Meet our Dutch Country Lead, Angelique
After being active in Belgium for 12 years, with offices in Ghent, Leuven & Antwerp, In The Pocket permanently sets foot in The Netherlands. In February, a new studio opens in Amsterdam to solidify and grow In The Pocket's business. Angelique Plugge, a seasoned leader in innovation and digital transformation, becomes In The Pocket’s Country Lead. We’re extremely excited and proud that Angelique is part of the team and ready to grow our Amsterdam studio.
Time to meet Angelique!
You have quite a challenge ahead of you. What attracted you to take up the gauntlet?
The top 3 things I am looking for in a role are passion, complexity and impact. The Country Lead role has it all. When I meet people from the ITP team, I feel compelled to grow the company. This passion comes from a sense of togetherness which is deeply rooted in the ITP culture. I felt this from the very first time I visited the Ghent office and during my first chats with the team. And I feel it even more now that I’ve started.
Why do you believe In The Pocket has a mark to make in the Dutch market?
A lot of companies struggle in their digitisation journeys. But I believe that ITP’s value proposition hits spot-on into the market’s needs. The broadness of everything we have to offer creates an opportunity to become a true partner for clients and broaden and deepen these relationships. Yes, there are other companies with similar products and services. But I’m convinced that the strong focus on attracting, growing and keeping the most talented people will make us the better choice.
How do you think we will differentiate ourselves?
The thing that attracted me to In The Pocket, will also attract our clients. Teams actually working for and with a client, instead of outsourcing our people into organisations, distinguishes us from the competition. I’m a strong believer in teamwork and teams improving over time. Having been ‘at the other side of the table’, I understand the true value of that. And I’ve seen with my own eyes that this formula isn’t just another sales pitch. In The Pocket has proven over and again that it can create value that way.
Give us your best joke about Belgians. Go wild.
Small disclaimer: I do not know a single person that is as bad at telling jokes as I am, so this is by far the toughest question. But luckily, there’s a thing called Reddit. Here we go:
Three international construction workers are working on a skyscraper in Rotterdam. A German, a Belgian, and a Dutch guy. Every noon they eat their respective lunches at the top of the unfinished tower. The German guy opens up his lunchbox and sighs: "Bratwurst und Kartofflen, I hate Bratwurst und Kartofflen, if I get Bratwurst und Kartofflen tomorrow I will throw myself off this tower". The Dutch guy opens up his lunchbox, sees to his dismay bread with cheese, and says: "I hate bread with cheese, if I see it tomorrow in my lunch box I will jump after you!". Finally, the Belgian guy opens up his lunchbox and not one to let his co-workers outdo him says: "Amai, sandwiches with jelly! I always have sandwiches with jelly, if I get them tomorrow I will jump off the building with you guys."
The next day around noon, the three construction workers sit nervously on the top of the building. The German is the first to open his lunchbox, sees a Bratwurst, stands up and says: "Scheisse, Bratwurst!" and jumps off the building. Both the Dutch and the Belgian guy turn a little pale. But the Dutch guy opens his lunchbox and reveals the sandwiches with cheese on them. He too jumps off the roof. The Belgian guy, at last, opens up his lunchbox, sees the sandwiches with jelly, swears, and follows his two co-workers towards his death.
At their mutual funeral their wives meet and complain about their husbands, the German wife says: "Ach gutte, had my Hans said he didn't like Bratwurst, I would have given him anything else for his lunch" and the Dutch wife answers: "Indeed, if Kees would have liked something else I would have made him something else", to which the Belgian wife says: "I don't understand, if Thomas didn't like jelly, why didn't he put something else on his sandwiches?"
