Lessons in leadership and M&A from Dutch investor Jordy Kool

Jordy Kool, the major Dutch investor, has an old-fashioned method to fight endless work emails: he prints them out on paper and takes handwritten notes that his assistant types up and forwards.  

It’s not environmentally friendly, but he says it’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 owner of multiple companies, and is also a non-executive director. Kool founded Iron Asset Management, a family office, in 2016 after a distinguished corporate career.  

An alumnus of IMD, he was speaking in an interview with Jean-François Manzoni, the President of IMD, as part of his CEO Interview Series.  

Kool, chosen as Computable Magazine’s CEO of the Year in 2015, joined Infotheek Group in 2009 as chief commercial officer. He was named CEO in 2013 an…