|
PERSONAL DATA
- born in '76 in St-Amandsberg (Belgium)
- moved to Reningelst at the age of three (Belgium)
- passed my youth in Poperinge and Ieper (Belgium)
- spent my professional life in Spain, US, France and Belgium.
- fluent in Flemish (Dutch), Spanish, English and French (spoken, written, read),
with notions of German.
FAMILY
- husband of Argentinian Ceci Casariego ('73) and father of Mia Federica ('07)
- youngest son of Mariaan (teacher English and Dutch) and Dora (retired nurse)
- Brother of Erlend ('74), Medical Representative for MS&D in Belgium, and Birgit ('72), Pharmaceutical Consultant Roche in Switzerland
CARREER
- Seeking opportunities, building up networks, online marketing, providing pre-studies and delegating the breaking through of the project is daily business.
And I love it !
My aim is to find the best investment for your money, backed up with serious expertise and research at forehand.
I'm specialized in starting up new businesses in unknown markets and its promotion, online and atl, and webdevelopment.
- CCO at Bepallet (Zaragoza, Spain and Ieper, Belgium):
achieving investments in Spain and Portugal for companies in the petro-chemical industry. Starting up a new joint venture between IPS Belgium (Ieper) and Ribawood (Zaragoza) called Bepallet.
- Sales and Marketing Manager Center Parcs BeLux (Brussels, Belgium): starting partnerships, e-marketing.
It was an interesting challenge to build a new network in Belgium, atl campaigns, online deals and communication partnerships.
- Tourism Sales Promotor StarParks (Ieper, Belgium):
promoting Bellewaerde Park and Walibi Belgium in the tourism sector in Flanders and North-France. Introducing BWP and WAB in the British market.
This job made feel good in a way that I could work quiet independently.
- Business Unit Director Etsinova: Woodman's Foodmarkets (NY, LA, Madison, Chicago):
starting up new supermarkets all over the US, from building to design and promotion (online marketing and atl).
Amazing challenge, while travelling a lot. Never done this in my life, but it taught me lot how to start projects nationwide and manage teams. People and project management were very important skills I realised I had.
- Business Unit Director Etsinova: NCH Hotel (Malaga, Spain):
starting up the only Kosher Hotel in Spain, starting from scratch. I achieved building it in a record time. In the meantime I took care of the reception and made sure the hotel was at 80% full for the next two years.
It was really hard to find companies that could produce the special needs that traditional Jewish guests request.
- Head of Security Etsinova (Marbella, Spain): organizing security at jet-set parties.
Never seen anything like it ! More below.
- Reception Manager at Le Chateau du Domaine Saint Martin (Vence, France):
managing the reception at a ‘Relais et Châteaux’- hotel. Direct contact with guests, organising special events (IBM-convention) and events, translations and special wishes (Grand Prix de Monaco, Festival de Cine de Cannes).
Now here we're talking really rich people and celebs. Have some stories below about them !
- Reception Manager at Hotel Cristiania (Val d' Isère, France):
managing the reception at a four star hotel, and giving ski lessons to guests.
STUDIES
- University of Madison (US): Gender Studies
- Universidad de Málaga (Spain): Teacher Spanish
- KATHO ReNo Torhout (Belgium): Teacher PhysEd
HOBBIES
- sports: basketball, swimming, rock diving (with the scars), badminton (perfect to destress)
football (give me Barça !), judo (in the good old days, when Belgium was world top)
- music: above all the heavy metal of the good old days (like Metallica before the Black Album, anything, as long as it makes me wanna bang that head) and Latino-music. Give me a passionate tango so I lose myself in the thoughts of love. But as I have a classical background (7 years of music school) I love the oldies as Beethoven and Mozart. My preferred classic piece is the Moldau of Bedrich Smetana.
- and of course the oboe, the most sensual and sensitive instrument. It took me years to get my emotions through my lips, but I was pretty good at it. It also requiered a lot of mental strenght, as your whole abdomen needs to work with you in order to get the perfect breath.
GROUPS
- basketball (power-forward): BBC Poperinge, Racing Ieper
- football (left-back): KFC Poperinge
- tennis: TC Eclips
- judo: Judoclub Poperinge
- oboe: Sint-Stanislasspeelschaar Poperinge
- Dynamic Drive: elite webdesign coder
STORIES
- In my short past I have worked with and seen a lot of celebreties, so I have a lot of stories to tell. So it is tempting to overwhelm people with my anecdotes
so that I would seem a nice person to talk with. But I have discovered in my career that stories are not everything. My previous boss had so many stories, that after a whille I couldn't believe any of them anymore.
The stories were nice, but if you have to hear them over and over again, it gets boring. And especially when I have been to the same place as him, in the same situation, then you realize that he has been lying all that time.
And from then on it is hard to believe that person, which is difficult in a working situation. Problem was that he underestimated the person he was talking to, thinking that his life was more exiting, and his stories more interesting.
So I learned that you shouldn't brag or lie about your whereabouts, because there is always someone listening that might know better. Or that can be your future boss.
Therefore this is my motto: as you never know the background of who is listening and you don't know where he has been,
make sure that what you say is right. Lies get swung back to you later. And hard.
So here you have my stories, and I can asure you that all are true.
- Ask yourself: what is your priority at this time ? Then act like it.
- I'm only 32 years old, but I have been around. Not only because I have travelled a lot (thanks dad) and worked in different countries,
but because at all my endeavours I was surrounded by amazing people that taught me so much.
- While I was studying in Belgium, I couldn't care less about anything but sports. I was a promising student, but didn' feel like studying (I even had to redo a year). I surely caused some depressive days in my parents life !
After my high school I decided to do what I could best, and even get a degree with it: teacher PhysEd. It was a walk through the park, and I enjoyed every day of it. But there I realized that the people around me would not remain my friends. We were too different; had different priorities.
After my studies I went on holiday with my sister for a week to Torremolinos (Spain). Two weeks after I got back there with nothing else then my backpack and 5000 Belgian francs.
- Then my real adventure started. I worked at Tina's bar, hippest place for the British tourists. And I enjoyed it.
But at the same time I saw drunkness, drugs and violence. It was my first test in life: would I let myself go, or remain above this. I didn't fall for the temptation, and remained pure of heart. It was a time of discovery, getting to know myself as a person.
- I went to visit a friend of mine in Paris, and from there went to a job forum to work in the ski-stations. I ended up in Val d'Isere (Hotel Cristiania), were I worked at the reception. How did I get that job ? Because I learned how to treat people, and because I had discovered the importance of languages.
So I spent the winter season there, working in the four star hotel with the rich, while giving ski lessons to guests. After hours I worked in a nightclub as security.
- Directly after I ended up in the Le Chateau du Domaine Saint Martin in Vence, where to me my real professional career started. It was an unreal world. Showing a guest where the toilet is made me earn five euros, parking their Lamborghini twenty. It surprised me what money can mean to some people.
But there I also learned again how to treat people and get along with them. I played tennis with Greg Ruzedsky and his newlywed wife, Paul Simon tought me some accords, stock brokers tought me some tricks.
At the Festival de Cine de Cannes it was even worse; we went by helicopter to the Strip.
But above all, I got in touch with Lillian Herrick, daughter of Phil Woodman, owner of Woodman Foodmarkets.
- We fell in love, so I left the hotel and went with her to the States, first NY and then Madison and Chicago. I worked for her father starting up new supermarkets in NY, Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. It was a time of endless love, lots of travelling, enjoying nature.
But as we all know, love sometimes doesn't last. Different issues tore us apart, which made me leave the US. But I had great times at the Hamptons, jogged along with Oprah not realizing who that fat lady was, learned to play golf
with the inventor of the paperclip, and thought the kid of the inventor of the safety pin how to play offside in soccer. We went skiing in Aspen, fishing in Panama, camping in Canada. Wild times !
- So I went back to my beloved Spain, and started a new challenge: building the first Jewish Kosher hotel in Spain (Torremolinos). It was a struggle to find the necessary suppliers, to be able to build the hotel so that Jews at Shabat wouldn't have to do anything. But I achieved it in a record time.
In the meantime I took care of the reception and made sure the hotel was at 80% full for the next two years. Which wasn't difficult, as I had brought lots of connections from the US. Mission accomplished !
- While I was working at the hotel, I took care of the security and acted as liaison at jetset parties in Marbella, for instance the welcome party of David Beckham in Spain (Real Madrid), and the birthday party of Pierce Brosnan. In the meantime I also indirectly sold the house of Sean Connery and the yacht of Antonio Banderas.
- While I was walking from work, another sunny afternoon at the Costa del Sol, I crossed the plaza, and saw an amazingly beautiful young lady making a drawing of people that were sitting at the other side of the plaza. Just for fun I asked her if she would need a model.
To my surprise she reacted a bit harsh, saying that people pay her to make a portrait, not the other way. I apologized (would turn out not be the only time) and kept on walking. But at the end of the street I turned back and starting talking to her. Nine months later Ceci Casariego and I married in Belgium.
- Our arrival in Belgium was not promising. I never could experience the same feelings as I felt in other places. Everything grey and depressing. And so expensive. Everything we wanted to do would cost us. It was a deception, especially because I couldn't start working at the same level as I was used to.
- As my wife and I couldn't get children in the natural way, we started an artificial insemination program. The second trial brought us Mia, a healthy joyfull baby. Amazing how a baby changes one's life for the best. I'm in love ... In Argentina Ceci and I married for the church and baptized Mia.
It was a very emotional trip, as just a month before Ceci's father had passed away, while she couldn't be there. But it was beautiful.
- While in Argentina I decided to leave CenterParcs and was looking for a new challenge, which I found in IPS-Ribawood. Again doing what I'm good at, but above all: back in Spain !
Meaning is to start up a joint venture between IPS Belgium (Ieper) and Ribawood (Zaragoza) called Bepallet, and in the meantime taking care of expanding the network of IPS Belgium in Spain and Portugal.
It is a totally new area, short mission, but what a challenge ! I'm really looking forward to results.
last update: 09.02.2008
phone: + 32 (0).475.98.49.96
|
below pictures of my wife Ceci Casariego my daughter Mia and myself
|