Marieke van Riemsdijk
My father was one of the first “headhunters” in The Netherlands… as a child I walked around his office, playing with his phone. As a Communication student I helped him during my summer breaks. My working career started at AkzoNobel in communications, my next step was joining Vitae and after that I worked for DPAFlex. Eventually – as if it was written in the stars! – I took the plunge and joined my father’s office to work in executive search. The love for making the right match was made in my early days at Vitae: puzzling over who is the right addition for a company, what makes a candidate tick and then bringing people together to make the right match. I love the process – it stays fresh for me; every match is different, it’s always fascinating.
Moving to Nigeria with my husband and growing family, my career took a side path for a while, and it stayed on that side path when we returned to our home country (by now, with with 3 small kids, a dog and a husband who travelled for work a lot). I was happy staying at home.
But recently, and with more freedom as my children get older, I met Petra Herman and we started talking about our profession. It felt irresistible! I wanted to join Herman Rutgers. I am excited to be back in the profession that I love so much. Working closely with 4 passionate and amazing colleagues, who bring out the best in each other, is a wonderful bonus.
Interviewing candidates, the search for the right match between company and candidate continues. I enjoy every minute of it at Herman Rutgers. It’s a place where can grow and work with full, unfettered enthusiasm. That passion fuels great executive search work.
