Built a company deliberately
Founded and grew Softwaredam B.V. from a solo consultancy into a team of platform engineers — hiring intentionally (Stephan, Patric, Saleem) only as trust and workload justified it, never for growth's sake.
Leadership measured in trust, not title.
From lead engineer on the Dutch rail network to founder of a platform consultancy trusted with national infrastructure — every leadership role I've held was earned by staying accountable when it would have been easier not to be.
Rose through mission-critical ranks
Joined CGI's Rail unit as a junior engineer and, over 7+ years, became one of its lead engineers — mentoring newer engineers on systems where the cost of a bug is measured in real-world safety, not just tickets.
Trusted with national infrastructure
Led complex, high-stakes engagements for Dutch government and public bodies — the RWS DSO transformation, ProRail work alongside TCS, and platform migrations for KOOP and Logius — where continuity is non-negotiable.
Leads the local tech community
Went from sponsoring Zoetermeer Tech Night to organizing it — turning a marketing line item into a genuine commitment to the engineers around him.
Leadership that outlasts self-interest
Left CGI to start his own company, then publicly wrote "I left, but you should join the Rail Unit" — advocating for a team he no longer worked on because the people and the mission still deserved it.
Accountable, not delegated, leadership
Insists on being the single point of contact for clients from first consultation through delivery, and gives direct access to engineers instead of hiding behind support tiers.
Clients who've trusted my leadership
Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) — DSO transformationProRail — via TCSKOOPLogiusCGI Rail Unit
These are organizations where downtime isn't an inconvenience — it's a national-scale problem. Leading engagements here means leading with discipline, transparency, and a bias toward the boring, reliable solution over the flashy one.