Meet Jan-Paul van der Voet, Business Unit Director of PEZY Groningen

With over a decade at PEZY and more than twenty years of experience in product development, Jan-Paul plays a key role in connecting technical expertise with long-term client partnerships. From guiding multidisciplinary teams to collaborating with global clients and overseeing PEZY’s Pilot Factory, his work sits at the heart of innovation and execution. In this interview, Jan-Paul shares his perspective on leadership, collaboration, and what makes working at PEZY both challenging and rewarding.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and your role at PEZY?

I am the Business Unit Director of PEZY’s Groningen office, the largest and oldest location of the company. In this role, I am responsible for managing the business unit, developing our people and teams, and ensuring the optimal operation of our facilities, including the Pilot Factory.

A key part of my work is maintaining and further developing long-term client relationships, particularly with our largest and longest-standing clients. Many of these are multinational companies, both in the Netherlands and internationally. My focus is on providing strong technical advice and high-quality service, with the goal of building sustainable partnerships and ensuring client satisfaction.

My background supports this role. I spent over twenty years at Philips, which gave me deep experience with the dynamics, decision-making, and collaboration typical of large international organizations. This experience helps me align PEZY’s capabilities with the context and needs of our clients, positioning us as a trusted and expert development partner.

How long have you been with PEZY?

Since 2013, so thirteen years now.

What attracted you to join PEZY?

Several things. First, the diversity of clients and projects. PEZY works across multiple sectors, meaning you are constantly exposed to new challenges and contexts. This makes the work varied and intellectually stimulating.

I was also drawn to PEZY’s integrated way of working. Here, we collaborate across disciplines to guide products from concept through to production preparation. Combining design, engineering, and manufacturability, supported by our own test and prototype facilities, fits perfectly with my view of product development.

Finally, the culture was a major factor: a no-nonsense organization with strong craftsmanship, openness, and short lines of communication. This is evident both in how our teams operate internally and in the way we engage with clients.

What are your main challenges at PEZY?

The core challenge is connecting PEZY’s expertise, capabilities, and facilities with our clients’ needs. This requires active listening, thoughtful advice, and building trust—especially in long-term collaborations with international organizations.

When PEZY teams and client teams collaborate effectively and this leads to strong results and satisfied clients, it is extremely rewarding. I see this connection between people, expertise, and execution as a key success factor.

What does a typical workday look like for you?

No two days are the same. A significant part of my time is spent engaging with clients: discussing ongoing projects, future developments, and strategic topics. Often, this involves brainstorming and advisory discussions rather than addressing immediate tasks.

I am also responsible for managing the Groningen business unit. This involves oversight of projects, quality, schedules, and budgets, as well as supporting the development and well-being of our staff. The Pilot Factory is an important asset in this, as it plays a crucial role in testing, validating, and accelerating product development.

I also coordinate regularly with PEZY’s management team on strategy, collaboration between locations, and the further development of the company.

PEZY Groningen

What do you enjoy most about working at PEZY?

The combination of content, people, and diversity. I work on complex, varied projects with different clients and multidisciplinary teams. What makes it especially rewarding is collaborating closely with the people at our client organizations. Developing solutions together, sharing knowledge, and operating as a unified team makes the work both professionally and personally fulfilling.

Which project are you most proud of?

One project that stands out is the Shavy project. It was a complex three-year collaboration involving a combined team of PEZY and the client, along with international partners including a German design agency and a supplier from Japan. The teamwork was highly professional and effective, and it is still cited as an example of how complex development projects can be successfully executed.

The project clearly demonstrated PEZY’s strengths: technical development, project management, and production preparation, supported by our own facilities. The client explicitly recognized PEZY as the partner needed for these aspects, which remains a source of pride for me.