Every month, under the heading ‘Getting acquainted with…’ we give the floor to an NNVO employee. He or she tells something about him- or herself and about working at NNVO. This month this is none other than de new NNVO Director: Pieter Kuijt. He started on 1 December and sees many good opportunities, which he will be happy to take up.
Who is Pieter Kuijt?
“Together with my partner Menje and our two teenage sons I have lived in Leiden for many years. In front of our doorstep my sloop is moored, which I sail along the Leiden canals. I also enjoy sporting: cycling in summer and skating in winter. In my free time I am also chairman of the Board of a secondary school. In short, I don’t like being idle. I am a very result-driven and positive person in everything I do. I have this typical Rotterdam mentality: actions speak louder than words.”
What work experience do you have?
“I have done many different things: from teaching at the Royal Netherlands Military Academy to publisher of Kidsweek, a newspaper for children. The last 12 years I worked at Erasmus University Rotterdam. I started there as Marketing & Communications Director and was amongst others responsible for the recruitment of students. The last two and a half years I headed the Executive Education department at the Rotterdam School of Management. This department provides commercial, non-accredited management training courses for trade and industry and other organisations.”
Why did you choose NNVO?
“It is a combination of factors. In the first place I put my heart into education, in particular education for professionals. Lifelong learning has become more and more important. Apart from that, the nautical world is fascinating, because there are many developments. Increasing complexity and digitalisation have a large impact on traffic management professions and therefore also on the training courses. This provides good opportunities. After having worked at a large university for many years, it is also a pleasure to start working at a small agile organisation with short lines of communication. Furthermore, the good atmosphere during the interviews with the Board and the team appealed to me.”
What are you going to focus on in the near future as Director?
“Our first priority is the relocation. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we will have to move again to a new location in the spring of 2021. Thankfully it is nearby; our new office is right next to NS intercity and subway station Rotterdam Alexander. In the past two years a lot of work has been done by Johan van Breda and the team to improve the quality of the training courses. We can take pride in that. It is now important to guarantee and uphold this in the organisation so that the basis is and remains up to par. This is absolutely a second priority. We will have to implement further improvements in our processes and systems based on the principle that the customer satisfaction of our participants needs to be further improved. Last but not least: our own team as well as the directors and other stakeholders have many ideas about the future of NNVO. The Board has already indicated that a new strategy is needed. I want to use the next few months to compile an inventory of all these wishes and needs. With this input we will be able, together with the Board and the team, to develop a strategy: where do we want to be with our organisation in three to five years’ time. And in particular: how are we going to realise that ambition.”
