Jos Lutgens – Manager Maintenance at Lanxess, Rotterdam (2022)
(LinkedIn profile)
“Joep is a quick thinker who can rejuvenate a stagnant organization with a people-oriented approach. During the transformation process at Lanxess, Joep continuously kept everyone involved (cross-functionally), from the initial root cause analysis to the development, implementation, and securing of the new maintenance processes. This resulted in a new mindset and lasting change, with now more than 75% of work orders being carried out according to plan.”
Dr. Ing. Frank Schröder – Geschäftsführer / Managing Director of Eurotech Schwäbisch Gmünd GmbH, subsidiary of MGG International (2020)
(LinkedIn profile)
“When I joined MGG in 2018, Joep had just initiated the introduction of „Operational Excellence“ (OpEx) at the seven factories of MGG. He chose a systematic approach and set up an OpEx Council with experts from all sites. Being part of that Council, I was impressed by how Joep led the team. He set and communicated common goals and gave continuous and extremely strong support to all functions. Within months there was a tool kit on how to implement OpEx tools and drive behavioral change, supported by training and coaching. Council members were also encouraged to draw knowledge and experiences from each other and apply those in their own factories. Joep has the power to optimize any organization to its best performance with high speed!”
Harry Bos – Managing Director/CEO Sanquin Reagents B.V. and previously V.P. Manufacturing of Sanquin Plasma Products, Amsterdam (2018)
(LinkedIn profile)
”Joep was the interim Manager of the department Product Support and Development (PSD) of Sanquin Plasma Products, the Pharmaceutical branch of Sanquin. It was great to work with Joep! He is a true professional. Joep very quickly organized and structured the activities in the department. His management skills, sensitivity for human interactions and adequate actions taken are some of the best I ever experienced. I still miss his positive attitude and great sense of humor!”
Parmeshwar Sharma, MSc – Pharmaceutical Process Engineer, Sanquin Plasma Products, Amsterdam (2018)
(LinkedIn profile)
“Joep was my manager at Sanquin when the company was going through a culture change. He inherited a department facing multiple challenges. He quickly created, led and coached initiatives like scrum teams, team-building activities, think tanks, daily 15 mins group meeting before day start and clean desk policy. It started a transition which was further enhanced when he clarified the department’s vision, goals and strategy. He made us feel part of a team again while facilitating our individual, international and cultural differences.
His ‘macro’ style of management and habit of trusting people is also commendable. He is a good listener, welcomes new ideas, provides constructive feedback, and supports people in the challenges they face and solutions they propose. I always felt safe and comfortable, even when we disagreed on subjects at hand. In him we had a true facilitator.
He brought a culture of trust, inclusion, responsibility, respect and fairness. It energized the whole department. He always stood up for us and supported our professional development plans. I highly recommend the management services of Joep and wish him all the best!”
ir. Maarten Bijster – IT Architect, Technology Garden, Mijdrecht (2017)
(LinkedIn profile)
“Joep is one of the best managers I’ve ever had. He provides clear directions and gives you all the freedom to perform the job to the best of your abilities – while keeping you accountable in a straight and fair way.
His attitude combined with the trust he gives to all the colleagues created a clear sense of belonging and made the team fly. A good example of this: the business frequently required working during a weekend. Joep never had to appoint anybody because there were always enough volunteers in the team to do the job.
Joep knows his limitations (eg. IT knowledge) and collects people around him who fill those areas. He supports his team in all ways possible, and they support him back equally. It was a joy to work with him.“
Folkert Sytsema – Managing Partner, ValueGarden Corporation, Katwijk (2017)
(LinkedIn profile)
”Each coming from different planets, Joep and I have worked together on various projects since 2007. Joep is a pro in (financial) business modelling and easily grasps an organization’s administrative and financial processes. His positive attitude, analytical skills, perseverence and ability to learn fast make him a great and enjoyable business partner in many ways.“
Hielco Sinnema – Managing Director, FactorGO, Amsterdam (2016)
(LinkedIn profile)
”Joep was one of the buyers/investors of my company in 2011 and was General Manager until he sold the company in 2016. We have often been in contact during this period, and I got to know Joep as a fair and straight business man, good for his people (no one left the company) and excellent in business operations.”
Ruud Vullers – Executive Vice President of Global Operations, Caire Inc., Ball Ground, GA (2011)
(LinkedIn profile)
“I had the pleasure of working with Joep both at Xerox Corporation and XPS. Joep is a very impressive and highly skilled business leader and strategist. Able to detect business (process) issues rapidly via data analysis and KPI management. Strong at operations management and implementing LEAN and Six Sigma best practices to improve overall Quality, Cost and Delivery performance. Besides his professional skills, Joep is just as a human being a pleasure to work with.“
Bob de Kuyper – Director, Royal De Kuyper, Schiedam (2009)
(LinkedIn profile)
”Our production joint-venture Avandis got into trouble shortly after being founded in 2001. Joep accomplished what his predecessors could not achieve. After a successful period of restructuring Avandis is now in good shape and awaits – thanks to Joep – a successful future.”
Marcel Nijhoff – Head of Advisory Team Barendrecht, Algemene Werkgeversvereniging (AWVN) (2008)
(LinkedIn profile)
”In my advisory role since 2004 I have had many interactions with Joep in his function of Director of Avandis in Zoetermeer. I have come to know Joep as an optimist with an excellent sense of realism, strong analytical skills and working based on a target driven approach. He developed many new and needed activities at Avandis and initiated a new mindset, leading to an integral approach to the change processes within Avandis. The combination of his direct language and human sensitivity got people moving towards the needed change. Joep’s total approach created the solid foundation for a prosperous future for Avandis.”
Henk Bakker – Director, Van Uden Group, Rotterdam (2007)
(LinkedIn profile)
”In 2005 the initiative evolved to combine our logistics activities with the production activities of Avandis in one location. This was the start of a major restructuring of the total Avandis site and the foundation of one of our warehousing and distribution activities in Zoetermeer (NL). Due to the positive and constructive cooperation with Joep we can now look back on a successfully completed project with a positive future ahead.”
Jan van der Steen – Owner/Director, X.P.S. bv, Venray (2006)
”Plain and simple: X.P.S. wouldn’t be where it is today if I hadn’t had Joep on my side – initially as my colleague at Rank Xerox and later as ad hoc consultant, interim manager, chairman of the advisory board and friend. Hire Joep and you will never be disappointed!”
Fried Enting – After Sales Development Manager, Orange International, London (2005)
(LinkedIn profile)
“Joep is one of those fearless leaders who have the ability to form a team which excels and put his trust in the management team he leads. Work hard and play hard is common in the culture he creates. Strategic vision and translating complex issues into simple concepts are the core competencies of Joep. During the launch of Dutchtone and later during his participation in the setup of the Center of Excellence Orange International we worked closely together, and I was impressed by his vision and ability to get ideas across. Still, I frequently touch base with him on complex strategic issues knowing that his out of the box thinking will help me out. Definitely I can recommend Joep for every managing board assignment in the near future.”
Johan Streefland – Director, Bercomex, Hoorn (2004)
(LinkedIn profile)
”I worked with Joep at Dutchtone and he impressed me with his ability to organize his departments to achieve outstanding performance in record time. Important aspect was his teambuilding within the department and full buy-in from internal customers. Very impressive. When my current company was facing organizational challenges, Joep was the first person I contacted to help me out.”
Harry Smeding – Head of Purchasing, Orange UK, London (2003)
(LinkedIn profile)
”When I joined Dutchtone as Purchasing Manager, I could not believe that the purchasing department did not even exist only 14 months earlier. In a complex, high speed and entrepreneurial telecom environment Joep had been able to define, implement and staff a professional purchasing department of more than 25 people. Under Joep’s continued guidance we were then able to raise the purchasing department to benchmark performance – obtaining recognition as such from France Telecom, Orange UK and NEVI / A.T. Kearney. The total exposure has been a substantial contributor to my recent appointment as Head of Purchasing for the UK organization.”
Joop Zegeling – Senior Purchaser, Dutchtone/Orange, The Hague (2002)
(LinkedIn profile)
“I got to know Joep as a result driven manager with a pragmatic view and clear strategic approach. This suited me well as I can be very impatient. Joep has excellent analytical skills, is very strong in change management and well prepared to start from scratch and develop any organization to a professional level. Joep is socially oriented and a real pleasure to work with and report to.
I have absolutely no hesitation at all to recommend Joep for any tactical managing position in the future. The company that will succeed to hire Joep deserves well meant congratulations for their excellent choice.”
Bertrand Grezes-Besset – Vice-President, France Telecom, Paris (2002)
(LinkedIn profile)
”During my years as CIO at Dutchtone in The Netherlands I worked closely with Joep in various dimensions: purchasing strategy, logistics & warehousing optimization and IT-projects. Joep continuously impressed me with his to-the-point and quick analyses of problem situations and subsequent development and implementations of solutions. He never failed me! I have no doubt that Joep provides value in any operational setting.”
Konstantinos Apostolatos – Vice-President CapGemini, Brussels (2001)
(LinkedIn profile)
”While at A.T. Kearney, Joep worked for me on the Fedex project. Joep impressed me with his organizational talents and ability to translate complex management issues into simple concepts and reporting formats. He was a great asset to the team and to the client.”
Frans Stollman, Vice President and Director of Xerox Manufacturing and Supply Chain in Europe, London (1998)
“In just three years, Joep turned the challenge of forced returns of empty cartridges from Germany into a profit making remanufacturing operation covering Western-Europe.
He succeeded through an unorthodox approach that quite often raised eyebrows with senior management in Venray – like starting an international postal collection service without involving Logistics or Sales; delivering reusable parts back to Manufacturing causing headaches at our Purchasing and Finance; talking to Marketing about branding remanufactured cartridges drawing concerns from Legal; and working with Engineering to “design for remanufacturing”.
Joep persevered – and how! His success drew well-deserved attention from Executive Leadership at HQ in Rochester, NY. Soon his strategy got adopted and rolled out globally. The subsequent “Xerox One World Campaign” (later rebranded to “Xerox Green World Alliance”) that resulted in millions of returned cartridges world-wide is a tribute to Joep’s work.”