Philosopher. Buddhist.
Homo Verus.
Shaped by the streets.
Challenged to move with the times.
But always true to who I am.
Married to Jeannette.
Deeply connected to our children and grandchildren.
But the circle isn’t complete yet.
And the mission isn’t finished.
Look at what I do, and you’ll see who I am
It never felt like work
An inner compass guided by non-negotiable values. It sharpens awareness, critical thinking, connection, and collaboration.
And once that passion is unleashed, work never feels like work. Not as CEO of RAET and Planet Internet. Not as founder and executive at Parkmobile and Speakers for the World.
From the streets to the boardroom
My background has never followed a straight line.
Rarely the shortest route, always accelerating again after the turn.
Philosopher and entrepreneur.
Science and practice.
Philosophy and business.
My path has taken me from the streets of Amsterdam
to the boardroom.
From fighting to survive
to shared responsibility.
I’ve experienced both worlds from the inside.
And I’ve always known what I stand for.
The empty chair at the table is always occupied
Imagine this: over the next six hundred years, you live eight lives. One after another. You die. And are immediately born again. For six hundred years, you experience the consequences of what we think, do, and fail to do today.
Would you still make the same choices today?
What do we owe those who come after us? That question drives me, and I feel responsible for how we answer it.
That’s why the empty chair at our table is never empty. It belongs to those who haven’t been born yet, giving them a voice in the decisions we make today. People we will never meet. But whom, in some small way, we already love.
Where there’s friction,
things start to move
I rarely say or write what people want to hear.
I focus on what I believe we need to hear.
That creates friction. And that’s where movement begins.
I show what’s happening.
What it asks of us.
How we can do things differently tomorrow,
and what that can make possible.
That gives people hope.
And moves them to act.
Why I do
what I do
I believe in one thing above all.
When you do what you’re exceptionally good at,
with passion and commitment,
in service of something bigger than yourself,
it doesn’t feel like work.
24 × 365.
Not until retirement.
Until the day you die.
This is who I am.
And why I do what I do.
IDG Ambassadeur
Certified Ambassador
for the Inner Development Goals.
The global initiative connecting
inner development with
the major societal challenges of our time.
I’m here for you.
And I invite you to join me on an expedition.
To discover how we can help shape
a future almost everyone longs for.
Little step
Big impact
The first step can be the right one.
What do you want?
→ Schedule a quick videocall 10 min, no obligation
→ Check availability & fee Almost always works
→ Request a proposal Because you know what you want
Response within 4 hours on business days.
WhatsApp us on weekends, too!