The fact that Van Havermaet is an established name in the Limburg entrepreneurial landscape is no exaggeration. The multidisciplinary consultancy firm employs around 230 people across six locations. A large yet family-oriented house that Kristof Meesters has watched over as a dedicated guardian since 2013. A chronicle of ambition, but above all, of people.
When Kristof Meesters was asked to become the managing director of Van Havermaet, he was 36 years old. Quite young for such a position, but Van Havermaet did what they do best: taking the leap and giving people opportunities—they decided to go with Kristof. ‘Leadership and ambition have always been in me; that also came out of the assessment during the application process. They even asked me then if I saw myself in this role for a long time. But in the years I’ve worked here, no single day, week, or month has been the same. The challenges that come with it mean I could do this job forever.’
“I always need to have a goal: I like to plant a flag in the future and work towards it. We do the same with Van Havermaet. For instance, one of our goals is to become a true growth accelerator for our clients by 2025. An organization that doesn’t necessarily have all the expertise in-house but can make the match with relevant players in the sector. As the entrepreneur’s right hand, we want business owners to call us with any business-related question. If we can solve it ourselves, we do. If not, we dive into our network.”
How does Kristof Meesters handle the pressure that comes with his job? ‘I am often at my strongest in a crisis. I have great resilience and, when faced with major challenges or setbacks, the reflex to stand up even stronger and push even harder. That doesn’t mean I never experience stress, but I always try to radiate calm. If I were to walk around here like a panicked captain, you couldn’t expect the rest to stay calm. It is then up to my team and me to navigate us quickly and powerfully through the storm and find calm waters.’
‘My first jobs were very analytical, which gave me an important insight: if I spend my whole life only dealing with numbers, I will be unhappy. I am a social animal. The people around me are one of my biggest drivers. Getting them to join our story. Ensuring that the Van Havermaet locomotive doesn’t depart without some of the wagons. That people enjoy working here, feel at home here. That is my goal.’
‘I call Van Havermaet a house instead of an office. An unconscious choice of words that someone else pointed out to me. But it makes it clear how I view our organization. A warm house with ambition and a widely shared culture. That is what we run on. With the whole COVID crisis, that was one of the things that kept me awake: the fear of losing our culture. I believe in a good balance with remote work, but working without real social contact? I cannot and do not want to imagine that.’
As a social animal, is it sometimes lonely at the top? ‘Yes and no. I have a fantastic executive committee with an HR, IT, and Finance Director. Together with them and the Board of Directors, we run the show. But of course, they all have their own teams as well. In that respect, you are sometimes alone at the top. I do get invited to the teambuilding events of other teams, which is very charming, of course. But I don’t want to be the fifth wheel on the wagon either. I comfort myself with the thought that they ask me along because of Kristof the person, not because of my position (laughs heartily).’
‘I find it important to be very accessible to our people—our “maeten” as we call ourselves internally—and to encourage them to be bold. You are allowed to make mistakes here. You are valued primarily for the way you handle your mistake. I find that important towards the outside world as well. If one of our employees makes a mistake, we will acknowledge it and do everything we can to resolve it. But we will always stand up for our people. They know that here. I wish someone had told me that in my first jobs. When you know you have a safe harbor, you dare more. I think that’s very important. We must dare to show guts and create the space for that.’
What does Kristof enjoy? ‘Seeing someone grow. And having a helping hand in that. Both in business and in my private life. If someone, no matter who, were to say in an interview one day: “Kristof also helped me get here,” that would be the greatest compliment for me.’
‘I also really enjoy seeing others enjoy themselves. I love the good life. Good food and drink, music, an evening with family and friends. Seeing others enjoy that just as much makes it twice as nice for me. I’m also the kind of person who prefers giving gifts to receiving them. Nature of the beast, I suppose.’
Kristof Meesters: ‘A good five years ago, we were ready for a rebranding, for which we had three companies pitch. One of those three was Expliciet, back then still a pack of young wolves. We were invited to the office, where one of the colleagues had baked a cake for us. Only it hadn’t quite worked out, so we ended up spooning the batter out of the tin (laughs). The fact that we chose the most daring logo—our characteristic male face—even surprised the guys at Expliciet for a moment. But we like things a bit edgy, being a little different from the rest. The design, the concept: everything clicked. A nocturnal guerrilla action in the center of Hasselt, where we drew our logo on a large scale on the Kolonel Dusartplein, marked the beginning of a long and warm connection between Expliciet and Van Havermaet.’