Why are we focusing on sustainability? 

'Sustainability is in our DNA. We’re not improving sustainability to earn money, although obviously a healthy company needs to earn money to stay profitable, keep people in work, and create a sustainable future. No – the most important motivation to become more sustainable is to help the sector advance, which we do by continually innovating. In addition, it’s now becoming increasingly important to let other know what we’re doing, both as a company and as a sector generally. People have to understand that making the world more sustainable is possible and that the solutions are within reach. It's up to us to demonstrate the results.'

'There’s another role for us in a completely different area, which is public opinion. We’re seeing a global shift towards plant-based alternatives to animal proteins, which is more pronounced in some countries than in others. The reason for this is a belief that it’s more sustainable, animal-friendly, and healthier. I think we need to do more to find a balance between animal-based and plant-based. Dairy products from cows are an ideal part of a healthy and sustainable diet, because cows eat plants humans can’t digest and convert them into digestible proteins. And there are many ways to make the sector more sustainable – instead of halving its size, like politics and NGO’s are pushing towards in The Netherlands.

We have to help farmers get this message across, and make the importance of our sector clear to society and to politicians too. Because that’s where this message has to be heard. They also need to hear that innovation is an important tool in making the agricultural sector more sustainable. We’re currently taking an active stance in this role of underlining our sector’s importance to society.’

How do we approach the challenge of becoming more sustainable?

'In the context of the bigger picture of sustainability, we’re focussing on three themes. First is our own emissions, which we can measure and influence very easily. We’re also examining our role in the chain – where do we get our raw materials from, and how do suppliers handle these materials? Thirdly, we’re making the biggest difference with our solutions. With these solutions, we’re ensuring livestock farmers can take real steps towards becoming more sustainable, and we’re helping the sector to advance. That’s been our focus for many years, because that’s where we have the greatest impact. Now we really have to work on our own emissions and our role in the chain. We are actively studying how we use materials, and our behaviour – those are our next steps.'

• Started his career as a trainer at Philips, and later became responsible for logistics, IT and production in the Netherlands and Germany.
• Has worked at Lely for more than 22 years, where he’s the longest serving board member. Started out as deputy director for production and then moved up to general manager of Lely Industries, among various other positions, and has been Chief Technology Officer at Lely for almost two years.
• He had no background in the dairy sector, so he was regularly surprised by the success and failure of innovations in his first 10 years at Lely. This partly explains why he is convinced about the power of employing so many colleagues with farming backgrounds and expertise.
• Likes to cook, and loves skiing and swimming.
• Is married to Annelies and has two sons, who are 24 and 27 years old.

What’s the biggest challenge right now?

'Our greatest challenge lies in accelerating the pace of making the agricultural sector more sustainable. With an ever-increasing world population we’re going to need more food and the negative impact of food production has to be seriously reduced at the same time. We’ve got a role to play here; how can we make dairy production truly sustainable?'

What’s your role at Lely?

'As Chief Technology Officer, I’m responsible for, among other things, managing the innovation department, product development, product management, and operations. These teams work on both new innovations and further developing our existing products. My remit includes creating the right balance here; how much time do we spend on existing products, and how much space do we allow for new ideas? On the one hand, we have to keep our legacy of old systems running in order to serve our customers. But on the other, we want to progress, and we’re always looking for new solutions to help our customers advance a step further. The latter is essential, given the challenges our sector is facing at the moment.’