A truly coffee oriented career spanning more than 30 years. Dick started as an international area manager in instant coffee. He has gained experience in the field of fast moving consumer goods focussed on marketing and branding in several markets ranging form Northern Europe, Australia, USA and the Netherlands. He then switched to the sourcing of raw coffee in origin countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Central America and Eastern Africa. He gained experience as a commodity trader, while also learning the artisanal aspects such as coffee cupping, blending and roasting. He was instrumental in the growth of specialty coffees from Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala and Java.In 1996 he founded CoffeeCompany, a retail chain of specialty coffee outlets in the Netherlands and grew the brand to become market leader in the Netherlands. He has become an expert in coffee retailing.The circle closed when he sold CoffeeCompany in 2011 to Douwe Egberts and became a member of the Global Leadership team. Recently he switched back to the source and is helping a hand in coffee growing in Ecuador to develop a new way of coffee agriculture.Dick has a vast experience in coffee ranging from growing, sourcing, cupping, roasting, marketing and retailing second to none. Recently he was involved in helping to start-up a new social business venture of Heilige Boontjes Koffie, a coffee company in Rotterdam providing job opportunities for ex delinquents and youngsters who find it difficult to re-integrate into society. Father of two sons, Erik and LucPassions: Rugby, Gig Rowing and coffeeTeam player, result oriented, positive