Leek-based IT service provider Get There is beginning a wonderful new chapter in its existence. After 22 years working on the development of Get There, the three founders of Get There, Auke van der Meulen as general director, Durk Valk as technical director and Eric Martens as financial director are handing over the leadership and shareholding to a younger generation coming from their own ranks.
The new board will consist of current shareholder Nico Kluin as general manager, Niels van Bostelen as commercial director and Frank Hoving as the new technical director. With this change, Niels and Frank will join as shareholders. In addition, NOM, the investment and development company for the Northern Netherlands, will also join as a shareholder.
'This generational change ensures that we can safeguard the continuity of the company and the sustainable employability of employees,' says Nico Kluin, commercial director and co-shareholder of Get There since 2009. 'And that we are therefore not, as we regularly see with other ICT companies, taken over, swallowed up and crumbled by a large party. In addition, Frank and Niels are young, ambitious and have been co-determining the direction and vision of the company for quite some time. Together, we are uniquely capable of guarding and continuing the formula of Get There. Maintaining our independence and giving room to the new generation are important reasons for NOM to become a shareholder and make this management buy-out financially possible.
We are very pleased to have this strong trigger team from our own ranks and are confident of a successful future for Get There. We will, each in our own way, remain connected to Get There.
Auke van der Meulen
The next generation
These are special times for IT service providers like Get There, the entire market is doing well, resulting in a substantial supply of work, with an inverse shortage of professionals. This scarcity makes it more important than ever to connect and grow with a new generation of IT professionals. Get There has always paid attention to the personal development of colleagues through training, education and coaching. The new generation of professionals often needs more than just professional
growth. 'We see that colleagues like to spend time sparring with each other, helping each other and moving the company forward,' says Frank Hoving. As new management, I see it as our task to encourage and facilitate that even more, because they are part of the whole and help steer it along'.
Emiel Ten Have, Nico Kluin, Niels Van Bostelen and Frank Hoving
Northern Netherlands challenges
Get There is a real northern Dutch company. This can be seen in the northern sobriety of how colleagues are treated, but also in the customer portfolio. 'Our colleagues mostly live in the northern three provinces, deliberately. For example, we don't send our people to the west of the country,' Nico Kluin explains, 'that doesn't suit us. In the North there are very nice clients with challenging and high-profile projects. 'Get There is one of the few parties that provides knowledge, people and expertise directly to implementing organizations such as CJIB, DUO and RDW,' says Niels van Bostelen. 'In such environments we have already amply proven our value and will continue to do so unabated in the coming period in numerous challenging projects. To this end, we are constantly looking for specialists.'
About Get There
Get There, founded in 1999, has been successful for 22 years in serving primarily the Northern Dutch market with high-quality ICT services, including custom software and data solutions. Due to the mix of ownership, expertise and result orientation, Get There has a long relationship with many clients. Currently, the company has over 100 professionals deployed to its clients in the Northern Netherlands.
Heading
With the new generation of shareholders and management, Get There is on course for a successful future. 'In doing so, NOM supports the new team from its experience as an investor and northern network partner and adds a beautiful successful company to its portfolio,' said investment manager Emiel ten Have. 'In the new setting, the same high-quality service is guaranteed, and with the new management new opportunities also arise.'
In this white paper you will learn:
- What you have to deal with when you start working with investors
- Differences and similarities between bank funding, subordinated loan and equity capital
- In what ways NOM as an investor can help you
Please note that this whitepaper is only available in Dutch at the moment. We are in the process of translating this whitepaper.
