With the hiring of Monique Wesly, CEO Jan Willem van Hoogstraten chose no usual suspect to lead the transition of Energie Beheer Nederland. ‘I was looking for an original thinker who can surprise and move myself and the organization forward. We are both energetic and can disagree well, but we have great respect for each other.’
Jan Willem van Hoogstraaten has not yet joined the video interview when Monique Wesly briefly summarizes how she came to EBN (Energie Beheer Nederland) in March 2019 via a communications consultancy, the financial services industry, drugstore chain DA and healthcare provider collective VvAA. ‘Looking back, the common thread has always been corporate communications. Later, public affairs was added.’
There is also a common thread in the work she did at VvAA and what she does now at EBN: guiding a major transition. Together with the CEO, she turned the somewhat introverted insurance company for doctors VvAA into an organization that represents the interests of healthcare providers up to the highest (ministerial) level. Now, as Manager of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, she helps EBN communicate the mission developed four years ago by CEO Jan Willem van Hoogstraaten. The mission is summarized in the payoff: “Energizing the transition.” A contemporary mission, because previously EBN’s policy was mainly focused on implementing the energy policy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. From implementer, EBN has transformed itself into a booster of the energy transition.
Jan Willem hooks up with the video interview. He sees the EBN blue-colored background in Monique’s screen and begins to laugh: ‘Have you got a new company background again, Monique? What a cheerful one! About which more later.
This is EBN
EBN is an independent company with
the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate as sole shareholder.
This means that EBN helps implement the ministry’s energy policy.
EBN wants to contribute to Dutch climate ambitions
by encouraging the transition to renewable energy.
I understood from Herman Rutgers that in choosing Monique you deliberately did not go for a usual suspect. Can you talk more about that, Jan Willem?
Says Jan Willem, “For this kind of key role, I look not only at what you bring but also at who you are and what we need. And I want to know: how can you surprise us, how can you change me again, and what kind of change experience do you have?
“When I joined EBN in 2016 and set the stage for our new direction, I saw what needed to happen. The communication function was adequate but was too instrumental as far as I was concerned. I missed vision and strategy. We decided to hire a Manager of Communications and Public Affairs. Among the good candidates were what you call “usual suspects” with years of communications experience in the oil and gas industry. But what really resonated with me about Monique was her story about the transition she had led at VvAA, along with the CEO. Such a person was exactly what we needed, I thought. The energy that Monique has I also recognize. It clicked very quickly.
What drew you to EBN, Monique?
Monique: “We met in an unsociable windowless room in a hotel. I had two conversations with two people. I am sensitive to atmosphere but in the two hours I was in that little room I didn’t think about it for a moment. There was an immediate exchange of thoughts about the energy transition, about change and what was needed at EBN. We had a click. And I think that’s important. In order to fulfill my role well, I think I have to be able to read and write with the boss of the tent. I have to have the idea: that’s a type that suits me. We don’t always have to agree, indeed we don’t always agree, but we do have to have a common frame of reference and the idea that we can connect in all kinds of ways.’
Jan Willem: “Still, you had to jump into the deep end reasonably well. At VvAA you had it all together and it went fine. This is a new industry for you, a new organization. And we really had to develop the role of EBN, it didn’t come at random. When you started there were 80 people, now there are 130. You really got going like a whirlwind. Within a month you had already developed your first framework for your communication strategy; we were immediately enthusiastic about it.’
What does the blue in the background of Monique’s screen say about EBN: is it such a “blue” company, looking at the organizational culture in colors?
Jan Willem: ‘Yes. Not in terms of people though, in terms of people we are more yellow.’
Monique: ‘This is a nice metaphor, though, because EBN was really 100 percent blue a year and a half ago. We added the colors orange and green.’
Jan Willem: “Traditionally, our role was to represent the state’s economic interest in gas extraction in the Netherlands. So what did we do: we looked at the technical and economic aspects of what the Dutch oil and gas companies were doing and responded to that. Our people were very substantive – very “blue.” Over the past four years, we have become much more proactive and sought to connect. Now we share our knowledge and expertise to get people on board with the movement toward a sustainable, reliable and affordable energy system. We facilitate dialogue on the transition to renewable energy. We bring together many different parties with sometimes conflicting interests to start the conversation. That gave a shift in color of our people.
‘The energy transition naturally requires organizations to make a transition as well, and we have gone through it. Monique’s role proved to be very important. Because a strategy of how to persuade and enthuse people is obviously essential in this. The special thing about EBN is: we have no intrinsic self-interest; we don’t do anything ourselves, we always do everything through others. Being able to connect is an essential competency for our organization. The outside world is very big for us, so you have to look carefully at how you deal with it.
Monique: “The people of EBN are very important to our mission to connect parties as a booster in the background.
What communication strategy have you developed, Monique?
Monique: “I started with the mission and positioning of the organization. Mindful of the famous statement “I am not of making policy understandable but more of making policy understandable,” I joined the strategy team at the very front. We adjusted the mission and positioning, moving from a more “what” focused mission to a “how” mission: “EBN provides connecting power to the energy transition.” Because a culture values project had just begun, there was also momentum to link the communications strategy to values, culture and leadership.
Within six months, we pulled the whole story together in two days with the organization. I created a communication strategy that links our social mission to the business objectives associated with our three pillars and connects people to them. We want to use our people as ambassadors who provide connecting power in the projects they work on. At the same time, we want to anchor EBN’s social position more firmly. It succeeds step by step.
‘EBN does not have a brand awareness objective like the more commercial organizations I worked for before. In the background, we are the party that connects initiatives. We do this in various business programs and partnerships in which the collective, thematic agenda is leading. For example, we are working with BNR Nieuwsradio and publishing an infographic on Energy in the Netherlands. Together with the Argumentenfabriek, we are initiators of the platform and book “Zo werkt energie in Nederland,” and we organize the Week of Sustainable (Ground) Heat.
What for you is the added value of communication for the organization, Jan Willem?
‘That one is super important! If you can’t tell your story, if you can’t share your ambitions and passions with others, you might as well not have them. I’ve noticed it in previous roles as well: if you don’t create the connection and are only focused on yourself, you won’t get where you want to be. Therefore, you also have to look carefully: why do we want to do this, why do I want to do this? In the end, I just want to leave the world a little bit better than I found it. That is my deepest motivation. And I think now with EBN we can help to really start meeting the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement. If you have the ambition to drive the energy transition, external and internal communication and influence are obviously crucial.
How is your mutual cooperation? Do you often have disagreements or discussions?
Jan Willem: “We talk to each other often. We are both energetic so it can fizzle at times, but neither of us give up – that’s what makes it special. And I have great respect for Monique, I hope she does for me too.’
Monique: ‘Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to fulfill this role. You have to agree at the beginning that you can also disagree.’
For example, what did you disagree on?
Jan Willem: “We regularly organize online meetings and webinars in these corana times. In September, we had very successfully explained the 2021 plans and goals to the vast majority of the company as part of the progress. Then Monique indicated that – in the context of broader leadership and visibility of other managers – we should organize a follow-up session with the program managers; three full mornings. My primary reaction was that this would cost too many hours. Ultimately, I am also responsible for the cost of the organization. We then had a whole discussion about usefulness, necessity and the maximum duration per session. In the end, of course, it was all about the higher goal: visibility, connecting with topics other than your own work, leadership and increasing your ability to communicate.’
Monique: ‘Especially now, communication from the top but also from broader layers is essential. I am very happy that we have succeeded in having Jan Willem regularly make a Keek op de Week-vlog, so that he remains visible as a leader and connects with the people. But we also want to secure the ability to communicate more broadly. And the blue people we were talking about in the beginning, those are not necessarily the people who like to tell their story on camera or in a webinar. So you have to practice with that. So that not only Jan Willem is visible but people also hear from others where the road leads. We also have discussions about that.
What are the best results of your collaboration?
Jan Willem: “I thought the Energy Breakfast on January 21, 2020 was a highlight. We organize that every year, but this edition was really fantastic, with at least five ministers and former ministers in the room. The atmosphere and the program were very good, we were able to show exactly what we want to achieve.
Monique: “We labeled this year’s Energy Breakfast “from climate table to kitchen table” because we wanted to make the dialogue broader. Minister Wiebes of Economic Affairs and Climate received the infographic Energy in figures 2020 and said at the end of the program that discussions like this and the infographic are the agenda for the conversation about energy transition in the coming years. He couldn’t have given us a nicer compliment.’
What are the challenges for 2021?
Jan Willem: “A big challenge in these corona times is to keep that connecting role. People are getting a bit screen-weary, so how do you keep their attention? What I also find a challenge: we have quite a strong ambition as EBN: with our 130 employees we play on many chess boards and we try to really pick up the pace on a number of important subjects. That’s where we take the role of director. We have to keep doing that well, we must not make any mistakes.’
Monique: “Socially, support for traditional fossil energy sources is declining. We will need them for a very long time and at the same time we have to move towards making the entire chain more sustainable. We play an important role in both areas. So on the one hand we have to keep the importance of Dutch natural gas on the agenda, because with a view to the climate footprint, Dutch natural gas is preferable to imports. And on the other hand, in terms of positioning and reputation, we want to be seen more as a party and also organize activities that are in those new areas. All in all, 2021 will be a challenging year.’
Anything else you guys want to say?
Jan Willem: “Didn’t you want to ask why we chose Herman Rutgers when recruiting Monique? I do want to tell you that, namely. In a previous role, I was president of Nogepa, the trade association of oil and gas companies. There we also brought in a new communications manager through Herman Rutgers: Arendo Schreurs. That was also out of the box; he was definitely not a usual suspect. He has also managed quite a transition within the more traditional oil and gas sector. Arendo is very different from Monique, but like her, an original thinker. The beauty of an organization like Herman Rutgers is that they never tread the beaten path, but use their extensive knowledge and network to connect people and organizations that can make a difference together.’
This is the fifth part of an interview series initiated by Herman Rutgers Executive & Interim search.
Previously published interviews with Nicoly Vermeulen and Joost Ravoo of TU Delft, with Tom van Aken and Caroline van Reedt Dortland of Avantium.
