About Jeroen Verkroost
14 April, 2006
After having studied marketing and mass communications, in 1995 I discovered the internet. I was sure this would change into the global way that people and companies would connect and communicate.
I had been dabbling in PR and marketing for a while, but the moment the internet bug hit me I felt I just HAD to get in there. I really wanted to build my career learning to understand this new medium. It was really exiting to think about all the implications, even if I could only see so few at that moment…
Professional
I started out with VNU (now Nielsen Company), eventually managing the internet department of national business directory Scoot. After a couple of years I moved to start a local Dutch ISP service for Finnish telco Sonera (now TeliaSonera) and then to local top 3 ISP WISH, as portal architect and commercial director respectively. While at WISH I concepted and published the national monthly magazine Netgeneration (distribution 219.000 per issue).
From there I moved to Veronica, then an independent media company with print, radio TV and online activities in Holland. This is where I really learned to think and breathe crossmedia. At Veronica my responsibilities included all activities around internet, teletext (ceefax) and some mobile publishing. When Veronica joined the SBS Broadcasting group I became business unit manager and was P&L responsible for the internet portals of the 3 Dutch national TV stations; SBS6, Net5 en Veronica (joint market share 30% nationwide).
After a years’ adventure in the embryonic world of IPTV (Content and Product Director at Dutch national Telco KPN’s interactive TV company MediaMall) I have lived in Belgium from 2006 to 2009, joining Microsoft’s MSN in Brussels. After living and working in Belgium for about three years we have now moved back to the Netherlands, where I currently am responsible for the content, editorial team and business results of MSN.nl as the Dutch Executive Producer.
Personal
Writing has always been a favorite pastime. I have started my blog copypaste.nl in 2005, and every now and then I appear on other blogs as a guest blogger. My professional interests are commercial media, interaction and crossmedia content concepts. Besides that I love gadgets and gaming, so I blog about all of these subjects. Another passion is to talk shop and coach, so apart from being a manager I have also worked with the good people of the Dutch MBA Crossmedia as a guest teacher; it love to share my enthusiasm and passion face-to-face with students.
At home I’m mostly glued to my PC or Xbox, but I also like reading Edge and Wired magazines and books by Douglas Adams, Jack Vance, Kurt Vonnegut or Roger Zelazny. I’m always looking to connect with creative people that manage to shape their energy into things they want to achieve while keeping a sense of humour and modesty. I love going to Vlieland (a dutch isle) each year for a short stay, I like to visit London and New York. I love the landscape of Tuscany, British humor, Scotch whisky, American competitive spirit, Belgian hospitality and Dutch directness :)
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