Why did you join MPCES?
The fact that it is both a sustainable company/business and in its startup/scale up phase really appealed to me. I can truly help the company reach its full potential and at the same time have an impact on the global environment. The versatility of the position and the enthusiasm, from both team as well as management, was the last push I needed (if there was any doubt at all).
What are your responsibilities?
Basically I wear three caps: office manager, company housekeeper and executive assistant.
As the Amsterdam office manager, I make sure everything is running as smoothly as possible from office maintenance to HR topics.
I am also responsible for our company’s corporate housekeeping matters, i.e. maintaining and updating corporate policies, archiving key contracts, etc.
Last but not least, I support in the day-to-day tasks as the executive assistant.
You are a paralegal – does that come in handy for your everyday work?
It comes in handy in both my professional as well as personal life. Just going to the shop and purchasing a bottle of lemonade can already be seen as an agreement.
Just by having a legal background, it makes you already so much more aware that a wrong punctuation can immediately change the meaning of a sentence and how it is interpreted. This can be of importance in a contract f.i. You need to have great attention to detail. Being a paralegal definitely helps me in being able to multitask and staying organized as well.
So yes, especially in my housekeeping role within MPCES, it is definitely a benefit to have.
Is sustainability an important topic for you and if yes how?
Yes it is. In my opinion, it should be for every responsible global citizen.
Simply put, sustainability improves the quality of our lives, protects our ecosystem and preserves natural resources for future generations. We need to stop making decisions that only provide quick near-term benefits.
I even try to integrate sustainability in my everyday life by a.o. eating less meat, eating more local and seasonal products and jumping on the bike as much as possible.
We can all pitch in!
What are your hobbies?
In my spare time I am both an aerial yoga and Essentrics instructor.
I also love to Bungee dance/fitness; this is dancing and fitness while being attached to a bungee elastic. It has nothing to do with jumping off ridiculously high heights. I am afraid of heights.
Besides that I read a lot (proper books…I need to feel the pages) and I volunteer once a month at the foodbank. I am also a big vintage lover and model vintage clothing.
Anything else you would like to share?
This year I started to walk the ‘ Marskramerpad’. This is a path from Den Haag (Netherlands) to Bad Bentheim (Germany). It’s a path of 372 km which was walked by sales men in the Middle Ages. I walk this in stages and get sponsored by family and friends. When successfully completed, the sponsor money will go to blood cancer research. It was a bet that I lost but I genuinely love doing it. It makes me realize how versatile such a small country like the Netherlands still is.
Hedwig, thank you for this interview.
