Feb 7, 2022
In this episode of the EMEA Recruitment podcast, we were proud to be joined by Ron Veldhuizen, the Corporate Director Capex & Project Management at FrieslandCampina.
“I have two ears, I only have one mouth, so I try to listen more than I speak.”
As the COVID-19 topic is difficult to avoid, our Founder, Paul Toms, kicks off the episode by asking Ron about the positives he’s taken away from the situation. As well as escaping three-hours’ traffic per day by working from home, Ron has also enjoyed the experience of connecting with colleagues in multiple countries using the same medium.
There are, of course, challenges that have come with working from home. It was difficult for Ron to separate his work and private life to begin with, but he has now put steps in place, such as going for a lunchtime walk, to manage the change.
Ron has worked for FrieslandCampina, or the wider group or different divisions, for 26 years, but he only started his current role in 2019. It’s been a challenging two years, but the successes he’s achieved with the team keep him going. In fact, Ron’s had the “privilege” of taking on new challenges, fulfilling his ambitions and doing things that energise him the most at FrieslandCampina; although this may be his last role with the company, as he plans to retire in around six years’ time.
An ambition to work in Finance started during Ron’s studies at high school and university, and were influenced by his father. He spent the first 12 years of his career working in traditional Finance roles, until he was given control of worldwide Finance operations and discovered a new boost of energy.
However, it’s working with different people and cultures that Ron finds the most rewarding. His management style, therefore, focuses on collaboration and listening; he believes in taking more of a coaching role than a directive one and his team is always given credit for their successes.
Listening skills are something that Ron looks out for when hiring new people into his team. During the recruitment process, Ron looks beyond someone’s CV to get a good understanding of their personality and drive.
Although he agrees that the profile of the Finance professional is changing due to business intelligence and data, Ron himself was involved in creating the first RC Accounting programme in the Netherlands.
Paul and Ron have known each other for a long while, but there are certain personal questions that Paul hasn’t asked until now. Ron reveals why travelling is such an important part of his life, which part of the world he feels most at home in, and the one destination on his bucketlist (that unfortunately his wife won’t join him in!).
Ron also explains how he manages to switch off and enjoy time with his family when he’s away, as well as the three apps that he couldn’t live without.
We end the episode by finding out the last thing that made Ron smile – it’s a heart-warming response!
If you’re looking for a certain part of the episode, you can use the timestamps below:
01:00: Taking the positives from the pandemic
situation
02:30: The challenges of working from
home
04:18: Starting his new role
06:07: The benefits of staying with 1
business
07:54: Where Ron’s Finance ambition came
from
09:56: Ron’s most rewarding
role
11:06: A collaborative management
style
15:42: What to look for during the recruitment
process
18:21: The impact of BI & Data on Finance
profiles
21:23: Setting up the RC qualification in the
Netherlands
22:50: What Ron enjoys doing outside of
work
24:29: The country Ron feels most at home
in
26:04: Ron’s bucketlist
destination
26:56: How to switch off outside of
work
28:03: The 3 apps Ron couldn’t live
without
30:39: The last thing that made Ron
smile
34:02: How to contact Ron
If you’d like to contact Ron, drop him a message on LinkedIn.
EMEA Recruitment is proud to bring you the podcast in partnership with international medical charity Operation Smile. We are committed to creating 100 new smiles through this partnership. If you would like to help us achieve this goal, please donate: emearecruitment.com/operation-smile
The EMEA Recruitment podcast is hosted by Paul Toms, our Founder, and Rose Jinks, Senior Marketing Executive.
Our full range of professional services recruitment solutions can be found on our website: https://www.emearecruitment.com/
Please also keep up to date with our activities via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/emea-recruitment-limited/
You can connect with Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paultoms/
Or follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/paul_toms
If there are any topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes of the podcast, please reach out to Rose: rose.jinks@emearecruitment.com
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