Fifteen years ago, Bram Dejan made the move from the legal profession to trademark and patent specialist GEVERS. What he saw as a temporary detour to immerse himself in the world of intellectual property quickly took on larger proportions. Today, as managing partner, he heads a successful company that is entirely owned by the employees themselves.
Intellectual property or IP is a legal niche in which GEVERS has played a pioneering role for some 125 years. An authentic family business, or at least until now. Because since 2023, the company has been 100% owned by some 45 professionals working at GEVERS. A participatory shareholding structure that saw Bram Dejan put forward as their managing partner.
‘Something I considered quite an honor and that fueled the Limburg pride in me: that as a Limburger, I was appointed from our Hasselt office to co-lead a company with about 230 professionals. Naturally, that didn’t leave me unmoved (laughs). I had been involved in the management of GEVERS by our former CEO for some time, which now also strengthens me in my role.’
‘Before the current participatory ownership, GEVERS was owned by the Gevers family, a very innovative and entrepreneurial family that managed to build a high reputation in the IP world. They were and are, as a journalist once beautifully put it, giants within the world of IP.’
‘It is a rich tradition that we will continue to build upon within the new structure. The family wanted to pursue other paths and had great confidence in the professionals within their company. And those professionals, in turn, had the drive to take the next step and buy out the family. A process that started in 2018 and was completed at the end of 2022 after all the puzzle pieces fell into place.’
‘The challenge now lies in putting that new structure into practice, clearly defining our DNA, and mapping out where we want to go together as a company. We are no longer the family business of old, but as a collective, we have the ambition to keep the GEVERS name high.’
‘That is why a strategy exercise is on the agenda for later this year to sharpen our story and get everyone moving in the same direction. I attach great importance to that right now and will continue to do so. It is my task, together with the Board of Directors, to create support for the changes within our company and to continuously emphasize the switch from collective shareholding to a true partnership.’
‘The goal is to create much more engagement, especially between the Board of Directors, the shareholders, and the executive committee. All shareholders are active in the company and have a feel for what is happening on the work floor. This allows us to take more targeted steps, pursue efficiency, and optimize our internal and external communication. This benefits both our employees and our clients.’
‘Those who are shareholders now naturally also benefit more financially from the company’s successes. Logically, that also increases your commitment. Seeing that your purchased shares are already worth more gives a boost. It proves that the system works. That is why other employees will also be able to join the shareholding in the coming years, although this is naturally preceded by a selection procedure. But one thing is certain: anyone can become a shareholder here, regardless of their position.’
‘It is an incredibly fascinating process that I am happy to put my weight behind. Even though I am not a born entrepreneur. I never founded my own company, but I did build our office here in Hasselt from scratch. Although that didn’t involve the financial risks a “real entrepreneur” knows, which is different now. However, I have always tried to grow the office, put all my energy into it, and found great satisfaction in seeing our Hasselt team grow into one of the largest teams within GEVERS. Intrapreneurship has always been in my blood.’
‘One of the most important lessons in my career is perhaps a cliché: it is better to stay busy and take action than to do nothing. I have always stayed busy, always tried to move forward, and so far that has always yielded something positive. Fingers crossed that it stays that way (laughs).’
‘Though I can certainly lose sleep over certain things, let that be clear. For example, the fact that not everything in our new structure has fully clicked into place yet. That is an ambition and a challenge that you don’t just finish overnight. Being able to boost the sense of partnership within GEVERS is one of my biggest goals.’
‘I am lucky that outside of work I can fall back on a stable home situation, a close group of friends, and a passion for sports. That is where I can completely switch off. I am a tennis player by nature but discovered my love for the bike when the tennis clubs remained closed during the COVID crisis. In line with my advice to “just do it and something positive follows,” I got on the pedals. And I loved it. Every year I set myself a goal, with this year’s being: completing Liège-Bastogne-Liège. I hope I can keep doing this for a long time; it’s the perfect outlet. In March of this year, I went to Calpe in Spain with a cycling group, led by a 68-year-old retired dentist who outpaced us all. Since then, that has also become one of my goals (laughs).’
Bram Dejan and GEVERS took a huge step this past year: from a family business to participatory shareholding. A step that we are helping to facilitate on a marketing and communication level. Additionally, we are ready to shape GEVERS’ brand identity & story following the intensive strategy exercise they are currently undergoing.