About my career

I have worked in hospitality and advertising for 28 years. My main studies in my student years are hotel business school and Italian Language and Culture, but I can definitely say that I learned the most by doing. Meaning: on the job!

I started my career in hotels. At first as an intern in Paris and in the first five years after graduating from hotel business school, I worked in the front office of hotels in London and Amsterdam. In Amsterdam I learned how to run an entire hotel as a duty manager and I managed the front office department which included around 30 staff members in day and night shifts.

What I learned most from my time in international hotel business is customer service, people skills and having to rely on a good team.

After five years I left the hotel business to start my Italian language and culture studies at the University of Amsterdam. Several years later I landed my first fulltime job in advertising at the strategy department at TBWA\NEBOKO.

Me at work with colleague Saskia in the executive lounge at Hotel Concorde Lafayette in Paris

 What I learned most from my time at the ad agency is how to inspire people in a business setting with intelligent creative storytelling and qualitative design.

I learned this by working closely together with the best brand, data and communication strategists, creatives and account people in the international advertising business. I learned marketing strategy and -research, how to build a good presentation and how to present a good story. Close to eighteen years at the agency resulted in me being the go to person at the office for:

• marketing intelligence
• consumer insights
• competitive analysis
• inspiring business-, advertising- and communication cases
• workshop prep and -participation
• cultural trend presentations

I helped set up TBWA's international cultural intelligence unit Backslash, the agency's intern program and initiated the cultural council, representing diversity and inclusion within the agency. I have written several articles about trends and hundreds of trend newsletters for clients and colleagues. Brands I worked for are Albert Heijn, McDonald's, Rijksoverheid, Unilever, JDE, Female Cancer Foundation, Amsterdammer helpt Amsterdammer,