Built on conviction.
Driven by impact.
At LRE Foundation I saw what becomes possible when the right people connect around a shared mission. A small, determined team that turned a regional initiative into a European movement. We connected museums, governments, tourism partners, guides and communities with one goal: keeping the stories of the Second World War alive for future generations.
We were pioneers. Thinking big, learning along the way and adjusting when needed. What made it work was not the strategy on paper. It was the energy in the room. The commitment between partners. Complementary strengths that made the whole far greater than the sum of its parts. With a small group of people you can achieve great things. I saw that with my own eyes.
I was the pivot: translating vision into action, bringing people together, holding direction and keeping energy alive when it got hard. Driven by societal impact. With an entrepreneurial approach. Currently at Brabant C, working on the transition towards a sustainable public-private model.
I started Vico to build a complementary team with Marcel, form our own Vital Coalition and bring this conviction and approach to many more organisations. That is what I am fully committed to.
Since I started as an entrepreneur in 2006 (Giraffa Business Consulting), change and innovation have been the common thread in my work: connecting people and organisations around ideas with societal potential. As a board member of a foundation for Social and Technological Innovation, I saw how complicated partnerships can be - interests pitted against each other, steering on positions and subsidies instead of a shared, sustainable outcome. Knowledge and willingness were usually there; the difference was made by the ability to organise the collaboration effectively.
I founded Vico Pioneers together with Victoria in 2024, from a conviction we share together: leadership that steers and controls no longer fits the challenges of today, which are too large and too interconnected to direct from a single place. What does work: the moment when parties notice that their futures are connected. That calls for a role that takes charge of the collaboration itself. That is the role we fulfil, through Vico Pioneers.
What drives me is the societal value of many coalitions: structural involvement from all partners strengthens societal value, puts public funding to optimal use, and fully powers the innovation engine. The moment parties take on a shared challenge from trust and ownership, I am in my element. That is what Vico Pioneers stands for: making sure coalitions succeed, for the people and the missions that depend on them. We Lead, Build and Learn: Partnership is the New Leadership.
