Hans Cools

- 30+ years of experience in FMCG, media, and professional services

- General manager/CEO with strong people and communication skills

- Knowledge of both multinational and local business environments

- Strong leadership rack record

Besides his work, Hans finds much peace in his golf addiction and is an avid quizzer. He also draws energy again and again from his many contacts with several long-standing groups of friends.

Under the motto "a day without laughter is a day not lived", he often tries to approach and put (professional) life into perspective with a sense of humour.

As a young leader, he would advise himself (and everyone else) to definitely invest enough in much-needed self-knowledge. Good leadership starts with knowing what your values are, what drives you, what you are good at, and where you need to surround yourself with others who are better than yourself. From that base, you can grow in the leading of teams and organisations.

Hans would like to make time available as a mentor to young leaders for a number of reasons: he himself, besides getting results, gets a lot of energy from helping people grow. With his extensive experience in many fields and in different environments, he believes he can be a good sounding board that other leaders can use because it is indeed sometimes lonely at the top. And as a mentor, based on his belief that good leadership can really make a difference in the world, he can do his small bit towards making the world a better place.

And Hans is happy to add that the motivation behind many things he does is beautifully expressed in his favourite song " De steen" by Bram Vermeulen.