Annemarie Joosen

Growing up in a village in Brabant, South of the Netherlands, the three things I loved to do most consisted of making up games to play with my sister. This could be anything ranging from transforming my mother’s study into a real second-hand clothing boutique to a new board game with rules only understood by me. Additionally, reading books and wandering around in the woods and grasslands were and still are my favorite pastime. My best ideas materialize after long walks on the beach near my house in Scheveningen.

Flash forward to my graduation from the university in Amsterdam. It was quite a journey with some detours such as the Hotelschool in The Hague. My love for exploring the world came back and I went on management traineeships to London and New York. Especially the latter left an unforgettable impression. The feeling that everything was possible as the Nike slogan states, “just do it”. So when I came back I just did it. I went to a university and graduated with two thesis awards.

After graduation I decided, together with my husband, to live and work in London. I explored different marketing roles and worked as a brand manager at Compass Group, a researcher at TNS and marketeer at Dunnhumby. The last role inspired me by using the combination of data-driven capabilities with creative skills to achieve the best results. This is what I still do in my current role atMarktplaats. I am passionate about creating brands and organizational cultures that spark opportunities for our customers and employees. As a leader, I am eager to enable others to grow and develop. At the moment I am exploring how to combine my strategic, data-driven and creative skills to have a positive impact beyond the organization but also on society.

I was nominated to become a THNKer by Joris van Dijk