Meet Davy Goossens, SDE Director Bekina Boots & Solutions
Our newest member of the Bekina family. Nevertheless, behind that fresh enthusiasm lies a lot of experience. A solid foundation to take on and successfully execute this brand-new role within the company. We zoom in on the man and the position.
What an entrance, Davy! Immediately all the spotlights on you here in the Bekina Post. Do you feel this in the workplace because of your new position too?
I am indeed fulfilling a new position, but I am not performing any new tasks. By that, I mean that my current position used to be done by different people within various teams, and now the choice has been made to bring in one overarching person so that everything can be a more streamlined.
Your title, SDE, seems suspiciously short. What do these 3 letters mean and which wide range of tasks lies behind them?
It's the abreviation for sustainability, development and engineering. Anything to do with sustainability, quality, the development of new products and the supervision of the production lines. It seems like a heavy package, and indeed it includes many aspects of the business, but fortunately, I can count on good and experienced team members.
So which members does this team consist of?
We are still working on recruiting some additional profiles - project managers who will steer various sub-elements in the right direction - but otherwise my team consists of project engineers, R&D engineers, automation & maintenance managers and lab staff. Together we build the bridge between the customer and the company.
Did you perform a similar job before your current position?
I started my career at Bekaert Sa in 2003. I had just graduated and could start working there as an engineer where I mainly took on project management. Over the years, my responsibilities there grew, I worked with bigger budgets, and the interpretation of my job also shifted more towards business and product management. 13 years later I made the switch to Baulieu as market and product development manager. I held this position until three weeks ago, so yes, I do know the drill.
Your previous experiences were in a different sector. How do you address this challenge?
True, the function may be similar, but the environment is new. And I like that! I like to be close to the product, close to the people and I find that here at Bekina. Since I started, I have mainly listened to the knowledge and insights of my team members and other colleagues. I believe that listening is the key to success in a situation like this.
Does this align with your management style?
Indeed, I am not the very directive type of manager. With new people on board this will logically be the case, as they still must get to know the function and the product, but in general I tend to take a more supportive and coaching approach. I believe that leadership must be adapted to the situation. And that’s because I assume that the people who are already on the scene often know better what they’re doing than I do.
In which way will you still trust and build on your own strengths and experiences?
Over the years I have become good at defining projects within different departments and areas of expertise. I see where the needs are, can then structure them and outline a working method to achieve the goal. For this I rely on three pillars: feasibility, viability and desirability. Expensive words, but in practice it comes down to these questions: Can we make the product? Can we survive on it? Can we sell it?
How do you get room in your head to approach everything so clearly all the time?
My bicycle takes care of that. As a resident of Kluisbergen, I have an almost moral obligation to be an avid cyclist. And of course, I also take my responsibility outside of work! So yes, I’m on my bike at least 3-4 times a week to rack up the kilometres. Every year, I set myself a goal for which I will train.
What’s on the schedule this year?
I have already achieved this: the Marmotte 2022. For those who don’t know, this is a 176 km ride through the mountains with a total of 5000 altitude meters. To prepare for this, I went to the highest hills around here. I also went on a weekend training trip to the Ardennes. Unfortunately, there was no time for a long cycling training period.
What do you mean with ‘There was no time’
I have a family and children as motivated and active as I am. This means that it has become my second hobby to carry them around to all kinds of activities. Our son plays soccer, so that’s already 4 trips there and back, plus watching the match. The daughters go dancing and play music, and I can’t have the youngest lugging her accordion around alone, can I?
We look forward to working with such a dedicated new colleague. Thanks for meeting us, Davy!