About Me

I was born and raised in a small rural community of 6,000 residents in the Netherlands. Stereotypical Dutch, I grew up amongst tulip fields, windmills, and many farmers and field workers wore wooden shoes. At the age of ten I started working in the tulip fields during my summer breaks, which I continued every summer until graduation. After completing high school, our family moved to live near Gouda. From there I commuted to Rotterdam to attend the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) at Erasmus University. During this time I worked many odd jobs, ranging from office work at an insurance company, to garbage collection and a regular gig on a bakery cleaning crew.

Following college graduation I was offered a job in the US and moved to Cleveland, OH in 1997. I spent a year in Cleveland, followed by 6 months in London, England after which I returned to Cleveland. Here I ultimately I met my wife Carla. By ways of Long Island NY, where we got married and our son Evan was born, we came to North Carolina in 2012 and settled in Apex in 2013.

Professionally I have built a career around what I call business operations management. This includes functions such as financial management, workforce planning, program management, procurement and sustainability management. I have been primarily employed in the information technology industry where my career has steadily progressed and I have held leadership positions for about 25 years. I am presently employed by Silicon Valley Bank (yes, THAT one), where I act as Chief of Staff to one of our Divisional Chief Information Officers. Following the bank's collapse, Silicon Valley Bank was acquired by First Citizens Bank, headquartered here in Raleigh.

In 2019 Carla and I opened a small business in Apex, a yoga studio. Unfortunately, the opening of our studio coincided with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. After 2 years of managing through the pandemic, we could no longer financially sustain the business and were forced to sell.

Outside of work I hold several board positions in volunteer organizations, including a Dutch cultural organization and the Bicycle Ministry at The Peak Church in Apex.

Although I have lived and worked in the USA for 26 years, I only became a naturalized citizen five years ago. The right to vote was one of the main drivers for my desire to naturalize and I have enjoyed exercising this privilege in every election since becoming a citizen.

My interest in politics and my desire to be more involved in my community motivated me to apply to the Apex Academy program in 2019. Participation in this program reinforced to me the importance of town services and municipal government, and ultimately inspired me to apply for the position that became vacant when my fellow Apex Academy graduate, former Councilwoman Cheryl Stallings, was elected to County Commissioner in November 2022. I am honored to have received the Town Council appointment in January 2023 and am seeking your support to continue to serve the Apex community.