Menno van den Eijnden
Product Development Manager
Menno joined Beacon in July 2022. As a Project Development Manager
with almost 17 years of experience at senior management level, he brings a strong analytical and creative mindset to the team.
Every product development path starts with a precise definition of the goal and a nice plan from A to B. How do you deal with unexpected circumstances forcing you to deviate from the path?
That’s exactly what I love about product development management: it’s developing something new, overcoming the unknown, and overcoming issues. There are always things that don’t go as planned and there are always new insights. To bring this to a successful conclusion together with the team, that’s what makes me enthusiastic. I like the dynamics of quickly switching between all the different aspects and roles in an innovation project. You have to be flexible and learn to look at things from different angles.
I like the dynamics of quickly switching between all the different aspects and roles in an innovation project.
What’s your experience in building
high-performing teams?
People are the most important asset of a company. To be able to work efficiently and focused together, a good atmosphere is essential. That’s why you need to communicate well. By creating clear expectations and appreciating team members for what they do, you set a good example. Combined with working hard and radiating positivity, you can create high- performing teams. Furthermore, analytical thinking helps to keep an overview and quickly see the connection between things. When something happens in a project, you quickly need to estimate the impact on other parts and, therefore, people of the project.
What’s a recent development you’re proud of?
It’s very motivating to create something new, that has real added value for people. I’ve been working as a project and program manager within various companies. With a team, we developed a medical device based on PCR technology that can quickly and specifically determine where a cancer mutation is located in the gene. With this knowledge, medicines can be used much more effectively and it’s more cost-efficient.
Interested in becoming a product development manager or working at Beacon like Menno?