Hans de Groot is associate partner at Center for Strategy & Leadership, where he teaches about customer-centricity and facilitates companies in developing and implementing outside-in-driven strategies. He is also the owner of XtroVision, a consultancy that takes a hands on approach to helping firms to improve their business performance by refocusing them around customers.
Hans studied aerospace engineering at the Royal Military Academy in Breda, the Netherlands. During his career he followed a number of business programs, including a management development program at Nyenrode Business University and the Advanced Strategic Management program at IMD in Lausanne.
Hans spent the first 25 years of his career in a number of different management roles. He started as a unit-leader at the Dutch defense IT organization DTO, where he was responsible for complete business process redesign. After that he became business unit manager at the IT service provider Getronics, where he set up an entirely new business line. As a managing director of Imtech ICT he was responsible for the strategy and successful integration of four acquired companies into one strong player in the ICT networking and collaboration business in the Netherlands.
As a director at the Imtech head office in Gouda, Hans was asked to take the lead in developing the relations with the growing number of international key clients. He was also responsible for defining cross-divisional and cross-border client propositions and implementing a structure within the decentralized Imtech organization to facilitate this.
Typical for Hans’s approach is that he combines thinking and doing. He loves to analyze complex situations and drill down into the essentials, to be able to move to decision-making and action. Hans brings people along with his easy, clear and open way of communication and his sense of humor.
Hans has a partner, two children and is quite active at speed skating, biking, sailing, golf and tennis.