"There's nothing more stimulating than involving your colleagues in the success of the results achieved, and only if you share it can you strive towards even higher goals."
Joep van Straaten, Chief Operations Officer
After graduating with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, in 1987 I started working at NCR as a Financial Analyst and later went on to manage the Financial Planning and Analysis department.
Two and a half years later I made the transition to Cofex BV, a fashion company that was Jeroen and Ben's first inroad into the industry in 1983. Their main brand was the Bad Boys clothing line, which was very successful in the late '80s and early '90s, particularly in the Benelux countries and Germany.
At Cofex I started out as a Financial Manager and was later promoted to CFO.
In 1994 I went to work at the McGregor Fashion Group in the role of CFO. From 1994 to June 2006, as the McGregor CFO, I was involved in lots of really enjoyable, interesting things. We took over other companies, built up our own retail business (we now have over 100 stores), floated McGregor on the Amsterdam stock exchange in 1999, and then delisted it in 2006. I was responsible for the McGregor Fashion Group's financial policy and, while it was listed on the stock exchange, I talked regularly to the national press and financial analysts about our company performance. In June 2006 Remco Vermeij was appointed CFO of McGregor. This was the perfect opportunity for me to move sideways into the role of COO, and broaden my personal development.
I'm operationally responsible for the daily running of the McGregor Fashion Group in the broadest possible sense. In this capacity I'm closely involved with all the divisions and foreign outlets, and therefore also periodically (once a week or once every two weeks) consult with the management teams from the various business units. This enables us, the management, to react quickly to developments within the divisions/countries so that we don't miss any opportunities. Because I work closely with the various divisions/countries, the other managers and I have short lines of communication, which makes it easy for us to lead and provide support, and ensure that important decisions can be taken quickly. This way, management can ensure that our ambitious growth plans are realized.
The entire culture within McGregor shows that people are the key to its success, and this is the guiding principle throughout the organization. Look beyond our 5 values for company success and you realize that, with this as the culture, it's very enjoyable to work together to become an even bigger and more successful international fashion company. Plus the tangibility of our product is, of course, a nice added bonus.
What does "celebrate success and victories" mean for me? I just described how people are the key to the success of the McGregor Fashion Group. There's nothing more stimulating than involving your colleagues in the success of the results achieved, and only if you share it can you strive towards even higher goals, because no one can do it alone.
