After two previous ventures, I started consulting for Barry Callebaut. In 2005, I began in my current position as CIO. What surprised me the most when I joined was the general high level of expertise; the complexity of chocolate (although it all seems simple on the surface) and the boundless opportunity for new ideas.

At Barry Callebaut we have the freedom to do the right thing and the freedom to be creative. We are a global business by nature, but our closeness to customers is something we are proud of. We do all R&D and innovation activities for the group with the focus on chocolate and cocoa. We work for 6,000 customers and have about 1,900 projects every year, out of which more than 850 are successful.

Our corporate culture is fast-paced, international, customer oriented and passionate. The international nature of the job is one of the best things about the company – I have never seen a more global business. Most importantly, everybody loves the product which is part of the culture and makes work interesting. My job brings along a lot of variety, literally every day is different and my colleagues are an absolute joy to work with.

 If you want to have fun and work passionately with an enjoyable product, Barry Callebaut is a good place to work.