My Story: When You Fail to Become a Pilot….
Prior to joining the aviation industry in 2006, I was fascinated by human behavioristics. Simple actions leading to huge business gain or losses caused by cleverness, stupidity or luck.
I have great respect for science and the variety of its applications in daily practices, especially when you realize that I am a very pragmatic person, inpatient and extremely results-driven.
When it comes to software, I strongly believe in a mission to build applications which fit the business needs of our clients by the aid of science, technology and domain expertise, making our products effective tools which support the user workflow rather than work against it.
It was pure luck how I got in touch with aviation. I was fortunate to get my first serious job experiences at a very young age. It helped me to mature quickly and taste a wide variety of career paths. My first aviation job was a Revenue Analyst at Transavia Airlines. I ended up there after being rejected by KLM for a similar role. The official conclusion was that my potential manager wasn’t convinced of my analytical skills during my final interview.
My personal version is that I couldn’t see myself at my age working with a shiny tie and drinking coffee from a plastic cup. That plastic cup would not have been a problem necessarily. Moreover, it may have more to do with the contrast I foreseen. The manager in question drank from a proper mug and used all sorts of body language to make sure I understood the bureaucracy which was embedded at the KLM office — no offense, I love KLM and am a satisfied Platinum frequent flyer.
Transavia Airlines truly sparked my addiction to aviation where I mastered the operating aspects of the business. I was given the opportunity to participate in many commercial processes — laying the foundation to what would become the decision-support department, setting up the evaluation process to introduce new routes, shutting them down and even had the chance to participate in the creation of two new airlines, one of which is still in operation today.
I took all of these experiences with me to my next job at Revenue Management Systems. There I could strengthen my skills on many fronts, while getting exposure to a large variety of global airlines. With the support of my colleagues, I was given the trust to grow into the role of Vice President of Product Management.
Going Dutch…
I think there are not many industries as dynamic as aviation. One of the causes is the number of external influences the airlines themselves cannot control, including economic and political trends. The margins are razor-thin and an extra dollar in terms of earning can result in a double-digit increase in profit.
Additionally, I found it fascinating to learn about commercial aviation’s dependency on technology. In some ways, I feel that the industry is held ‘hostage’ by old technology. Most legacy systems have created for themselves an oligopoly, making it extremely difficult for outsiders to enter the market.
In the past decade, I have been involved with various innovation projects. It would be unfair to call out reasons for projects to fail, and there are certainly success stories I have seen as well. I felt the overarching difficulty was when stakeholders couldn’t look beyond their own objectives and acknowledge the necessity to rely on others if they didn’t know something.
Isn’t it better to admit that you can’t provide all the answers instead of falling into the habit of using vague terms and creating confusion?
I’d love to “be normal.” This desire may come from my origin of being Dutch. That doesn’t mean different things cannot be complimented, but — as we say in Dutch– if you can’t make cheese out of it, something’s fishy. I want to help airlines drive real innovation by building truly useful feature-rich applications while including the right dose of fun. Only then can the industry change.
My new mantra is “Mute the buzz, build the Bizz”.
I am proud and lucky to have found three amazing co-founders who made their strengths available to facilitate our collective dream: creating Kambr.
(R)Evolution
Kambr is more than an opportunity for us. Realizing we currently stand on just a piece of concrete which can serve as a platform to launch a rocket to the moon, I am excited that, while sharing a similar background and domain experience, the founding team collectively have a diverse toolkit of competencies which allow us to complement each other and share the trust to push each other to our limits to be only satisfied with the best.
For the next few months, along with designing the blueprints of our software solution, an exciting time is ahead of us to hire a team of best-in-class engineers. We have no shortage of ideas and right now, the coolest features need to be brought to life. We are on a mission to build a rocket to travel to the moon and beyond! I hope we can stay true to our mission of change.
Change is everywhere and it is inevitable. We have been patient enough waiting for progress to evolve from legacy systems, but they gave us limited incremental change. Most of the real change has come from outsiders stepping in with a fresh mindset. I am convinced this is ultimately the recipe for success. Let’s not merely hope for further evolution; join us to support the revolution!
This story was written in March 2019, and has become part of the Kambr Publication.
