Introduction Arie de Klerck The Horticulture Data Protocol (HDP) Foundation aims to have hardware working with this protocol in 2023. To reach this ambitious goal and to lead this project, Arie de Klerck has been employed as operational director. Arie sees big opportunities for HDP and is committed to launch this project successfully. In this article Arie introduces himself and speaks about his plans and his approach to these plans.

Experienced project manager and program manager Arie is a very experienced operational director. In the nineties Arie has earned a degree in mechanical engineering. In later years, he also added a business administration degree to his curriculum. Arie: “I started my working life at an engineering firm. Via an energy company, where I was employed in executive functions as well as managerial ones, I noticed I liked project management the most. I now have a number of years of experience in multiple management positions, from project and program management to interim management. Almost all my activities had a technical or IT component and mostly touched upon energy. When I look back at what I have done in my career, I liked it most when I could collaborate in building something new.”

Developing with the right speed Even though Arie is energized by starting something new, he also knows the dangers that come with innovating. “From experience I know that starting something new with a young and enthusiastic team harbours the risk of wanting to develop too fast too much which slows the process eventually. So the trick is to keep the goal in mind, but to get there in small steps and learn from the experiences along the way. With this Agile approach in mind, I will manage the achievement of the goals in both the short and long term. In the coming period I will mainly be involved in thinking along and cooperating regarding the substantive aspects, such as organizational matters.”

A stable organization with accessory products and services as a goal Arie sees big opportunities for the protocol, but he also knows how important reliability and support are for success. Arie: “My aim is to create a stable organization around HDP with accessory products and services. We want to facilitate the market with enthusiastic colleagues. We will start small, but our ambitions are high. However, this should not be at the expense of quality. To make a success of this protocol, collaboration with other parties in the market is really essential. At the moment we are speaking to as many parties in the market as we can to find out their wishes and demands regarding the HDP. If you have any ideas please contact me or my team.”