Derk Rijntjes

Data can be used for societal good, and it is! In Episode 44, of Season 5 of Driven By Data: The Podcast I was joined by Nick Blewden, Director of Data at Co-op (who will also be taking the stage at Driven by Data LIVE in London next week) Where they explore how one of the UK’s most recognised brands is harnessing data not just to improve performance, but to deliver meaningful social impact, which includes; 🎤Why consulting experience equips many data leaders for senior roles in industry. 🎤How the Co-op’s unique member-owned model drives its approach to data and decision-making. 🎤The importance of aligning commercial success with social good. 🎤How partnerships with universities have unlocked new insights into health, nutrition and deprivation. 🎤Why ethical guardrails and clear consent are critical to building trust in personalisation. 🎤How loyalty and membership schemes powered by data science deepen customer engagement. 🎤Growing membership from 4 million to nearly 7 million and he role that data played. 🎤How personalisation is used to encourage healthier lifestyle choices. 🎤Why balancing valuable personalisation with privacy concerns is one of retail’s biggest challenges. 🎤How the Co-op uses its member councils, youth councils and surveys to shape data-driven initiatives. 🎤The role of rapid delivery and quick commerce data in reshaping retail behaviour. 🎤How they equipped front-line staff with data products to transform decision-making. 🎤Why building data literacy depends on addressing both “will” and “skill” across teams. 🎤How embedding ethics and governance early safeguards impact and reputation. 🎤Why leadership engagement strengthens confidence and trust in data. 🎤How evolving operating models keep data teams aligned with fast-changing business needs. Listen 👇🏻 #dataforgood

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The best content for building a strong employer brand and attracting talent doesn’t (always) come from the Recruitment team. The core idea of employer branding is to showcase your talent, business, and culture. Employer branding is about collaborating with key stakeholders, leaders, and employees — helping them find their voice and tell their stories. It’s not the same as simply doing TA branding or focusing on the personal branding of your TA team. Yes, TA branding is important for highlighting recruiters and the hiring process, but the most compelling insights often come from leaders when they talk about strategy, what makes their tech or business unique, and the innovations they’re driving, and from employees when they share their stories of growth, learning, and culture. The personal brands of HR and TA leaders can amplify this content, but remember: you’re not the megaphone, your team members are. In a leadership sense, employer branding means leading from behind — driving success through your leaders and your talent. #EmployerBranding #PersonalBranding #TABranding #RecruitmentBranding #TalentBranding

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🚀 Want to improve your tech hiring strategy? Start tracking the right numbers. At Sunvery, we believe data-driven recruitment isn’t just a buzzword - it’s the key to scaling tech teams effectively. Whether you're hiring one engineer or 50, tracking the right KPIs helps you stay efficient, competitive, and aligned with business goals. Here are 7 essential tech recruitment KPIs every hiring team should monitor: 📌 Time to Hire – How long does it take to close a role? 📌 Time to Fill – From job opening to signed offer — how fast is your process? 📌 Candidate Drop-Off Rate – Where do great candidates lose interest? 📌 Offer Acceptance Rate – Are your offers strong enough to convert? 📌 Quality of Hire – Are you hiring people who truly perform and stay? 📌 Hiring Manager Satisfaction – Are your internal stakeholders happy? 📌 Cost per Hire – Are you spending wisely on each recruitment? 💡 Tracking these KPIs helps you identify bottlenecks, improve candidate experience, and make smarter hiring decisions. Read the full breakdown on our blog 👉 https://lnkd.in/eb_RjmNF #TechRecruitment #HiringTips #KPIs #RecruitmentStrategy #HRAnalytics #Sunvery

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Steven Bartlett’s message wasn’t just for marketers. It was a wake-up call for CFO's. At the Love Tomorrow Summit at Tomorrowland, he said something too many finance leaders still ignore: “Great performance doesn’t come from control. It comes from experimentation.” And he’s right. Your role as CFO is to manage risk. But there’s a bigger risk we’re not talking about: 👉 The risk of doing nothing while others experiment their way to a competitive edge. Most finance teams still follow the classic rollout script: Ideation → Scoping → Blueprint → Alignment → UAT → Go-live → Improvement project… By the time that’s done, your competitor has already failed fast, iterated, and freed up 500+ hours. Let’s be clear: Yes — finance is mission-critical. Certainty matters. But that’s exactly why you should experiment earlier, not later. → Low-risk pilots. → 30-day A/B sprints. → Controlled tests before budget sign-off. Small experiments aren’t a threat to stability — they’re the engine of strategic progress. So let’s drop the myth: “Experimentation isn’t in a CFO’s DNA.” → False. It’s in the DNA of every high-performing team. And that’s who you’re supposed to lead. 👇 Be honest: what’s one experiment your finance team should have run last quarter?

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"20+ years of Customer Success experience… But if you’re a douche, it doesn’t matter.” 💥 Stijn Smet 🐳 dropping truth on the podcast. In this short clip, Stijn makes it clear: The CV won’t save you if the person behind it doesn’t show up the right way. Full chat covers: ⚡ The hiring experience (the good, the bad, the nightmare fuel) ⚡ How candidates can actually stand out ⚡ Where CS careers are headed next 👉 Worth a watch if you’re hiring or job-hunting right now. (Link to podcast in comments). #hiring #jobs #customersuccess #gtm

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🚀 Top 20 Scaleups to Watch in 2025 The Netherlands has built one of Europe’s most dynamic startup ecosystems. Backed by strong universities, global investors, and a thriving innovation culture, these scaleups are reshaping industries from fintech to biotech to deep tech. Here are 20 companies making serious international waves: 💳 Fintech & Payments Adyen – Amsterdam’s payments giant powering global commerce Mollie – Plug-and-play payments for SMEs across Europe Bunq – A digital bank for borderless living Mambu – Cloud banking software used by financial institutions worldwide DataSnipper – Audit automation unicorn 🦄 simplifying finance Payt – Automated invoicing & debt-collection at scale 🧬 Biotech & Healthtech Azafaros – €132M Series B in 2025; tackling rare metabolic diseases Leyden Labs – Intranasal antivirals for respiratory illness Alesta Therapeutics – Oral therapies for rare diseases Salvia BioElectronics – Neuro implants for migraine patients Vico Therapeutics – Treatments for neurological disorders Kynexis – Precision medicine for schizophrenia & cognitive decline Citryll – Biotech tackling inflammatory diseases 🤖 Deep Tech & AI Axelera AI – AI chips for robotics, drones & edge devices Nebius – €700M+ raised; building Europe’s AI infrastructure backbone Toloka – AI training & data-labeling platform Cradle – AI-powered protein design for biotech breakthroughs 🛒 Consumer, Food & Energy Picnic – Online grocery unicorn transforming food delivery Vivici – Precision-fermented proteins for sustainable nutrition Battolyser Systems – Energy storage + hydrogen production in one 🏨 SaaS & Platforms Mews – Hospitality software modernizing hotel operations MessageBird (Bird) – Comms API platform (chat, SMS, voice, video) Piano – SaaS for personalization & customer engagement 🔥 Why it matters: Dutch startups raised €3.5B in 2024, with biotech and AI leading the charge. The mix of fintech firepower, biotech breakthroughs, and deep-tech innovation positions the Netherlands as a global growth hub. These companies aren’t just scaling locally, they’re defining how industries will work worldwide. 👉 Which of these scaleups do you think will be the next global giant? #Scaleup #Business #Marketinsights #growth #finance #HR #Supplychain #Fintech #SaaS Hannah Mallia Georgia Wright David Harper Nick Smith Bradley SaywellThomas Powell Sasha Gill Daniel O. Keely Dyson Katie InsleyLaura Summerson

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US AI scale-ups are assembling a People function later in their growth journey than their European peers. However, once hitting 100+ heads, they “professionalise” their People function more rapidly; hiring a seasoned People Leader to prepare them for scale. Whereas many European scale-ups are opting to build their People function with a People Manager-level hire, or by promoting someone with no prior People experience into the role. Then, as they grow beyond 100 heads, they’re actually no more likely to recruit a People Leader, according to this data set. Is this because it’s working well, or could there be other constraints? Of the 30 AI scale-ups we analysed, the median headcount was 69 for Europe and 372 for the US. Median fundraise value was $26m in Europe and $186m in the US. This means that European companies are generally operating leaner, with fewer employees per dollar raised. However, they’re seeing a a People hire as a necessity at an earlier stage - albeit likely confined to a more operational remit. US companies are hiring more rapidly, even relative to their larger fundraises. The playbook seems to be to hold off from adding a People function until the business has significant traction, and then building from the top-down, by appointing an accomplished People Leader. How much of this is cultural, and how much is explained by economics? Does it tally with your experience of the market?

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“Your only moat is speed.” A must-read for any CMO by Miriam Partington in Sifted. Your playbooks are outdated quicker than ever nowadays. CMOs need to blend tech and human innovation to succeed. In Naomi Walkland’s words: “AI will make marketing faster, smarter and more efficient, but it cannot replace the sense of connection people look for from a brand.” And I keep coming back to speed. That ‘connection’ Sarah talks about increasingly comes from building organic, spur-of-the-moment touchpoints with your audience. Leveraging a trend, a news cycle or an industry breakthrough in a way that feels true to you and your consumer segment. The same applies to how you test and learn in a marketing function. One thing the fastest-growing brands I know share? They cut out what slows them down. They ship quickly, get feedback from their users, and iterate. Too many marketing teams let perfection slow them down. Your brand matters.  Your budget matters. But if you can't move faster than the market shifts, none of it helps. Link to the article below ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e3v755Db

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