Calvi Heroes: Eric van den Bogaert

About Eric

“My name is Eric and I was one of Calvi's first employees. I am married and between the two of us, we have 5 kids. How I got to where I am today is perhaps not the most exciting story. I graduated with a degree in Radio Diagnostics and immediately started working at a hospital as a lab technician. As time passed, I realized this was not what I wanted to be doing for the rest of my life. After three years I made the decision to go back to school and pursue a degree in Energy Technology. My first job in this field was with Phillips, where I was an Electrical Maintenance Engineer. It was here that I got the chance to work on the Megachip project. This project enabled us to produce computer chips with a 2MB memory (which was a huge deal at the time). After this, I ended up at KPN, which is where I met Calvi's founding fathers. I remember my job interview with Leo in his apartment like it was yesterday. At that time Calvi was still just an idea, a vision, but I truly believed that it was a vision that would grow into something extraordinary. At that point in my life, I thought “I’ve got nothing to lose, so why not do it?!”.”

“Fast forward 23 years and I’m still working at Calvi. I started my job with no experience in the field of consultancy, so this was definitely a big challenge for me. Over the years I have gained a lot of experience and have grown smarter every day. During my first years with Calvi, local municipalities were confronted with a new law concerning telecom connectivity and infrastructure. I spent some time touring the country and giving workshops on this topic. As our organization grew, our focus shifted, and I became a full-time Consultant for our customers.”

What is your responsibility at Calvi?

“My main responsibility is the implementation of our solution at our customers. Currently, I’m involved in a few new projects with customers. During a project phase, I’m not only responsible for the implementation of our solution but also serve as the bridge between a customer and the internal organization. My primary role lies in the functional and technical aspects of software implementation. I am also one of the people who listens to our customers to find out what they are struggling with. I translate these struggles into wishes, which I then take back to the organization to see how we can help.”

How would you like customers to describe your department?

“I certainly hope they see us as specialists, as people who can help find the solution or answer to any question, problem, or challenge. I want them to feel comfortable enough to involve us in everything they are dealing with. We may not know the answer to every question, but we will always do the best we can to help them find a solution to their problems. We never hesitate to research any inquiry our customers have.”

What was your best experience at Calvi?

“I’ve had a lot of great experiences during my time here, to be honest. My best experience is a continuous one: I am always expanding my horizon and pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone. One of those boundaries and probably the most memorable experience was a presentation I did for the Chamber of Commerce about the reduction of telecom expenses. I was told that 12 people would be attending the presentation, but it turned out that 100 people registered to join! Before the presentation, I was given a microphone and was told I would be standing in front of a larger group than expected. This was very exciting – and a bit nerve-wracking - because I had never done anything like this before. I got a pep talk from my colleague before heading on stage and delivering my presentation to the 100-man audience.”

“My second-best experience at Calvi was in 2000. In that year I gave a presentation about the state of the telecom industry in 2020, in front of 300 people. The speaker who went on stage before me really got grilled by the presenter, so I was definitely feeling the pressure. Fortunately, my presentation went very well, and I received lots of positive feedback.”

“Even now I still get a kick out of working with our customers, both old and new. I get a great feeling when we arrive at the point of going live; it’s the icing on the cake after having put in so much time and energy into a project. It gives me a good feeling to be able to see the project through to completion.” 

  “It’s always nice when you work closely with a customer and they listen to the advice you give, that’s how a customer becomes part of the process.”

How would you describe the working environment at Calvi?

“Personally, I think this is a very difficult question. We’ve grown so much and a lot has changed, this is very noticeable in the working environment. I think this is partly due to the fact that we now have three working locations. The ambiance is still very good, even though our workload is heavy.”

“For some of our new projects we created task force teams. These teams focus on specific projects for our customers, such as an implementation or an upgrade. I believe that this is useful for the general ambiance, which is very focused - one team, one job. It is an incredibly efficient way of working; what we achieve in a small period of time is unparalleled. This is also something that doesn’t go unnoticed by our customers.”

Calvi in three words:

"Progressive, professional and honest"

“What we can do with our software is perfectly normal for us but for our customers, it opens doors to new possibilities. Our professionalism and expertise are more than just ‘added benefits’: we know what our solution is capable of and have a wealth of in-house knowledge. Furthermore, we always practice what we preach, allowing for honest and open conversations.”

Personal motto:

“My personal motto is a quote from the A-team:

 “I love it when a plan comes together”

 This is something that really describes my job and the role I play within this organization.”

A workplace that you love isn't easy to come by. Are you interested in becoming part of our amazing team? Check out our career page to see whether we have an application open that fits you, or send us an unsolicited application.