Meet the manager

How long have you been working at Schiphol/which jobs?
Since 2004:

• Business Development: Business Development Manager
• Airside Operations: Manager Airside Authority
• Airside Operations: Senior Manager Airside Operations

What would you have done career-wise if you were not doing this job?
I would have been a doctor (because of the lottery system I failed to get a place in medical school).

Could you tell us something surprising about your job?
Over the past few years I have gained some interesting knowledge (useful, but a bit odd):

• sea-gulls like to lie with their belly’s on warm runways;
• the temperature of hot brakes is up to 700 degrees Celsius;
• 18 cm is the ideal grass-height to keep away most of the birds at Schiphol;
• “METAR EHAM 181155Z 21014KT 9999 FEW029 BKN042 12/07 Q1018 NOSIG=” says something about the weather in Amsterdam.

 
Seen from your position/job at Schiphol, what are the strengths of Schiphol?

• Good quality of infrastructure (e.g. runways, taxiways, terminal);
• Capable and highly motivated staff to work with (proud of their contribution to the airport’s primary process);
• Tangible steps in the field of CDM (Collaborative Decision Making: working together with airlines, handlers, airport and ATC in order to make even more efficient use of the available ground- and air-capacity).

 
What is your most important principle?
“When there is a will, there is a way” (learned this during my childhood and was reinforced during my years as a professional sailor).

Who would you like to sit next to in a plane, to which destination and why?
I would like to sit next to Jamie Andrew (a mountaineer, see www.jamieandrew.com), flying to the Alps and climb a mountain with him. I’m convinced everybody can learn from his impressive story and highly inspiring personality.

Describe your favorite holiday. Where and why?
Sailing in Friesland (Northern province in the Netherlands). Enjoying wind, water, good food & drinks with family and friends: combining the best things in life!

What do you consider Holland’s best kept secret?
Looking at the answer above: a little lake alongside the Fluessen in Friesland.