I have worked in the cocoa and chocolate world for more than twelve years.
My path has never been typical, or linear. I built companies, worked in origin, managed large projects and collaborated with farmers, traders, researchers, and brands across the world.
What connects it all is one question:
How do we build supply chains that are economically viable, structurally fair and resilient for the long term?
I have always worked as an entrepreneur throughout my career, with the past twelve years fully dedicated to cocoa entrepreneurship. My path has never been typical, and I believe it is my biggest strength.
I’ve always been curious, independent and not afraid to work hard for what I wanted. When I was a child, I picked walnuts from my grandparents’ garden in a small Dutch village and sold them on the street, together with my sisters and cousins. With the money, we took the whole family to a theme park. The drive to create value, to move, to make things happen was already there.
I started as an entrepreneur. Not from a boardroom, but from the ground up.
Working in Cameroon changed how I saw the system. Seeing where cocoa comes from, how value moves and where it disappears, made things tangible.
Back in Europe, I worked on sustainable sourcing, value creation at origin and innovation projects that linked data, traceability and quality to business decisions.
With Pacha de Cacao, I explored what happens when you redesign value streams and treat by-products as assets instead of waste. That experience sharpened my understanding of cost structures, margins, operational realities and market positioning.
The cocoa sector is entering a structural shift.
new chapter in cocoa.
Regulation is tightening. Supply is under pressure. Price volatility is increasing. Data is becoming central. Governance matters more than ever.
Responsible sourcing is no longer a compliance exercise. It is a risk and resilience strategy.
I work at that intersection.
I combine field experience with commercial logic.
I believe integrity and impact only work when they are economically grounded.
I am most at home where complexity needs to be translated into clear direction.
I remain deeply connected to the people behind the chain. Farmers, technicians, entrepreneurs and operators who make things happen every day.
That human layer keeps my work grounded.
I create the most value in roles where sourcing, risk and commercial performance are directly connected. I work on origin strategy, long term supply security and the practical implementation of regulation such as EUDR, ensuring that traceability, quality data and cost structures support real business decisions. I operate best with clear ownership and accountability, improving systems that strengthen both margins and relationships at origin.
