I often say that I grew up professionally at TomTom. I joined the company at age 24 in an internal sales role just before the IPO, and in those early years I saw from close range how much energy people across the organisation put into bringing the consumer product to life. There were strong Product Managers, but what struck me even more was how every department worked together to meet the fast‑growing demand for navigation devices. The sense of shared purpose was unmistakable.
As the company expanded and shifted from devices to services, I moved from sales into product management. That transition became a school of product thinking for me. I had the chance to work with talented Product Managers across the organisation, people I still hold in high regard. Some are still at TomTom. Others are now building products in completely different domains around the world.
When you grow up in an environment like that, you assume this level of product focus is normal. You think every organisation works with the same clarity, the same intensity, the same commitment to building things well. It took years to understand that this culture was not standard everywhere, and that it had quietly become the foundation of my own product DNA. It became the reference point I still carry with me, a quiet reminder of what a product‑driven organisation can be at its best.
Part of the DNA Insights woven through the book The DNA of a Product Manager.
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