JAN WILLEM DIK

Jan Willem’s passion for product innovation lies in the fact that it is complex yet highly concrete, and always new. He enjoys the challenge of working with a team on new solutions to problems.

‘A lot goes wrong in innovation projects because wrong assumptions are made. You have to ask the right questions at the start, and dare to continue probing questions.’

A great challenge with every innovation is to bring together different parties, often with different interests and cultures, in order to achieve a common goal. A new product needs to be developed to a mature status, but once the product is mature enough, you have to stop developing and start thinking about market introduction. It is an interesting balance.

JAN WILLEM’S STRENGTHS

Jan Willem is a no-nonsense kind of guy. He has discipline, and is conscientious, structured and solution driven. With his eye for detail, he makes sure that everything is always perfect down to the last detail. He is down to earth and calm, even in stressful situations, but never loses sight of the fun factor in the project team.

He is good at unravelling and solving complex problems, by himself or with a team. He makes a clear and structured plan of attack and successfully executes it with his team.

Jan Willem will never beat around the bush; he will always tell you exactly what is going on. However, if there are problems, he will also take a look into the future and make sure that everything is in place to reach the final goal

JAN WILLEM’S EXPERIENCE

Jan Willem has a lot of experience with the ‘hairy back end’ of product development; in other words, when the products really have to ‘deliver’.

In his work, he has gained experience with leading international teams. His first job, at a production company, allowed him to gain practical experience with injection moulding and multi-cavity moulds. After that, he worked for several design agencies. As a supply manager, he was responsible for delivering small product series and tools from China. Jan Willem then went on to work as a project manager developing kitchen appliances with OEM manufacturers all over the globe.

At BEACON, Jan Willem has been responsible for managing of several appliance development projects up to their market introduction.