This page is for my family, friends and colleagues, to leave their anonymous thoughts how they perceive me after being blessed with ME 
- Be as blunt, critical and open as you want to be, it is truly anonymous
- I cannot trace this back to you and I really don’t want to
- If possible, try to refrain from profanity (even though I do use it a lot
) - The purpose is to learn how people who got to know me from scratch see me and read their view of me with open mind in order to contemplate, process, learn and hopefully become a better person
I truly appreciate you taking the time to write your thoughts and leaving a note!
Jan, You are welcome anytime to join me for a Swedish lunch…
Jan, Thank you for inviting me to drop some comments. I think you’re a great guy, enthousiastic, straight forward, a bit blunt sometimes. Maybe that’s because you speak better english than we do… Business :Try to be more “political OK “.Sometimes I think you should be more serviceminded to the Opco’s. Private: Don’t change that much, try biking in the rain
Jan, great that you are open for all these thoughts and comments. I do like your sense of humour. Keep this! Your are honest and straightformward which is a good habit (even for Dutch people sometimes a bit to much straightforward maybe). You are accurate and very well able getting things done! Furthermore, as you know, you are not very political. This can be very effective by getting things done, but can also be less productive. I think you are more open minded then you sometimes show to others – show this(e.g. your openess to these thoughts). For the rest… your are still underperforming in mountain biking and are not willing to take a next challange. Too bad?!
Great working with you and all the best!!
Jan V. is
)
- Cheaper then a Dutch guy, will only pay the lowest possible price and isn’t even happy when he achieved that (not only at work
- I have the idea that he enjoys life to the max (don’t ever stop!)
- Could achieve more but doesn’t want to take additional step if he thinks the organization doesn’t have the same idea’s
- Straight forward, relax, prefers openness, what you see is what you get
- Doesn’t takes life (work) more serious then needed (I would like to have some of that)
- Likes to work with people instead of for people (read boss)
I find you a very pleasant / happy guy to have around! Greetz
Jan,
I really like working with you! On a personal level I feel that we are friends and appreciate the help you give to me if I have questions, even it is about buying a camera…
You work in burst, you say, and that might be true. I think however that it would help you professionally if you think about the signals you give to colleagues and management by that attitude (the working in bursts). If you are finished early with what you have to do you can also “go the extra mile” and come up ideas, proposals and so on to make work of everyone easier or do overall projects. To you this might feel as doing extra work because you are fast, but I would consider it as a sign or prove that you are better than the others and deserve “the next step”.
To finish, just know that I think you found a good (maybe too good for me) work/life balance. You are personally a very friendly guy and I feel very strong that even after you leave we stay fiends and in contact with each other, especially since I know you are very good in that
better than me!
Despite my criticism don’t change too much and stay the humorous person you are!
All the best in whatever future you may have and stick to Babulka since this will only happen to you once in your life…
Ay Ostblock Mister,
Few words from me…
When I first met you, I did’t think much about you, just a walking beard with a lot of f-words.
I normally don’t judge that fast regarding people I don’t know.
My mom told me, that one should leave every person in their own value ( I don’t know if this is proper Englisch , but f…)
You are……..
You are as discussed many times similar to me in many aspects
You are a Levensgenieter (look it up in the dutch vocabulary)
Your impact on me…..let’s think…….. is take even more time to have fun then I already do.
You have your exbat-life in perfect balance
You are bloody honest
You are very social (and loyal to your friends)
You are a pin (look it up in dutch vocabulary)
You are pretty good sporter and good loser
You are a pretty boy….. hahahaha
You have so many hobbies, you can’t be bored.
You are a Nature guy, flowers and the trees, hug them…
You love your wife so much (you parents must be great example), which I like and I think is a very good basis for the future and your relation.
Small story;
As we al walk our path through our careers we meet different people, some of them leave suddenly and some of them we forget without any memories,
But some of them will stay in our memories forever, like old schoolmates you once played with in on the playgrounds. People carry those very few persons in their imaginary suitcase of memories as important persons are remembered in history books. A selection of important people in my work and career are still in my head and often slip throuh my mind. Most of those people are managers who teached me and coached me to the point were I am now.
But you are different, not an example but more one of us…… a sparrings partner. A buddy on the block you need sometimes to relativate and empty your head from the useless facts and processes in our sometimes grazy business. You showed me the extreem sunny light way of thinking regarding work and private life, I already had sort of the same perspective i.o.w. we sometimes walk on the same road.
Most of us will make side steps, that will breng us on other roads and will finally we will all reach our final destination hopefully a nice one (windy island in the sun?) I hope you’ll find yours soon.
If I would be in charge to choose a dream-team out of all collegues I worked with you would be in it. (for sure).
After you leave you will enter my suitcase.
Some times you frustrated me when you were kite-surfing and I was working.
Don’t forget that if one person does these things it will not be so obvious, but if many people will act this way no-one would be their on a sunny and windy day.
In that perspective I guess I feel a bit more responsibility for work as you, but I admire your balance and sometimes I wish I did the same, because life is to short to miss out perfect waves and conditions.
Only one thing I hope you will start to enjoy your work in the nexy 25 years (that will be the time till your pension) a little bit more, because its a long time to do work you don’t realy like and only if you are winning the lotery you can continue this lifestyle, but working is much nicer when enjoy it, trust me………
I will miss you,… for sure, buddy and stay the way you are….
See you at Bells beach (Australia)50th year storm where I will kick your ass.
Dear Gordito,
Thanks for the invitation to share my thoughts/opinion about you! I already think this initiative tells a lot about you – not very Dutch (which is in this case definitely positive!).
I think you are a great collegue to have in the team. You have impressed me with your openness and straightforward opinions and comments. Although I do think not every situation requires the same (direct or black/white) approach.
You come across as a very balanced personality with a very clear view how you view or value situations. But most of all you are determined how you would prefer to live your life. The impressive thing is that you also live according to this view. Although, I believe you some times have to give and take to accomplish this.
I really appreciate the friendship we have established in a relative short time. I realize that I could not always contribute too much to our discussions during our running laps in the Vondelpark (but this is totally due to me not being yet in shape and your ability to keep on talking). I value the interesting discussions we have regarding private life, ambitions, sports and work.
I hope you will keep up the good spirits and hopefully you will enjoy your envisaged ‘round the world’ trip together. You are of course always welcome to stay at my place or to get some decent financial advice! Let’s stay in touch!
Hey Jan,
How are you? Is has been a long time ago! Nice to say a few words after one year.
We had a great time working together and I have very much enjoyed working with you. You are very good at what you do, it is however not very motivating to be aside you, because you don’t like working and I very much did haha. Nevertheless it was not boring with you and I liked your openess and nice stories. You are great guy and your definitely something else.
I hope you and Katka are doing fine and it be would be great to you see again some day. I am still running and also go the the gym 3 x a week and you are right it feels great.
A few things to remember: don’t be so serious about the money, it only money. Try to relax when you are really frustated about something. You are a hell of a lot cooler when you smiling.
Big hug and kisses
Nancy
PS enjoy the holiday
Dear Jan
I wil miss you buying potatoes…… If you ask me, it was the best example how to deal within harvest problems (and the F.. rain in our country…… ), but also continously benchmarking the rest of the market. Thx for being part of the frozencategory, thx for being a colleque. Wish you all the best.
Lizette van Munster
BR
Ahold announces Jan decision to leave NGS
Zaandam, the Netherlands – Ahold today announced that Jan has decided to leave NGS, effective………. somewhere after the summer 2009.
Jan, 30 plus, is European Sourcing Manager for Frozen Food at the Private Label Sourcing hub at Ahold European Sourcing. He joined Ahold in 2005.
Initially, Jan’s task was to source Ice Cream, Butter and Yellow Fats and counter the several price increases that faced Ahold following the developments of the raw materials markets in 2007, and to establish a first class sourcing competence for the NGS pilot groups.
Speaking of Jan’s decision to leave, a colleague at NGS, said today, “Jan’s contribution and support during his time at Ahold have been invaluable. He has been a pivotal member of our sourcing team and has played an enormous role in shaping the strategy for sourcing Private Label. On a personal note, I have enjoyed working with Jan immensely and will miss him. Along with my colleagues at NGS, I thank him for the contribution he has made and wish him all the best for the future, both personally and professionally.”
“Furthermore I think that people with Jan’s personal and professional talent, competence and experience are extremely rare and valuable. We are grateful for the dedication with which Jan has served Ahold during a most challenging period in the company’s history. His many contributions have made an important difference to where we stand today.”
A successor will be nominated later this year to fill the professional gap. Personally Jan is irreplaceable.
NGS Press Office
Hi Jan,
Thanks for inviting me to leave a comment on this site. I will not do it anonymously, I want you to know from whom you will get all the great tips and tricks to become an even better Jan:-). Seriously, what do I think of Jan and how has he influenced my life. Well, I met you 3 years ago when I started working for the Ahold European buying platform and my first impression was: loud guy full of prejudices about the Dutch people, a bit lazy at work and always telling me I was really stupid for working late at the office. Fortunately this impression gradually turned into: good sense of humour, dedicated to his wife, smart, neat at the office (which was important since we shared an office for a while) and above all a sweet guy. You made me laugh about your money stories and your opinion on life.
So Jan, I can only advice you to continue just being the person like you are. And accept that not everyone thinks or acts the way that you do and that is perfectly ok. And how have you influenced my life? Well, Tvrdá práca este nikoho nezabila. Ale naco riskovat?
Good luck and I hope we can stay in tough.
Hey Jan,
It was a bumpy start. Who is that pompous ass that is pretending to be busy but at the same time has the time to write A4 stories on how you are not going to work like this? You where one of the bigger irritation factors in me starting my new job. At the same time we knew that this was/is the start that everybody has with you (on our side of the business). I’m not sure it was effective for the common goal at the time, it was effective to achieve your personal goal of alligning others to the way you work. Your choice as to which is more important.
Luckily as time progressed I got to know a better side and found much common ground. First on the career front. You:
- Are extremely tactical to achieve the highest possible goal
- Are very skilled to find a work/life balance (too much so?)
- Will go for the best result and know when to stop
- Do not mingle social and business much (which I am not sure is good)
- Are organised (although I never understood the white note system)
You negotiate as hard in private as in business life and we both appreciate real value for money. You have to have the latest gadget, even though you already have the latest. And luckily we got to talk about real stuff and be open to each other. I think the last is the most important and made us connect in business but especially as persons.
Jan, it was/is great working with you and I hope to keep in touch. In 2 weeks I’m getting my new boat and I hope we can go for a little trip soon.
Good luck on your plans, I’m sure they will be succesfull for you.
Jan,
What can I say…
And to just do what makes you happy.
You are a very straight forward guy who will say what he thinks (except when trying to get a deal out of a supplier) and I appreciate that. I learned from you not to worry so much about what other people think of you – which makes this forum quite ironic don’t you think?
Just some of the great things about you:
- You are always ready to help a friend.
- You are always looking for ways to improve yourself.
- Having you as a sounding board about annoying things in NL probably helped my relationship with my favourite creative guy.
- You taught me when to hold your cards and when to play them in negotiations.
- You have definite views and opinions, but you will always listen to the other person’s opinion.
- You are really enjoying life.
- You know how to make friends feel appreciated.
And the best thing is: You have a great wife and you know it!
My only tip is: when offering slivovitz at work it will go over better if it’s the afternoon and not 9am!
We are blessed to have you and Katka as friends and that will never change no matter where you live. Good luck in life, but should luck let you down I’m sure you will have no problem making your own luck. If anyone could manage it, it’s you!
Dear Jan,
as you are.
Finally I found some time to visit your website. I have to admit that your invitation to comment on your person was little bit special
Working with you have sometimes not been easy. You can be very picky and require a lot. Your special wishes and sofisticated excel overviews would drive me mad. But on the other hand well oraganised, nothing will slip your eyes and you will apreciate everybody for good work.Keep like that.And good luck with you new challenges.
m
I enjoyed working with you.
Hej Jan, thanks for the invite to leave some comments. Of course you’ll have learned a few things from the Dutch and the Swedes, but I think we’ll have also learned from you.
First of all I like your sense of humour, what brought laughs in dull times. Next to that I was amazed how you managed to meet your targets both in time and in €€, because sometimes I got the impression that “work” was something you did in between abd to fill the gaps between your holiday-travels. (that’s something that the working-ants can learn from you).
As already said I like your sense of humour, but also the way you contributed to the sourcing process. Sometimes a bit blunt but always with a positive and above all professional mindset.
We will for sure also remember the home made sandwiches and especially the urinal-looking plastic can which contained a very strange looking liquid, which you drink at the office (when you were in ..)
I think you should stay as you are (there’s only one Jan after all); sometimes your thoughts could be expressed in more suave words and with a different timing, but don’t change the content.
I enjoyed working with you and hope to stay in contact with you
I would like to thank everyone who took the time to write a note. I really appreciate the effort and the fact that I could share your lives. I apologize for being too direct at times. I really had a great time here in the Netherlands and God willing Katka and I might be back some day. I wish all of you wonderful life, sound health and many many happy days with your loved ones and friends.
Jan,
I’m sorry we never went on the water together and I feel sorry you chickened out on windsurfing to go kitesurfing, however I always enjoyed A MOMENT OF PEACE AND PASSION during our little talks about the wind, kite-/ windsurfing stories in our formal working environment. I also thank you for my illegal password for windguru PRO.
I always felt sorry for you living in Amsterdam instead of Zandvoort. Can you imagine how sorry I feel for you now ! living in Slovakia…..
Hope to see you back in the water, werever…. Maybe halfway in Munich on the Eisbach or Flosslände). But preferably on Maui. You know you HAVE to go to Maui. And if you go there withhout seeing me, I will feel sorry for myself, but I will be happy for you.
Life is too short, go surfing, see you in the water
Awesome guys! seems your are having great expierences!!!
good luck with all what has to come and enjoy!!!
hi Jan and Katka…where is the 2010 album or maybe what are ur plans and trip this 2010… Gosh so many lovely pictures… I wish u all the well for you and katka…
Hope to see more adventure and hope to travel as well like you two are doing…
God Bless you friend…
Dear Rhema; for now now specific plans for 2010. We are just in the process of moving to the Netherlands. Once we settle here, we will start “exploring” again