What I see
The ambition isn't the problem. Finding the path forward is.
Direction isn't the problem. Grip is.
Teams reach for tools under pressure. It feels like action. But a tool is no answer to a question that hasn't been asked yet.
Strategic choices don't land in the organisation.
Marketing, sales and operations keep moving on their own agendas. The AI decision was never translated into goals they actually work towards. There's no shared framework to steer on.
The CEO already has enough on their plate.
From brand to sales to install base. A clear AI strategy sounds logical, but feels like one more risk on top of everything else. What's missing is someone to trust with keeping this organised.
What we work on
Your situation as the starting point.
I use a consistent framework, not a template. The themes we work on depend on what is actually happening in your situation.
Direction and priority
Where does AI touch your business model, your services or your way of working? What needs attention now, and what can wait?
Leadership and decision-making
What role do you need to take as a leader? What can you delegate, and what must you own? How do you stay in control without needing to know everything?
Risk, governance and accountability
How do you handle data, reputation, compliance and internal frameworks without letting caution bring everything to a standstill?
What's already happening in your organisation
What AI initiatives, experiments or shadow practices are already underway? What's actually working, what's noise, and where is there energy to build on?
People, culture and adoption
Who leads this internally? How do you bring people along without creating more change pressure? What does your team need to learn safely and practically?
The first use case that matters
We don't pick the most spectacular application. We pick the one that's credible, achievable and valuable enough to create real momentum.
How it works
Three steps. Personal and focused on something that actually works.
Getting clarity on what's at stake
We map your situation clearly. Where is the ambition? Where is the confusion? What's already happening? Where do decisions need to be made? You get an honest picture and a clear focus.
From insight to application
We translate that focus into a first concrete step. That could be a working use case, a decision framework, a leadership approach or a combination. Something that goes beyond conversation.
Embedding and looking ahead
We make sure something doesn't just start. It sticks: in language, direction, ownership and follow-through. So you can keep building independently from there.
Why me
Twenty years at the intersection of strategy and execution. AI is the newest challenge. Not the first.
That gives a different perspective than an AI specialist. I know how decisions stall. Where the real resistance sits. Why good plans get stranded in the space between leadership and execution.
In that time I've built and applied AI in healthcare, finance, FMCG and sustainability. Always at the same point: between the ambition and what actually comes of it.
My role is in that middle. Between the strategic decision at the top and the teams who need to act on it. That gap is larger than most leadership teams expect.
Who this is for
This is for senior managers and management teams who want to make AI work — without getting lost in the hype.
You know AI is going to impact your organisation, but the translation to direction and priority is still missing.
You want to be able to ask the right questions, without having to become a technical expert yourself.
You want personal guidance on real choices, not a training or a thick advisory layer.
You want to lead credibly on this topic: with your team, your board, your clients and your shareholders.
You want to end up with something that actually works and can grow internally.
Experience from practice
I work at the boundary between ambition and feasibility. That's where real value emerges.
Across projects and sectors I make the same translation. From what an organisation wants to the first step people can actually take.
Healthcare
From strategic ambition around knowledge-sharing and best practice to an application that professionals use themselves in their daily work.
Real estate & Sustainability
From external pressure and CSRD obligations to a practical model that gives leadership and operations the same picture of reality.
Customer Experience
From abstract customer ambition to a measurement and steering model that helps prioritise and build internal support for the right choices.
Finance & regulated sectors
From caution and compliance concerns to a workable way to explore and apply AI responsibly.
Collaboration
A network of people I trust and know.
I work from a broad circle of specialists. Strategists, technologists, trainers and practitioners I bring in at the right moment. No fixed team. People I am genuinely aligned with.
A few examples of people I work with.
Marketing and commercial growth
Wouter combines brand strategy with commercial execution. His Growth Flywheel approach aligns people, processes and platforms so that marketing efforts actually work through the organisation. Broad experience in FMCG and retail environments.
Technology and digital strategy
Podcast host of De Technoloog and BNR Digitaal, speaker and tech expert. Ben translates technological complexity into clear strategic insight for leaders who want to ask the right questions without becoming technical experts.
AI trainer and consultant
30 years of digital experience. Frank helps professionals and teams integrate AI practically into their daily work. No hype, no jargon. Sharp on application, honest about what works and what does not.
Sandra Hofstede
Strategic leadership and integration
20 years of experience in governance, M&A integration and turnaround. Sandra steps in when movement is needed. In mergers, scaling challenges or organisations that have stalled. She restores ownership and brings structure under pressure.
About me
I help senior managers and management teams give direction at the point where strategy needs to become concrete.
I've spent a lot of my career at the intersection of strategy, growth and execution. For me, AI isn't a separate topic layered on top. It's the latest challenge on a familiar question: how do you make sure good ideas actually land?
What I bring: hands-on experience building and applying AI in practice, and years of experience with organisations that need to move but keep getting stuck. I know the difference between a plan that sounds right and one that will actually hold.
Partner at Kirk & Blackbeard
Senior experience in strategy, growth, customer experience and execution
Hands-on development and application of AI across multiple sectors
Works in Dutch and English
Experience across healthcare, finance, FMCG, sustainability, CX and more
Availability
I work with a small number of engagements at a time.
Because this only works if I can genuinely think along in your situation. No standard format. Personal guidance with a concrete result.
Free intake · No obligations · We'll see if there's a fit