After 6 years at Desso, first 5 ½ years as CEO and later
½ year as Chairman of the company and the Supervisory Board, Stef
Kranendijk has decided to leave Desso to pursue other options via
which he will be better able to help implement the Circular
Economy* in other Industry Sectors.
Stef Kranendijk joined Desso on April 2, 2007 as co-owner
and CEO and since then has been instrumental in repositioning Desso
as one of the leading carpet companies in Europe by implementing a
clear and successful innovation strategy focused on creative
design, functionality and sustainability leading to significant
growth of the company. In the process, Stef has been a vocal and
public advocate of transforming the linear economy into a circular
one, the Cradle to Cradle® approach, and has put
Desso on an irreversible path to sustainable
entrepreneurship.
Following this transformation and the completion of
the leadership transition to the new CEO, Alexander Collot
d'Escury, Stef has decided to leave Desso. Stef intends to continue
focusing on implementing profitable strategies at other companies
based on corporate social responsibility, in particular promoting
the Circular Economy*. This move is in parallel to Stef's recent
election as Chairman of De Groene Zaak, a group of more than 155
companies that are leaders in bringing sustainability in the centre
of their business strategy given that this also leads to better
financial results.
Eric-Joost Ernst, who will succeed Stef as Chairman
of the Supervisory Board, comments:"The Supervisory Board and the
Executive Board are very grateful for Stef's huge contribution to
Desso over the past six years. We will miss his strategic insight,
his inspiration, his focus on results, commercial drive and passion
for the environment, but his conceptions will live on in Desso's
strategy. We wish Stef all the best for the future."
Stef Kranendijk comments: "I have had a fantastic,
transformational, time at Desso and am highly impressed with the
quality of the people at Desso and the speed by which the whole
organization was able to transform itself from a regular carpet and
artificial grass manufacturer to a highly innovative and successful
company with a focus on innovation, geographical expansion and
communication. Innovation has been driven by Creativity to foster
superior design, Functionality to improve quality of life and
Cradle to Cradle®
to rethink design, improve health and promote the circular
economy*. I know I leave Desso in excellent leadership hands with
Alexander Collot d'Escury as CEO and Tom Francken as CFO with their
hands on the steering wheel. I wish all the people who I worked
with so well a great future and I will miss them."
Stef has become a thought leader on the effectiveness
of Cradle to Cradle®
in turning the linear economy in a circular economy* speaking
at many occasions to CEO's and government leaders (eg. most
recently at The World Economic Forum in Davos), to architects, end
users and opinion leaders. Stef has also regularly presented the
'Desso Case' to students at executive programs at the London
Business School, Cranfield University, Exeter University, IMD
Lausanne, Rotterdam School of Management and at many other
occasions, thereby making the point that companies putting
sustainability/Cradle to Cradle® at the heart of their
business strategy will prosper.
Next to his Chairmanship of De Groene Zaak, Stef is
also Chairman of the Amsterdam Maritime Museum (Het
Scheepvaartmuseum), Member of the Board of the Rotterdam
Sustainability Initiative financing the Cradle to Cradle® Chair at Rotterdam School
of Management, Member of the Board of the Ubbo Emmius Fund at the
University of Groningen and is active in several other
Boards.
Note: * We currently live in a linear economy where products turn into waste for landfill or incineration (to burn the waste). In the circular economy we strive to design and make products of pure materials and in such a way that they are easy to disassemble after use. This way the components and its raw materials can be re-used again and again.
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