The former CEO of IT company Infotheek Group shares his secrets for successful M&A integration, picking the right bets, and saving time on emails. ...
Jordy Kool, the major Dutch investor,has an old-fashioned method to fight endless work emails:he prints them out on paper andtakes handwritten notesthat his assistant types up and forwards.
It’s not environmentally friendly,but he saysit’s productive:“I only touch email once, [otherwise] I will be stuck in my [inbox] for six hours a day. Sometimes I don’t touch my phone for [up to] 10 hours.”
Kool, who in 2015 was named EY’s Accelerating Entrepreneur of the Year, lives in the fast lane. He is the chairman and ownerof multiple companies, and is also a non-executive director. Kool founded Iron Asset Management,a family office,in 2016after a distinguished corporate career.
An alumnus of IMD,hewas speaking in an interview withJean-François Manzoni,the President of IMD, as part of his CEO Interview Series.
Kool, chosen asComputable Magazine’sCEO of the Year in 2015, joined Infotheek Groupin 2009as chief commercial officer. Hewas named CEO in 2013 and stepped down in 2018, becoming a non-executive director.Under his leadership, annual revenues grew from €55m to nearly €1bn.
Kool, who drove the expansion of the business organically at firstand then through a series of acquisitions,says a critical factor in the company’ssuccess was a novel business model.
Infotheek was an early pioneer of the “circular economy”—reducing waste and boosting product lifespans.It buysback companies’depreciatedIT hardware, refurbishes andresells it —at a high margin, he says —to extend the product lifecycle,while reducing customers’ environmental footprint. There’s also a rental service to keep products in circulation.
At first, customers were reluctant to purchase second-hand hardwarebut there’s now a widespread appetitefor sustainable products, Kool says. “We were too early” but “in the long run it obviously helped us”.
Kool’s acquisition strategy was made possible throughequity financing. In 2016,Infotheek sold a majority stake to Altor, a private equity firm based in Sweden.
“We knew we needed to do acquisitions to be able to grow and to survive; the competition was getting more intense and we wanted to diversify into other markets,” he says.
A year later, Infotheek bought upDutch competitorsScholten Awater and Central Point,creating a combined entity with annual revenues ofapproximately €900m.
If you want to build a bigger business, you need to understand what you’re good at and not good at, and then surround yourself with people who fill those gaps.
- Jordy Kool
Invest as a mentor, not just a financier
Kool, a successful dealmaker, notes that acquisitive companies have a tightrope to walk in blending rather than bulldozing corporate culture. “[Integrations are] an ongoing journey of reinvention and learning, but maintaining culture is pretty difficult,” he says.
Koolresigned as Infotheek’sCEO in 2018 to pursue other passions including his family office, which has backedswathes of companies spanning industries fromhealth and wellness to IT and telecoms, among others.
Hetypically invests in mature businesses,with between €1mand €5m of net earnings, which are led by founders who want his guidance, not just his money.
Kool wants to be closely involved in scaling up businesses.“A lot of entrepreneurs are not the best leaders, managers and communicators,” hepoints out, stressing the importance of delegating.“If you want to build a bigger business, you need to understand what you’re good at and not good at, and then surround yourself with people who fill those gaps.”
Living clean and giving back
Koolstarted out in the Netherlands Marine Corps, an elite infantry unit,which laid the foundations for success in leadership roles. During two years of military service,he learnt the importance of discipline and staying calm under pressure to make effective decisions. “You get used to being in a VUCA world,” he says,referring tovolatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.
Koolsigned up for 12 years in the Marines but two ankle injuries led to his early retirement in 1995. He went on to work as a fitness instructor and assistant manager, alongside studying, before going into business. He still keeps himself in good shape.“For me, it’s very important to stay active,” he says.“You also need to take time to sleep and to recuperate. I try to eat very clean and keep a clear mind.”
Kool’s focus on health and fitnessis reflected in his investment portfolio:heownsThe Urban GymGroup, a fitness chain based in the Netherlands, as well as My Local Gym Group.
Also, in 2013,heset up IT4Kids,a foundation that helps children in lower-income families participate in sports.IT4Kids collects used IT hardware from companies and donates its value to charity projects, mostly sportsactivities. Researchshows that participation in sport improves children’s educational attainment and skills development.
Heset up the foundation after reading the news that hundreds of thousands of children were living in poverty in the Netherlands.“Giving these people opportunities makes my heart tick,” says Kool, who reflects on his own childhood: “My parents took two jobs so I could study and buy soccer shoes to do sports.”
He has come a long way, but he doesn’t want to rest on his laurels.Kool is a committed lifelong learner. “I still want to develop myself,” he says, dismissing retirement. For now, he plans to continue to nurture the next generation of business leaders as an investor and advisor. “I get a thrill when I see someone develop,” Kool says. “I want to touch as many lives as possible.”
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