https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=16680162&trk=spm_pic

Professional psychological scientist with many years of experience leading research projects in academia, in research institutes and in industry.
I have a background in experimental psychology and methodology/statistics and some twenty five years of experience in psychological and perception research, mostly in the context of food related perception and choice.
I am interested in applied as well as in fundamental research. I find that applied research can benefit from a good theoretical background, while at the same time, theory can benefit from findings in applied contexts. Ideally they go hand-in-hand.
I love analysing complex problems and breaking them down into smaller units. An important part of this is the formulation of the research problem. A research question is not always formulated in a way that allows it being studied and answered. It is often necessary to find out what the problem underlying the question is. If existing methodology is not sufficient I devise new research methods and develop new ideas to solve research problems. Reporting, publishing and presenting scientific findings is an important part of the process. Research findings must be turned into understandable and usable solutions so that the initial asker of the question, be they providers of subsidies or academic or commercial research partners, can use the findings.

Science leader/senior manager Consumer Science and LT (‘Leadership Team’) member of the Spreads & Dressings R&D team; Core member of the Consumer Perception and Behaviour Community of Practice of Unilever R&D, Vlaardingen, NL (March 2013 – April 2014).
Science leader/senior manager, Project Leader and LT member of the department Sensation, Perception and Behaviour, Unilever R&D (January 2007 – February 2013).
Honorary Professor of Sensory and Consumer Science at the University of Copenhagen (October 2009-ongoing).
Senior scientist, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Centre for Innovative Consumer Studies (now Restaurant of the Future), NL (September 2002 – December 2006).
Associate Professor Marketing Science, Faculty of Economics, University of Groningen, NL (September 2003 – September 2006).
Senior scientist, TNO Food and Nutrition Research, NL (February 2002 – September 2002).
Associate research professor (July 1999 – July 2002) and Guest associate research professor Sensory Science (Augustus 2002 – December 2004), KVL, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (now University of Copenhagen), Copenhagen, Denmark.
Research scientist/head of Consumer & Sensory studies, ID-Lelystad, Institute for Animal Science and Animal Health (January 1995 – may 1999).
Research scientist, Econometrics/Economics, EIM (now Panteia), Zoetermeer, the Netherlands (October 1993 - January 1995).
Data analyst, Consumer studies, OP&P Product Research. (January 1987 - October 1993).
Student/assistant, Psychological Laboratory, University of Utrecht (March 1984 - January 1987).

I have been a guitar player in rhythm and blues quintet Simply Blues for over twenty years. I am interested in the history and developments of this and related types of music and in the electric guitar in particular. In 2012 I’ve privately produced (written, played, recorded) a set of songs on a demo CD Sketches for Songs. Since 2006, I play the guitar in blues band The Guests, who perform several times per year, and recorded a demo CD Almost there in 2014.