Joep de Vries, Business Developer AgriFood

"I'm on the road a lot. How do I get to know as many people as possible that I can use in my network? That's intense at times. On the other hand, the freedom and helping to make dreams come true is incredibly beautiful."

Colleague Joep de Vries talks about what it's like to work for NOM

Helping make a dream come true

"When I started at NOM, almost ten years ago, we still worked by province. As a native Frisian, Friesland was my focus area. Later we started working more and more per sector. My specialization is the agrifood sector. After a number of years I also picked up a piece of Business Development, but that turned out to be an impossible combination. Since three years I have been focusing fully on the agrifood sector again within Foreign Direct Investment."

"A big part of the work is networking. I want to get to know as many companies outside the Netherlands as possible, with the goal of finding international entrepreneurs who want to settle here. One of the best aspects is the great variety. You visit many companies and see a lot of the world. You get to sit next to entrepreneurs and help them make their dreams come true."

Knowing where to find answers

What makes a Nommer a Nommer? "You have to be able to put yourself in the shoes of an entrepreneur. And have an eye for the social importance of their business. To pull this off, you have to have some knowledge of many things and, above all, know very well where to find answers. I'm on the road a lot. How do I get to know as many people as possible, who in turn are useful to me in my network? That is sometimes intense. On the other hand, the freedom and helping to make dreams come true is incredibly beautiful."

NOM 50years!