From an enterprising individual to an entrepreneur. Andy Moors began his career as an accountant at the Arcelor Group and has now been CEO at tent manufacturer and builder Veldeman for seven years. At the end of 2017, he and his management team completed a management buy-out. A conversation about the entrepreneur as a facilitator, the employee as an entrepreneur, and entrepreneurship itself.
“I’ve always been enterprising: I’ve had more student jobs than I can count on both hands,” Andy Moors begins. “And at college, I was active in student life. But of course, being enterprising doesn’t automatically mean you’ll become an entrepreneur. As a student, I didn’t see myself as a business owner. So that didn’t play a role when I chose a bachelor’s in business management. What did? The business economics side appealed to me… but to be honest, I was a bit tired of school. I wanted to continue my studies, but it shouldn’t take too much effort. University wasn’t an option.”
“A choice I came to regret. Because twenty years ago, the business world was very focused on degrees. It was the same with my first employer Arcelor, where I started as an accountant in 1996. Because I didn’t have the right degrees, I really had to bend over backwards to grow into the role of manager of finance, administration, and HR.”
“In 2005, there was suddenly a vacancy at Veldeman for a CFO and HR manager. As luck would have it, I had just moved to Bree and was ready for a new challenge. It took a while before I was fully settled in,” says Andy Moors. “Arcelor is a strictly defined multinational, Veldeman a family-owned SME. That’s a different way of working. But here, too, I repeated what I knew from my student days and from Arcelor: work hard, show initiative, and think outside the box.”
“After five years, the question came: did I want to become the new CEO? Not entirely unexpected, but I was still surprised. Not unexpected because we had undergone assessments with the management. Surprising because, within that team of five people, I was the youngest in terms of seniority.”
“To put it bluntly: if you say no, it stops there. There is no further step up. At the same time, I worried about it being a step too far. Throughout my career, I had the ambition to climb higher, but maybe this was too much? Until then, I was responsible for the financial side and HR. As CEO, you are responsible for everything. And that’s in a technical field where I didn’t have deep knowledge of our end product. So, there was quite a bit of thinking involved before I said yes…”
“From that moment on, I was no longer just an enterprising person, but an entrepreneur. To me, that’s not the image of a self-employed person with a big cigar. Today, that term has taken on a different, broader meaning. My ideal image is someone who grows their business. For me, a first step was to bring structure and establish procedures, make everything measurable, determine KPIs, and fine-tune financial reporting.”
“That’s all in good shape now. And then, as an entrepreneur, you start thinking further. About the positioning of your company, the way you communicate, but also about how you see your company as a workplace. In 그 respect, I want to be a facilitator. I want to make Veldeman a place where employees show initiative. If you stimulate that intrapreneurship, your people grow, and they, in turn, grow the company.”
“That’s why we launched Energy@Veldeman, for example, a collective challenge to cover 100,000 kilometers together as a company. It’s rewarding to see that come alive throughout the entire company. It shouldn’t be something I impose as CEO, but something supported by everyone. That’s also why we organized a bootcamp where employees propose and develop ideas. It helps them look further and realize how difficult it is to turn a good idea from theory into practice.”
“My biggest concern as CEO? There is, of course, that great responsibility and those difficult decisions. That sometimes makes it a bit lonely in this chair… Fortunately, I have good sounding boards within Veldeman and a large network outside of my job. What does keep me awake is the theme of safety. Even though we do everything we can to limit risks, some of our people work in conditions that are not without danger,” Andy Moors concludes. “At great heights, in all kinds of weather… Increasing safety for our people is something I and my team will always remain committed to.”
As an entrepreneur, I look up to…
“I don’t work with role models. However, I have learned a great deal from my predecessor here at Veldeman. He made me realize how important it is to surround myself with strong and complementary people.”
If there were twenty-five hours in a day, then…
“I would take more time for myself and my family. Besides my job, I am also a member of various networking associations. I love doing it, but it does take up a lot of time.”
When stress hits, then…
“I pay a visit to my osteopath (laughs). Sports are my outlet. I try to be active about two to three times a week. A weekend of getting some fresh air at the seaside always helps too.”
If I had an unlimited marketing budget, then…
“I would invest even more in brand awareness and the expansion of our communication channels. We have an international audience, which means we really have to make choices at the moment.”
If I could undo one professional decision, then…
“A few years ago, we tried to acquire a company in the event sector. Those negotiations fell through right at the end. I still regret that today.”