Who I am

I am not the kind of governor who tries to win a room. My strength lies in listening, ordering, re-reading, writing and being precise about where things rub. I try to make language a group can move forward with: an analysis, a letter, an agenda, a reply, a summary or an advice that is sharp enough to be taken seriously. That careful listening also draws on NOBCO-accredited coaching training. No active practice; just a tool I bring along in every conversation. I live with my wife, our son and daughter, and dog in Someren-Eind.

In my work I keep looking for the same things: is the process sound, is the mandate clear, are the right people involved, and is there honest feedback on what happened with their input?

Between 2021 and 2025 I was a board member and later secretary of Village Council Someren-Eind. I worked on village development, resident communication, dialogue with the municipality, and practical liveability matters.

Between 2023 and 2026 I was involved in Stichting Samen voor Someren, the local Social Domain Advisory Council of the municipality of Someren. From November 2024 I was chair. In that role I represented Someren in regional meetings of the Social Domain Advisory Councils Peelgemeenten and in the Regional Client Council Participation Act.

Stichting Samen voor Someren / Social Domain Advisory Council Someren
Board member, chair, acting secretary, regional representative and later liquidator. Work on the Social Support Act, Youth Act, Participation Act and regional governance around the Joint Regulation Peelgemeenten.

Village Council Someren-Eind
Board member and secretary. Work on village development, communication, dialogue with the municipality, resident signals, Windpark Diepenhoek, Someren-Eind 2040 and practical liveability projects.

Oably
Entrepreneur and software architect. Relevant as background: I am used to building systems, structuring information and making complex processes workable. Software cases are on oably.com.

I work mainly through text and structure. That sounds quieter than a podium, but in governance work text is often where the decision tilts: the question that is precise enough, the minute that secures an agreement, the analysis that ends the option of looking the other way.

• I distinguish between fact, interpretation, assumption and conclusion.
• I record agreements before they evaporate.
• I keep asking about mandate: who decides, who advises, who represents whom?
• I look for the place where resident input can have influence, not only where it is ceremonially collected.
• I write so that governors, residents and executives can read the same document.
• I like working with colleagues and partners who each contribute from their role; good governance work rarely comes from one head.
• I finish what I start: hand-over, administration, liquidation and retention are part of responsibility too.

What drives me is not governance noise, but governance honesty. People do not always need to be right, but they do need to understand where they stand. If a municipality asks for input, it must be clear what happens with it. If an advisory council exists, it must be clear what it can advise on. If residents put time into a process, that process should not afterwards be reduced to decoration.