His education and work experience fit seamlessly with the needs of Salacia Solutions. Eelco Hanraads, 42, recently became Chief Product Officer at Salacia Solutions. He first studied Business Informatics, after which he obtained a Master’s degree in General Management from Nyenrode Business University. What followed was a successful career at LG Electronics, Operations and Account Management at SaaS scale-up Qelp. There he moved on to Product Management. “That company was taken over, product management had been the founder’s domain until then, and I jumped into the breach after the takeover,” says Eelco. “It suited my work and general interest in business and IT. Software development is basically a creative process. In my role as Product Manager, I democratize the process and build bridges between employees and departments. You take ownership of the software team, you monitor and direct. You facilitate the developers. The nice thing about this is that you work a lot with young people, which gives you energy. At Salacia, those aspects are also addressed.”
Moving more towards impact
After eight years, the company Eelco worked for was acquired for the second time. For him, this was a sign to look further. Eelco: “By then I knew I wanted to move more towards impact. I focused on companies that make a social impact and have a technical element. My interests were and are in energy transition and the environment.” Eelco started working as a trainer for scale-ups and visited interesting parties. “For example, I spent a year at a scale-up in energy transition. They were making software for purchasing, trading and planning renewable energy. A real e-consultancy company.”
When a company starts up, the founder usually still plays a role in production
In his search, Eelco came across a list presented by Change Inc. There he looked for tech companies with 20 to 50 employees, but no Chief Product Officer was yet active. “When a company starts out, the production role usually still lies with the founder,” Eelco concludes. “As the company grows, that role must be handed over. The tipping point is between 20 and 50 employees. Salacia Solutions caught my eye in the Change Inc. Top 100. I contacted them and spoke with Kees Kerstens, and we immediately hit it off. That’s how I was able to start working in the role of Chief Product Officer.”
‘Creating head space’
Eelco will structure and scale the business, manage people and work in a results-oriented manner. “I’ve only just started, but I’ve noticed that various clients are demanding a lot from Salacia. It is important to create a good roadmap. For the financier, but primarily for the team to give guidance. Priorities must be set, plans must be made to create head space and focus. People must be able to fully focus on the work for which they were hired. Salacia is growing organically with people who are enormously committed. That can also be a pitfall: when people pick up more work their role entails, tasks become hidden under the surface. This creates undercurrent. We are going to work on preventing product debt. Salacia is a well-growing, ambitious company. We are going to accelerate by keeping up the flow. The structure we are going to introduce should not be at the expense of the speed we have here. This is where my practical experience comes in very handy!”
The spark is 100% there
“I really ‘clicked’ at Salacia. The spark is 100% there and it has sparked the fire in me. The diversity among the staff is refreshing and the drive these people have is heartwarming. That vibe, that enormous commitment, I can do a lot with that.”
