Allard van Pelt
Allard van Pelt is an energetic, creative mind who combines guts and common sense in the right dose. These are valuable skills for a financially skilled businessman, who is most of the time second in line/charge in an organization.
Born and raised in Amsterdam, he graduated from the ‘Amsterdam University’ in business planning, marketing, and accounting, and while working, he followed the two-year post-graduate ‘controller course’ at ‘the Vrije University also in Amsterdam. In his opinion, one of the most valuable courses for business professionals is that most of the program was taught by ‘professionals in the field’. The course gives the professional tools to get a good grip on any organization, both on a financial/business operation level and on a managerial level. The key is to understand the decision-making issues of an organization, understand ‘the people on the other side of the table’, identify what triggers them, and then execute the plan.
All skills and experiences were very needed in one particular project, among the many positions he joined, and that was the ‘IJsselmeerziekenhuizen’. The hospital was in a worrisome condition when he entered management. With no particular knowledge of the cure industry in his bag, he redesigned the business information system, and therefore the Board, which he joined after half a year, was able to make sound, well-founded decisions. Being able to operate and perform well in such a complex environment and to sell the hospital and therefore ensure the continuity of such an important institution in local society was a very useful experience.
Another memorable project was the refinancing and scaling up of an organization that designed, produced, and sold power bars for mobile devices. Due to a set of complex factors, the company went bankrupt, but it brought him all over the world to negotiate and promote high-end products.
But at the start of his career at KPN Media, he was able to contribute to the launch of first-generation setup boxes/media boxes in the cable/telecom industry. In those early years, all the current, well-known platforms/stream services were already incorporated into the business plan. We were too early, and the ecosystem(s) were not in place. To exploit new markets and develop new services, like pay-per-view and interactive TV, is a very challenging and learning process.
At UPC Telecom and Cable, he has been able to use his knowledge and experience in the market for the further expansion of UPC.
All those projects, among the other challenging ones, throughout his professional career, provide him with the tools to help, voluntarily, organizations to perform in a better way e.g. from Cancer Care Centre Foundation, which raises funds for cancer patients and their families to enrich life and to sports clubs like ‘Amsterdam Marathon Foundation’ which grew from 20.000 to 30.000 runners (and nowadays even 45.000 runners).
A passionate professional who helps an organization perform better by linking his control background to his many years of experience in all kinds of industries.
Amstelveen 2022.