First, can you tell us a little more about your career?
I have worked in government for more than 40 years. Not only with the province of South Holland but also with as many as eight different ministries. I often worked there in the role of director general (dg). I worked as dg Mobility at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, as dg Housing and Construction at the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and as dg Energy and Telecom at the then Ministry of Economic Affairs (read: now the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate). Within many of these positions I was at the interface of government and market.
I also served as dg of Housing, Communities and Integration at the then Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment and as director of primary education at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Finally, I then worked as deputy secretary general at the Ministry of Justice and Security. In spite of this long list, I have not only worked at ministries. During the corona pandemic, for example, I set up and led two crisis organizations in cooperation with various civil society actors. And I also write articles and books on cooperation between ministers and (top) civil servants; books such as "Yes minister-no minister," "With ministers on the tandem," and "Contradiction please. I was also chairman of the Association for Government Management for many years and organize the Reuringdebat. In addition, commissioned by the General Administration, I drafted the Compass for Public Leadership for the government.
An impressive career! What does your work look like now?
I am currently self-employed as a public leadership consultant. I advise government organizations at all levels to show more leadership. I also advise companies and municipalities in collaborating with government. In addition, I am a lecturer, especially at the NSOB, and am involved in many training programs; mostly in the field of political-administrative cooperation and counteraction. I coach government managers. And I am a member of a couple of advisory boards and of some supervisory boards.
So how did you end up here?
I know René Leegte, the owner of Publieke Zaken, and came to Publieke Zaken. I am his (after several years) successor as president of Rotary 's Gravenhage. Cooperation in that area has been good. We understand each other well and both have an eye for the relationship between businesses on the one hand and government organizations on the other. That understanding is necessary to get more and better solutions for the big tasks we face in the Netherlands.
At Publieke Zaken , I want to continue my efforts to make government even better, to provide more public leadership and, above all, to be much more accessible to citizens and businesses. Many new solutions to major issues, he says, must come from more government collaboration with social actors.
That sounds good! And a good eye for opportunities for collaboration between government and business, then?
In my career, I have worked intensively with political administrators. In this I have gained a lot of experience. In all, about 40 ministers and state secretaries. It is nice to contribute to solutions armed with that experience and knowledge at Publieke Zaken .
So a real bridge builder. Is that also how you see your role within Publieke Zaken ?
Publieke Zaken is an organization that bridges business and government. That is something I want to do myself. Moreover, Public Affairs is an energetic club of fortunately many young people. It is a great pleasure to share my knowledge and experience with them.
Do you have any great advice for that team of young people?
In Public Affairs, a great deal of knowledge and understanding of the motivations of (people in) government is highly desirable. If you want more cooperation, you have to be able to put yourself in the government's mind and views. Conversely, this also applies, of course. Mutual understanding can still use a big boost.
That's great advice. But a big push is still needed, you say. What do you identify as the biggest public affairs challenges in the coming period?
We have many major tasks in the Netherlands: Better education, good care, more housing, improvement of nature, sustainability in energy, answers for growing mobility. To many of these goals I want to commit myself.
