My Soulutions Journey
Humble Beginnings
After an engineering foundation I graduated as industrial designer. Linking technology to user needs has been part of my work from the early beginnings up to today.
After graduating on my own product idea my first job was as design engineer in a design agency for bicycles. How Dutch can it be!
Here I spend most of my time design engineering, model making and figuring out technical principles on this Gazelle Boomerang bicycle concept.
Interactive products
After a year in the bicycle design agency, I started to freelance as designer. One of my customers put me on a path that changed my career. Scantech, a retail technology company was a high-tech marvel in the service-oriented retail market where technology supported the shopping experience. Usability was the key driver!
Designing plastic housings for interactive mechatronics initiated my first work in interactive design. The Discovery was a Retail price checking terminal, but what mostly captured my imagination was the user-friendly interface of barcode scanning. No shopper needed any instruction testing prototypes.
Something started to grow in my imagination.
The Startup Leap
I was an early adopter of the Internet and deeply interested in the new digital dimension in our lives. The work on the Discovery product as freelance designer ignited ideas about possible applications, bridging the Internet and real-world applications.
When I joined Scantech as Innovation Manager early 2000, I pitched a mobile scanner concept to manage your shopping list build upon the Discovery ideas. As a challenge the CEO that hired me send me out to find the 1$ scanner. This was found as spinoff of a R&D project for a Camera based new retail scanner. When the hardware was not ready an engineer demonstrated the software on webcam.
This ignited a leap in ideas and the invention of a software scanning application for computers and mobile camera phones. This was 2000, 4 years before the NOKIA 7650, the first camera phone! In a period of 10 years I was involved in 3 startups, Scantech spin off Lava Sphere dedicated to the scanning technology, ScanChooseBuy that pioneered mobile price comparing services and Mbarc that focussed on mobile ticket scanning & validation hardware and systems.
Today there are 4.5 billion mobile phones with the scan software pre-installed. The usability of this application is so strong that 26 years after the invention it is still a foundation in mobile interactivity.
The startup journey was unique and life changing but we were too early twice and got disrupted by the iPhone in 2008. The road to success for mobile barcode scanning phones started in Japan with NTTDoCoMo who build dedicated phones and created a eco-system for retailers and marketing agencies to create QRCode applications. The rest is history!
holistic design & innovation
The Startup journey started and continued with experimenting with new design approaches and lean innovation. When back in the industrial design realm I got the lead in a feasibility study for a self-service Bag Drop on Schiphol Airport.
This started as a classic Industrial design project but at the first observation of self-service check-in kiosks I realized the traditional approach would not work. We experimented with passenger journey´s, persona´s and quick prototyping and testing. This holistic approach on design and early validation turned out in a blueprint framework approach for Service Design and Experience Driven innovation.
When we ended up testing the demonstrator in a lab with real passengers I realized this changed design deeply. It took at least another 5 years for Service Design to emerge but to me experimenting with design in innovation was the way ahead.
It also made me explore passenger journey´s for the first time.
Disruption and be disrupted
Disruption is often framed as startups using new technology to target non-customers and challenge incumbents—a concept popularized by Clayton Christensen. I experienced this firsthand, but also learned how unpredictable—and unforgiving—real disruption can be.
In my early startups, we explored mobile barcode scanning and related services as a disruptive model. The theory fit, but the market didn’t evolve fast enough to support it.
With Mbarc, my last startup, we took a more grounded approach. Instead of betting on a new market, we built on existing behavior: print-at-home tickets. We developed scanning and validation solutions for mobile SMS tickets, offering hardware at half the cost of the only alternative. Using lean innovation, we pivoted twice and evolved into a full end-to-end ecosystem for ticket distribution and validation.
We were early. The aviation industry adopted the first mobile boarding pass standards, and we worked with major telecom providers on some of the first pilots in this space.
Then the market shifted overnight.
In 2008, the Apple iPhone changed the game. High-resolution screens replaced the limitations of devices like Nokia phones, and suddenly mobile barcodes could be scanned with a $99 device. Our hardware advantage disappeared—just as we were running out of funding.
We made the hard decision to shut down.
That moment shaped how I think about disruption today. It’s not just about creating it—it’s about recognizing when the conditions change, when your advantage erodes, and when to pivot or stop.
Those ten years of startup experience now inform how I help organizations navigate disruption: with ambition, but also with realism about timing, ecosystems, and unintended consequences.
Change management
In both industrial design and startup environments, change is constant. But when I extended service design into the public sector, I encountered something very different: an organization that resisted change at a systemic level.
Working with the Dutch social government, we were tasked with helping them become more service-oriented. Our focus was a specific and often overlooked segment: young people with disabilities. We conducted user research, developed a customer journey, and trained frontline service staff to better understand and support their needs.
What became clear was that capability isn’t the main barrier—mindset is. While our workshops created short-term shifts in thinking and behavior, these changes struggled to take hold within deeper organizational structures.
This experience fundamentally shaped my approach to change management. I learned that real transformation requires more than training—it demands alignment across systems, incentives, and culture.
That insight proved invaluable later, when working in highly regulated and risk-averse industries such as aviation, where sustainable change depends on navigating complexity rather than just introducing new ideas.
Roadmap innovation
A short period as a mobile experience consultant made one thing clear: I wanted to work in an industry where digital meets physical—real products, real operations, real constraints no tech positivism but tech realism.
In 2012, I joined Zodiac Aerospace to lead product development and establish an innovation approach within a business unit holding a 75% global market share.
At first glance, the focus was straightforward: reduce weight and cost. But I approached the portfolio differently—looking beyond the product itself to the value it creates across ground operations and onboard service.
Aircraft equipment operates in a highly constrained and risk-averse environment, where change is slow and incremental. The teams I inherited worked in ways that were far removed from design-led innovation. Instead of forcing transformation, I introduced small, targeted changes over time—embedding new ways of thinking into existing processes.
This gradual shift reshaped the product portfolio. We didn’t just deliver lighter products—we introduced niche solutions that improved service efficiency, enhanced flight attendant usability, and opened up new commercial opportunities.
The results were tangible. Products like the Cool Trolley, Retail Trolley, and Waste Trolley contributed to a broader portfolio that demonstrated how service and process innovation can differentiate—even for a market leader.
This work was recognized with the Hospitality Award 2018 for the Cool Trolley.
Experience Lab & Meaningful Innovation Playbook
After intense startup years and a lifelong exploration of methodologies approaches, I learned that corporate innovation needs something different: more structure without losing entrepreneurial energy.
In a startup, you navigate on intuition, pivot quickly based on what you learn, and continuously validate direction with potential customers. In a corporate environment, innovation also needs sponsorship, budgets, resources, and alignment with strategy. Without a clear framework, even strong ideas struggle to move forward.
At the time, the dominant strategic priorities were weight reduction and cost price. Important goals—but not enough on their own to uncover new opportunities. We needed a deeper understanding of user needs while building a repeatable innovation process.
To generate those insights, we built an Experience Lab: an aircraft mock-up for research and experimentation. In collaboration with TU Delft, we developed tools and methods to observe behavior, test concepts, validate ideas, and demonstrate innovations in a realistic environment.
In parallel, I worked on translating years of intuition into a practical innovation framework by combining hands-on experience with proven best practices. Both moved outside the lab into onboard observations, co-creation workshops with Airlines and on ramp & catering process research.
What started small gradually became a core capability and was consolidated in 2019 into the Meaningful Innovation Playbook.
The playbook combines frameworks and tools spanning the full innovation journey—from weak signal detection to validated demonstrators. It provides enough structure to guide teams, while preserving the intuitive strengths of startup and design thinking.
That balance remains essential: discipline where needed, freedom where it matters.
Stepping Stones - From Vision to Reality
In industries like aircraft equipment, fundamental change—especially introducing new concepts, eco-systems or technology stacks—happens slowly.
We initially developed a vision around connected food & beverage service. To eat what you want, when you want it using mobile food ordering solutions integrating IFEC, Galley, Trolley and Retail Systems challenging the push onboard service model.
When we presented it to airlines, the reaction was pragmatic: “We like it—but first, help us understand where our equipment is.”
That moment was critical. It reinforced a principle that has guided my work ever since: customer validation beats vision.
We pivoted.
Instead of pushing a future concept, we focused on a real, immediate problem—digitizing the catering supply chain. This turned out to be one of the most complex operational environments in aviation.
The result was an asset management solution combining Bluetooth Low Energy tracking, mobile devices, existing Wi-Fi infrastructure, and a dashboard service. It enabled real-time visibility of equipment across the entire logistics chain.
Introduced to the market in 2019, the solution was recognized with the Crystal Cabin Award in 2020.
More importantly, it marked a shift from standalone hardware to hybrid product–service systems, unlocking new revenue models in a traditionally hardware-driven industry.
The Connected Cabin Vision
In 2012, onboard connectivity was just emerging. When Lufthansa pioneered in-flight Wi-Fi, the aircraft cabin was still largely a “black box,” with innovation focused mainly on entertainment systems.
With my background in mobile and connected experiences, the opportunity was obvious: a fully connected cabin staging augmented onboard experiences, services and processes.
I developed a vision for a connected food & beverage experience, partnering with a leading IoT design agency. The concept was simple but powerful—passengers could order what they want, when they want, seamlessly integrating inflight entertainment (IFE), galley operations, and trolley logistics.
The simulated experience was compelling. It felt natural, intuitive, and immediately valuable. But it also made one thing clear: this vision could not be realized alone—it required a broader ecosystem of partners and capabilities.
In an organization the size of Zodiac Aerospace, building momentum for such a shift requires alignment at multiple levels. At the time, connectivity was not a strategic priority.
To change that, we collaborated across business units and created a visionary animation to make the concept tangible. This proved to be a turning point. Management buy-in followed, and we were tasked with developing a full-scale demonstrator.
The result was ICONNZ (2017)—an interactive, immersive showcase that brought the connected cabin to life. It combined storytelling, simulated technology enablers, and real use cases to engage both internal stakeholders and customers.
Crucially, we didn’t stop at the demo. Structured interviews with customers helped translate vision into a roadmap. What followed was a long and complex journey of building capabilities, partnerships, and underlying technologies.
designing for trust in uncertainty
I moved to California to accelerate connected cabin innovation—but within months, COVID-19 brought the aviation industry to a standstill.
As air travel halted, the focus shifted to making flying “safe” again. Many engineering-driven initiatives explored antimicrobial materials or UV-based solutions to eliminate pathogens.
I took a different approach with my team.
Instead of starting with technology, I focused on understanding passenger perception—how people experienced health and hygiene before and during the pandemic.
Through interviews with passengers across three continents, a clear insight emerged:
The aircraft lavatory was already a place passengers preferred to avoid. COVID-19 only intensified that discomfort.
This reframed the problem. The challenge wasn’t just eliminating pathogens—it was about restoring passenger trust.
Working closely with design teams, we translated these insights into prototypes and validated them directly with users. In parallel, emerging evidence showed that transmission risks were primarily airborne, not surface-based—leading us to deprioritize antimicrobial materials and UV solutions.
The result was the Beacon Lavatory, recognized with the Crystal Cabin Award in 2021.
More than a product, it introduced a new design language—focused on perceived hygiene, intuitive interaction, and passenger reassurance. These principles are now reflected in next-generation lavatory designs.
connected ecosystems, delivered
The ICONNZ demonstrator was not an endpoint—it was the starting point for building a connected ecosystem across cabin products.
Following this, we initiated the development of enabling technologies across both new and existing systems: onboard infrastructure, secure communication protocols, and data integration capabilities. But technology alone wasn’t the focus. In parallel, I continued to explore and define use cases, value propositions, and business impact across key operational domains.
These included areas such as waste management, flight attendant workload reduction, digital maintenance, and turnaround optimization—each grounded in real operational challenges.
This work converged in 2023 into a Connected Interiors program, with a strong focus on digital maintenance. Rather than building from assumptions, we based the solution on in-depth user and market research: visiting maintenance facilities, shadowing onboard operations, and evaluating existing digital platforms.
The result was a set of connected products and services designed to address one of the most critical pain points in aviation: the maintenance of high-usage cabin equipment.
In 2025, this program was recognized with the Crystal Cabin Award for a market-ready solution integrating the connected galley, insert suite, and first-class seat—bringing together hardware and digital services into a unified ecosystem.
In 2026 Safran announced 2 partners Airlines to test it on 30.000 feet altitude.