Entrepreneur
I co-founded and financed multiple innovative SMEs on the fields of drug development, diagnostics and ICT security.
Reflective Practitioner
Based on first-hand experience in large and small companies, I have written books and articles on governance and management.
Independent EU Commentator
I am urging the Commission to focus on the (sometimes hidden) European competitive advantages in designing R&D policies.
In Brief
I am a serial entrepreneur, writer and commentator in the realm of innovatin and growth. I put the enterprise center-stage as the only institution that generates economic value by meeting customer demands and by improving productivity.
Here, you will find my latest work as an entrepreneur, mainly in the field of drug development, and my thinking and writing on the topics of Enterprise re-design and European competitiveness.
ENTERPRISE
Creating Economic Value
From 2004 onwards, I have been devising an alternative enterprise model. This model steers clear from a set of basic design flaws in the still-prevalent, Anglo-Saxon ‘shareholder’ model, which is centred on return on equity, inidividual leadership, profit-per-share, and transferring risks. All governed by common law.
I have also argued that the Stakeholder or Rhineland model is equally flawed, albeit for very different reasons. A company is a working community, not a community of interest.
Keenly aware of the fundamental differences between large companies and innovative SMEs, and aware of the fundamental reasons why large companies cannot innovate, I have designed a tailor-made enterprise model, based on my experience in founding companies.
Its basic characteristics are return on capital employed, collegial decision-making, genuine delegation of responsibilities – all features anchored in articles of association and all rooted in the law of EU Member States.
Latest articles
Below, you will find the latest articles on governance in Innovative SMEs.
WTO: changing world economy and Europe
September 9, 2020 Le Monde – The World Trade Organization, in current existential crisis, is[…]
Brexit and the intrinsic link between single market and trade and competition
September 8, 2020 Le Monde – Brexit negotiations show the intrinsic link between internal market[…]
Relaunching the European Union after Brexit
February 25, 2020 In an Opinion in Le Monde, Enrico Letta, former President of the[…]
A Geopolitical Europe
March 4, 2020 Norbert Röttgen, President of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Bundestag, writes[…]
INNOVATIVE SMEs
Value Creation in Medicine
Some 20 years ago, I co-founded a biotech specialised in the development of antibodies against infectious diseases and cancer. Later, I led the diagnostics department of the Royal Tropical Institute in the Netherlands, building cheap lateral-flow tests for diseases in resource-poor areas. I also invested in a small ICT security company.
Over the years, I have co-founded four companies in the field of value-added medicines. By developing new formulations of existing, safe out-of-patent medicines, new indications are created. Galenicap.com is the largest of these companies, founded on the new guiding principles I laid out in my earlier books.
Portfolio
Below are links to the ‘About Us’ pages on the sites of my current companies.
EUROPE’S COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Sustainable Government and Management
Building on my research into alternatives to shareholder-value-driven enterprises, I have written extensively on the possible improvements that can be made on corporate governance, management and innovation strategy. These ideas usually centre on European companies large and small.
Some of this work was written in collaboration with Brussels think tank CEPS. Most notably, it includes the book I wrote with CEPS Research Director Andrea Renda, called ‘Hidden Treasures.’ This is also the title of an ongoing programme to uncover new ‘hidden treasures’, i.e. sources of European competitiveness that have hitherto been unacknowledged or not made profitable enough.
Latest articles
Below, you will find the latest articles on the competitiveness of European businesses.
WTO: changing world economy and Europe
September 9, 2020 Le Monde – The World Trade Organization, in current existential crisis, is[…]
Brexit and the intrinsic link between single market and trade and competition
September 8, 2020 Le Monde – Brexit negotiations show the intrinsic link between internal market[…]
Relaunching the European Union after Brexit
February 25, 2020 In an Opinion in Le Monde, Enrico Letta, former President of the[…]
A Geopolitical Europe
March 4, 2020 Norbert Röttgen, President of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Bundestag, writes[…]
FULL PUBLICATION
Hidden Treasures
‘Hidden Treasures’ are features of the EU economy, legal system or legal tradition that are being given insufficient attention in EU public policy, but which bear the potential to increase Europe’s competitiveness and overall positioning in the global context.
Andrea Renda (CEPS) and I describe 10 policy domains, from contract law to corporate governance, taxation, control of corruption, competition policy, trade, innovation and the EU’s unique approach to governing the digital economy.
You can read an excerpt or download the complete book in PDF below.
Testimonials
Below are a few responses to some of my earlier work.
John Doe
Company name
Do you sometimes have the feeling that you’re running into the same obstacles over and over again? Many of my conflicts have the same feel.
John Doe
Company name
Do you sometimes have the feeling that you’re running into the same obstacles over and over again? Many of my conflicts have the same feel.
John Doe
Company name
Do you sometimes have the feeling that you’re running into the same obstacles over and over again? Many of my conflicts have the same feel.
Let’s Meet
Feel free to reach out to me via LinkedIn