Ferma's president shares his thoughts on some past experiences – some embarrassing, some satisfying, but nearly always very chilly
What are you thinking about right now?
How will I balance my regular day job as corporate insurance risk manager for Stork with the activities I do for Ferma. Both jobs are very challenging. I just hope I can find a balance and also spend some time at home.
What’s your biggest fear?
That one of my family members – I have three daughters – or friends ever gets hurt.
What was your most embarrassing moment?
A couple of years ago, I was outside my house and had challenged some young guys to cross a weak part of some ice. On my second crossing of the ice, in front of all my neighbours, it cracked and I went under. This was the first – and to date the only – time I have fallen though ice, and I found it is very cold and very difficult to get out of.
What is your most treasured possession?
That’s difficult to say. I like gadgets, but I think I could definitely live without them. Happiness is not in the things you own but in the people you love.
What makes you happy?
Spending time and having fun with my three beautiful daughters – who are 20, 23 and 24 years old – and my beautiful wife. I also enjoy gardening, ice skating with my best friends and riding a motorcycle.
What makes you unhappy?
Negative news. Generally I’m a very optimistic and positive person, but when I look at the news or read the papers, it’s so difficult to find anything that makes you feel happy. The current situation in the Middle East makes me very unhappy. The people there are showing a lot of courage to demonstrate and demand a better life. And the violent response by the authorities is something that I just can’t understand. It makes me realise how lucky and fortunate we are in Europe.
Who is your greatest hero?
I don’t really have any heroes. Probably because that’s not the way Dutch people think. Real heroes in my view are the many unknown people who help other people in need.
What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken?
One easy answer would be to say bungee jumping. My daughters once gave me a ticket for it and I couldn’t refuse. But in the end it wasn’t actually that scary. So I’d say the biggest risk I’ve ever taken is the New Year’s Dive. This is an annual event in the beach resort of Scheveningen in the Hague (where I’m from). On New Year’s Day 2009, my daughters and I went to the frozen beach – it was -6°C and very windy – to dive into the North Sea. We must have seemed crazy to the people standing on the beach wrapped up in their winter clothes. I’ve never been in colder water in my life before – of my own free will. But it was a great memory.
What is the worst job you’ve ever done?
My first job was as a civil servant at the Ministry of Defence. I worked there for three months. After two months, I got a letter from the pension fund department telling me that my retirement would be in the year 2023. I suddenly had a vision of myself sitting behind a desk being a very small cog in a big machine pushing paper from one side of the table to the other. It was a terrifying thought. So I became a bartender, which was much more fun at the time.
What is your greatest achievement?
Completing the 80km Viking Run from Uppsala to Stockholm this February. This is actually an ice skating race on the frozen surface of Lake Mälaren. The other achievement is still in the making, which is to hopefully help organise the biggest and best ever Ferma Risk Management Forum in Stockholm this year.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned?
Think carefully and try to understand before you judge other people. Personally, I have to be more patient and less dominant in groups. That’s not easy, because I am a passionate person, full of energy. SR
