Currently I’m mainly active as a project manager. At first only for AB InBev projects, meanwhile also for other companies’ projects. My former expertise, in my life before Verhaert, was in exploring technologies enabling to translate new design and marketing wishes into affordable and mass-producible products. The projects that are currently trusted to me are obviously rather situated in the phase where industrialization is becoming important.

It’s the challenge that makes my job so interesting. Never a dull moment! 

The biggest challenge, starting at Verhaert and coming from the Consumer Electronics world, was to dive into all of these, for me, less known technologies or products that come across. At the same time it’s this challenge that makes my job so interesting. Never a dull moment! Biggest engineering challenge so far? Within the very narrow technical and shape restrictions given, translating AB InBev’s air coupler into the safe and user-friendly CO2 coupler the team has made of it.

AB InBev has the typical internal structure and lines-of-force of a multi-national. During my life at Philips I’ve kind of learned to ‘read’ people working in this type of companies. In my opinion, the part that could be described as demanding in this relationship is: within each one’s company culture and objec- tives, finding the balance between the customers’ and our own needs whilst guiding them into the best solution. It takes effort, however the more ‘the motive’ behind decisions made is understood, the easier it becomes to find this balance, the less demanding the perception will be.” •

Interested in becoming a Project Manager or working at Verhaert like Gerard?