.”
Taking a moment to pause every now and then
What I do see is that Nedappers are often so dedicated to the company that they sometimes forget about themselves. We’re passionate. We want to create great things and push boundaries. And because of that, you sometimes end up pushing your own limits.
That doesn’t happen because people are pushing each other too hard, but precisely because we’re working together toward a common goal. I notice that in myself, too. Because I’m so driven, I sometimes move too fast or unintentionally cross someone else’s boundaries. I genuinely regret that. Fortunately, there are many people here who understand that and say, “That might not have been the best move, but let’s move on.”
I have never been particularly strategic about my career, but I do know that business development gives me an enormous amount of energy. For me, that’s still the most enjoyable thing there is. And what I perhaps like best of all is that we’re constantly learning from each other. Not necessarily through training programs, but simply from colleagues. I can get really inspired by a good idea and then want to contribute to it. For example, when I see what’s happening with AI right now, I immediately get curious.
“I always need something new. New ideas. New challenges. New people to learn from. As long as that continues, I’ll keep enjoying what I do now.”
Perhaps that’s also the common thread running through my career. My wife sometimes says I shouldn’t do the same thing for more than two months, because I get restless. Maybe she’s right about that. I can’t just do something half-heartedly. If something interests me, I want to understand how it works and see how it can be improved. That’s just part of my nature.
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