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CEO

Work Experience

Work experience



• April 2005- March 2007

After my resignation with Punch I decided to search for a new challenge as an independent entrepreneur. I examined various opportunities in different sectors and finally decided to take over Supra Meubel, a furniture business.
Supra Meubel has a 10.000 m² store selling all kinds of trendy furniture, as well as 5.000 m² warehousing.
Next to this retail business, Supra Meubel has an importing department importing from Indonesia, China and Eastern-Europe.
Another company, Eastborn, was also acquired. This entity takes care of the logistics, the transport and the assembling of the furniture at the customer’s place.

Supra Meubel increased its revenue with about 30% in 12 months time!
I had the opportunity to sell it with a nice mark-up, which I did.


• Until April 2005

CEO of Acunia International CEO Advantra International.
Business Unit Manager Punch (BU Wireless Solutions)
Member of the Punch International Executive Committee.


Acunia International:
Acunia was acquired by Punch in January 2004. At the time of the acquisition, Acunia had already invested 30 million Euro in the development of an intelligent Telematics platform. But the product was never completed, the staff de-motivated and the company went bankrupt.
During 1 year I focused on completing the development as well as creating different new business models.
From a pure hardware developer Acunia has now become a leading Telematics Solutions Provider focusing on fleet management. The solution now integrates web-based planning, communication, navigation and track & trace components. Moreover, thanks to this service- platform a stream of recurrent revenue was created.


Advantra International:
From a 1-way pager manufacturer for the European market faced with bankruptcy, Advantra has now not only become the leading Reflex radio-modem supplier, (2-way data) but also the preferred integrator and manufacturer of many of its clients, including Fortune 100 companies. Absolute leader in its field on the US Market, in Canada, Mexico and different South-American countries, Advantra currently sells hundreds of thousands modems a year and has developed and marketed exciting applications for: remote-monitoring of machines and equipment, track & trace of vehicles (world-wide), remote monitoring of diabetes patients, energy control, etc etc.
Other new developed services includes: sourcing, cost-reduction, BOM definition, creation of the customers’ business models, identification of synergies + bringing various parties together offering total solutions to the wireless world.
In a few years, Advantra moved from several millions losses to a profitable situation, and moreover, today, the company has a future oriented product & service portfolio.
Based on these solid foundations, Punch has now successfully brought the Business Unit “Telematix” to the European Stock exchange.


• 2001-2002

Advantra International: Senior Vice President.

Mission: re-organize the company.
The 1-way paging activity was phased-out and new, future oriented products were developed and marketed.
As such, from a pure 1-way pager manufacturing company, Advantra quickly became the leading player in the US Reflex market. (2-way messaging and B2B applications). Various multi-million $ contracts were signed for the development of different radio-modems and Telemetry applications. At that time, next to Motorola (who quitted the business because they could not compete with us) Advantra was the only company in the world who could develop those kinds of products!


• September 1999 – April 2001

Advantra International: Marketing & Sales manager.

Responsible for the definition of the Group strategy, (offices and factories in Belgium, Cambridge, Mexico, US), make the business plans, responsible for the marketing, the training and coordination of the different (worldwide) sales teams.
The sales volume was doubled within 1 year in a declining market.


• September 1997 to August 1999

Having sold my company, I signed a 2 years consultancy contract (for Crisis-Management) with AMI, a sister company of CMB, one of the leading shipping companies in Europe.
Mission: re-organize their almost bankrupted business in East-Africa.

Chief Executive Officer of AMI TANZANIA Group of Companies.

The group consisted of following companies:

- AMI Tanzania LTD: a Clearing & Forwarding Company.
- AMI Port Operations LTD: Management of the strategical Port of Kigoma. (Tanganyika Lake).
- AMI Air Operations LTD: Airfreight & Travel Agency.
- CAMBI LTD: Real Estate Company.
(Total staff: 356, consolidated revenue: 15 M $).

The main realized objective is a complete re-organization of the 4 companies and activities including:

- Successful negotiation and implementation of a major redundancy in a very difficult social(ist) and economical environment. (200 people out of 356).
- Recruitment & training of local staff: includes setting up and implementation of Company Core Values and individual objectives. (Behavioral objectives, business and growth objectives, monitored by an “Evaluation Program”).
- Full computerization of the companies, hardware and software, Internet + the training of an in-house EDP Manager. This includes the in-house development of own software: cargo tracking software “CHASER” and a commercial database “Contact Management”.
- Renegotiation of a historical 75 years old contract with the Tanzanian Government. (Port of Kigoma).
- Settlement of 7.5 M $ (25 year old) claims with the Government of Tanzania and Congo. (Congo/Gecamines and Tanzania, the famous “Belbase”).
- Obtaining a unique status for AMI Tanzania LTD: “Private Cargo Terminal’. (Considered as an official extension of the Port).
- From 1 M $ loss (and expected loss for 1998 1.5 M $ due to El Nino consequences) to 700.000 $ profit, despite a worse economic environment: embargo Burundi, war Rwanda, war Congo.
- Changing the negative image of the company (due to the “colonial history”) into a positive image. (Extensive successful lobbying with the Government).
- Completely changing the profile of the company from a pure Transit operational cost-center into a set-up with different commercial profitable activities. This includes the development of business on the local market. (Import in and export out of Tanzania). Within 9 months 50 % of our revenues were “local”. (From 0).
A diversification of the activities, creating new streams of revenue: e.g.: removal and packing, (Embassies), warehousing, special projects, etc.



• 1984-1997:

CEO of Kus Europe N.V. and Douglas N.V.

In those self-owned companies, I was responsible for the development of following
activities:

• The purchase, import and export, distribution and promotion of own brands of lubricants (Grand Prix) and chemicals (exclusivity Solvay) in various West-African countries (Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, , Mali, Ivory Coast) through a network of local infrastructures. I took care of the set-up of the complete local infrastructures and nation-wide distribution networks, as well as the full training of the local Agents and their staff.
Results: Gambia 85 % market share, Mali 55 %, Guinea Bissau 95 %, etc.

• Set-up of a barter trade rice/cashew nuts between Guinea-Bissau and India.

• Purchase of cement in Rumania, the export, the shipping with chartered vessels, the import, the distribution and sales through our network in The Gambia.
• Set-up of a barter trade between Belgium and Rumania. Export of supermarket supplies from Belgium to Rumania, import of Rumanian furniture in Belgium + the distribution and sales on the Belgian market.

• Set-up of a fully computerized mail-order company for 2 large Belgian Press Groups: De Persgroep (ID-Shop) and De Financieel Ekonomische Tijd (Tijdsbeeld).


• 1980-1984: employee with Stockbroker Kirschen & Co. One of the major stockbrokers in Belgium specialized in all transactions for the diamond industry.
I started as a switchboard operator. After 1 year I was responsible for the foreign exchange with the Belgian banks. In year 2 I became a Director and started a “gold department” (purchase of rough gold in Africa, import and refinery in Belgium).
Kirschen became the biggest buyer of gold in Belgium.

• 1979-1980: trainee (interim awaiting my military service) at Antwerpse Bouwwerken Verbeeck, at that time, one of the biggest contractors in Belgium. General administration, input of company's information on computer.



Languages

• Mothertongue(s): French and Dutch.
• English: fluent.
• Fair knowledge of German and Spanish.
• Knowledge of some African languages. (Swaheli, Wolof)


Nominations


2003-2006: Member of the Board of the Belgian Telematics Cluster
1998-1999 : Chairman of the Tanzanian Government Committee with the task to analyze how to
attract more cargo through the Port of Dar Es Salaam.
1998-1999 : Special Advisor to the Tanzanian Government for Logistic and Transport Problems.
1998-1999 : Member of the Executive Committee and Secretary of the Tanzania-FranceBusiness-
Club.
1990-1991 : Honorary Consul of The Gambia (Under President Daouda Kariba Djawarra).


Hobbies

• Informatics
• Making and editing movies
• Foreign cultures
• Music


References



• Nicolas Saverys: CEO of Exmar. Tel: +32.3.247.56.11.
• Christian Van Thillo: CEO of DE PERSGROUP and VTM. Tel: +32.2.454.24.40.

Education

ik heb 25 jaar wereldwijde ervaring in Management, Crisis Management, People Management en Business Development.
Dit in een zeer uitgebreide portfolio diensten en produkten.

Education & Skills



• 1965-1978: Primary and Secondary education: Jesuit College (OLV), Frankrijklei, Antwerp.
• 1991-1992: Post-University course in financial analysis at Ufsia in Antwerp.
• 1999-2004: multiple Telecom seminars. (Wireless, Telemetry, Telematica),
course about Mail order & Catalogue.
• 2004-2005: course about negotiation with Unions and social dialogue.
• Advanced knowledge in IT. (Microsoft, Intranet, Internet).

Skills

Management, Crisis Management, People Management en Business Development

Languages

perfekt Nederlands, Frans, Engels, goede notities van Duits en Spaans

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