Our approach

We continuously attract and develop new talent, with different experience and backgrounds, ranging from top strategy consulting to start-ups and online pure players. Our people live and breathe new technology, entrepreneurialism, and change leadership and enthusiastically develop themselves further in this field every day.
1

Customer first

Across sectors, we build on one universal principle: always start from customer needs and then translate this into technical and organizational requirements. Disruptive companies always have a strong customer-first viewpoint. New technology in itself is not a goal, but when new technology can help to better fulfil a customer need and remove barriers that previously couldn’t be removed, then we have a recipe for disruption.

Joris Hulst - SparkOptimus
Joris Hulst
Partner
"In a disruptive age, the consumer is king. It’s amazing to see how much faster you can grow if you are able to easily adapt your tech platform and business to their ever-evolving needs. Building your proposition, technology and organization in parallel is the only way to get the speed and flexibility you need."
Barbara Linssen
Manager
"Being part of the client team and helping to put the plans into practice forces you to constantly think pragmatically. You quickly learn what works and what doesn’t. This is where I feel I really make a difference."
2

On-the-ground execution

We help companies understand ‘what’ to do, develop a plan ‘How’ to do it, and support them in actually ‘getting it done’ to give them a solid start. Why struggle to invent the wheel yourself if you can bring in the most experienced people and leverage learnings from hundreds of other organizations and dozens of other sectors?

3

Capability Building

We support companies and at the same time develop their potential to independently continue their journey. That’s why we work closely together with them to build capabilities in their teams and transfer our knowledge. We believe that intrinsic talent and a certain way of working – not necessarily extensive digital experience – is the basis for success in a disruptive environment. Through on-the-job coaching, workshops and trainings, we make sure the team can grow in their (new) role.

Hidde van Manen - SparkOptimus
Hidde van Manen
Partner
"I have seen people thrive as they got the chance to learn new skills. There is something very exciting and motivating about your leadership team trusting you to build something new, and developing yourself in the process."

"Digital is not about digital; it's about serving customers better, faster and more sustainable."

What drives us - SparkOptimus

What drives us

We work for businesses and institutions that are looking for a step-change in digital growth and are excited to see how disruption can work for them. Our clients share our commitment to making things happen. We want to ensure the whole of society benefits. For this reason we share our knowledge as widely as possible through masterclasses, pro bono work, and the broader dissemination of our insights. We believe that together, we can accelerate growth and change the world for the better.
Scaling Generative AI for chocolate sales transformation
AI & Data Strategy & Transformation
AI & Data Strategy & Transformation
Digital Strategy & Transformation
Digital Strategy & Transformation

This leading chocolate manufacturer sought to accelerate their speed-to-market, enhance customer-centric innovation, and streamline their vast product portfolio. They recognized the potential of Generative AI to transform their sales processes and partnered with SparkOptimus to realize this vision.

VNAB's digital transformation: Unlocking value in the co-insurance market
Digital Strategy & Transformation
Digital Strategy & Transformation

VNAB is the trade association of the Dutch co-insurance market, which represents the interests of 96 insurers & brokers. They facilitate large commercial high-risk insurances in the Netherlands through different types of services: supply relevant IT technology products, guarantee knowledge transfer between members, and function as a physical meeting center. SparkOptimus & VNAB jointly defined a vision to work towards the optimal, predictable, and digitally enhanced co-insurance chain for an excellent customer experience. This vision was iterated with members in round table discussions, where they subscribed to the ambition, while expressing the need for a business case before committing to the joint effort.

1-week data scan: Charting the AI potential for Zijerveld
AI & Data Strategy & Transformation
AI & Data Strategy & Transformation

Zijerveld (a subsidiary of FrieslandCampina) is one of the largest cheese wholesalers in Europe. Recognizing the vast potential AI can bring to their business, they approached SparkOptimus for a one-week data scan. The scan consisted of identifying and prioritizing potential AI use cases across Zijerveld’s business and creating a first view of business value for selected use cases.

Budget Thuis enhances customer experience with (Gen) AI
AI & Data Strategy & Transformation
AI & Data Strategy & Transformation

Budget Thuis is a leading energy and telecom services provider in the Netherlands, committed to providing reliable services at affordable prices. Serving more than a million customers, Budget Thuis holds a prominent position in the industry. Recognizing the substantial potential of Generative AI to enhance internal processes and the customer experience, Budget Thuis faced challenges in realizing its value independently. Therefore, they asked SparkOptimus’ support in identifying and prioritizing company-specific use cases, rapidly testing and proving the value by collaboratively building, testing, and improving MVPs, and designing an organizational setup for long-term, sustainable (Gen) AI innovation.

"With their digital expertise, strategic perspective and no-nonsense approach, SparkOptimus helped us to identify the business change we were looking for, and then find the path to realize it."

Steven Sels

Member Of The Management Board

SHV Energy

"The quality of the report and restitution done by Spark is just amazing given the short time spent on Schneider context, the detail outcome and quality of deliverables are really good and we must take this as an opportunity to explore and implement operationally all these details."

Nabil El Abed

Vice President

Schneider Electric

"Helping us with their outside perspective, SparkOptimus ensured that we took the right and necessary steps to pursue our strategy. This has enabled us to make the next step in our ‘smart’ strategy and be the frontrunner in our industry"

Joeri Kamp

CIO / MD Innovation & Ventures

Eneco

"SparkOptimus was instrumental in integrating a learning-focused approach to work, as well as establishing effective governance structures. This allowed us to leverage the benefits of our corporate framework while executing with the agility of a start-up, and implementing robust tracking mechanisms. Despite encountering setbacks and challenges along the way, SparkOptimus remained fully engaged and demonstrated a deep sense of ownership by celebrating successes as if they were their own."

Viktor Valk

Founder

Velroq

"SparkOptimus really inspired us with what they brought to the table, and we definitely got the full value of their expertise."

Maurits den Broeder

Director

Van Oord Offshore

"SparkOptimus was a great partner that helped us to shape a compelling vision for our future digital passenger experience, which gives direction and guidance to our teams for the journey ahead. And on top, they were a very pleasant and fun team to work with!"

Mieke Struik

Senior Manager Business & Tech platform Commercial

Schiphol

"SparkOptimus’ thought leadership in the field of digital disruption and their ability to design, build and scale digital businesses across the globe helped us foster company-wide commitment to the WHY, WHAT and HOW of winning in beer & cider in a digital age. We are now completely aligned on scope/ambition. Thank you for the strong support. We look forward to continuing this shared journey."

Jan Derck van Karnebeek

Chief Commercial Officer

HEINEKEN N.V.

"SparkOptimus in this process has proved its value by bringing a sharp external perspective along with a structured approach, and building from there a joint vision that very well aligns with the challenges that NS currently faces. By doing so, they have helped NS bring the physical and digital customer journey closer together."

Ron Schneider

Head of Consumer Market

NS Reizigers

"“Change is a reality of the modern landscape, and as I myself am busy with the much-needed transformation to a Circular Economy, I see digitalization as an important tool. SparkOptimus shows what’s needed to keep moving into the future and build a bright one!”"

Robert-Jan van Ogtrop

Founder, CVC, Chair & Board Member

Circle Economy, PACE, African Parks

"“It was a pleasure working with SparkOptimus. With their expertise, drive and enthusiasm they brought a great ‘spark’ and acceleration to our sustainability journey. We now have clear strategies for sustainable product introductions and are ready to take the next step.”"

Marjon Stamsnijder

Global Director Sustainability

Henkel Consumer Brands

"SparkOptimus has been a phenomenal partner that guided us towards becoming a future-fit organization. On top, they were a pleasant partner to work with that radiates energy, vision, and a clear ‘getting-it-done’ mentality."

Erik van de Brake

Chief Transformation Officer

PGGM

"SparkOptimus’ obsession to focus on how to transform the Experience of our Customer & Partners has been instrumental to define our change agenda, to build new capabilities and to transform our organization."

Frederic Chupin

SrVP, Customer Experience, e-Commerce & Digital Marketing Transformation

Henkel

"SparkOptimus has been an instrumental partner in our journey towards real-time customer activations. They are pragmatic and results-oriented, and know how to bring an inspiring vision to life by defining the path, getting things done and breaking down organizational silos."

Jesper Waerum

EVP Omnichannel

PVH

"SparkOptimus proved to be an outstanding business partner for JET. They did an excellent job in defining our ambition, concretizing our future levers of growth and kickstarting the execution, which enabled us to move at a much higher pace than ever envisioned"

Jim Jansen

Senior Director Commercial Growth

JustEatTakeaway

"SparkOptimus’ thought leadership in the field of digital disruption and their ability to design, build and scale digital businesses across the globe helped us foster company-wide commitment to the WHY, WHAT and HOW of winning in beer & cider in a digital age. We are now completely aligned on scope/ambition. Thank you for the strong support. We look forward to continuing this shared journey."

Jan Derck van Karnebeek

Chief Commercial Officer

HEINEKEN N.V.

"Within one week, SparkOptimus outlined valuable applications of AI across the organization. In this short time span they managed to show how quickly business value can be proven for AI use cases, with a pragmatic, results-oriented approach."

Tuncay Özgüner

CEO

Zijerveld

"Collaborating closely with SparkOptimus led to a solid strategy aligned with our ambition. Their pragmatic, action-bias & data-driven expertise in a high-pressure environment was instrumental in kick-starting and implementing the plan with us."

Philip Alberdingk Thijm

CEO

Keesing Media Group

"SparkOptimus has the required (digital) expertise to conduct thorough outside-in analyses of online companies. Their concise report gave us the confirmation of our own analysis that we are making the correct investment decision"

Vincent Gravesteyn

Managing Director

Walvis Participaties

"SparkOptimus was able to create transparency on our strategy and operations in a very fast and thorough way thanks to their extensive expertise and dedication"

Anonymous CFO

"We found a true partner in SparkOptimus. Their knowledge of the market and the way digital businesses operate helped us move forward quickly and allowed us to make the right decision"

Anonymous Partner

PE Firm

"SparkOptimus’ deep expertise of e-commerce and all related technical matters were of great value to us and the speed and efficiency with which SparkOptimus executed this due diligence was simply astonishing."

Marc Kuper

Commercial Director Sparta

Accell Netherlands

"Clearly, SparkOptimus has done this many times before. It was impressive to see how quickly and thoroughly they analyzed our potential acquisition target. Their clear report helped us to really understand the digital market dynamics and key value drivers, bringing additional depth our investment discussions."

Anonymous client

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