Introducing Jacqueline Pieters
Jacqueline Pieters is a non-executive board member of several innovative F&A Companies and chairman of Wageningen University Fund. Previously she was a senior banker and has 30 years of experience in global food & agribusiness (F&A), skilled in acquisitions, financing, management and strategy.
In this interview, Jacqueline shares her contribution to feeding the world within its planetary boundaries, as well as her perspective on helping companies to become more sustainable.
What is your perspective on change?
“Change is the only stable thing in life. It’s what nature teaches us with its seasonal cycles. Whenever you get older, you have to adapt to new situations and phases. It’s like what Darwin said: the species that best adapt to their changing environment are the ones that have the best chance to survive. And that’s how I look at change.”
Do you personally experience change often?
“Well, I don’t experience it every day because that would be exhausting! [laughs, then continues] I experience change every time I meet new people, get new insights, get new ideas, … change happens as long as I keep an open mind. Speaking of open minds, if you are willing to listen to the other side of a story, change will happen as it helps you to rethink your position and see the perspectives of the other.”
"The species that best adapt to their changing environment are the ones that have the best chance to survive."
Are you ever change averse?
“Oh absolutely! When I feel exhausted, stressed… especially when I’m feeling insecure. Those are the moments when I am less open for change and less open to new ideas.”
How are you driving purposeful change?
“I would like to answer that with two examples, a smaller and a bigger step towards change.
Early 2020, just before Corona, I wondered what I could do differently every day, and I decided to prioritize my transportation options. The first option was to walk or cycle, the second option was to take public transportation, and the least preferred option was to go by car. As a result, I cycled 9.000 kilometers in the first year! [laughing].
The second example is my change in work at the end of 2020. Ever since I was a student at Wageningen University, I’ve had the purpose to help feed the world. That is why I started as agricultural engineer at Rabobank, the global Food & Agriculture (F&A) bank. The bank provided a perfect combination of finance and agriculture, enabling me to have a meaningful impact on the global food system. For 28 years I worked with great pleasure for this bank, but at a certain moment in time I thought ‘If I can’t make the purposeful change I would love to make within this company, now is the time to use my experience and knowledge outside the organization.’ And this is something that I’ve tried to do since I left the company, using my expertise, knowledge and networks to help other companies to become successful and sustainable in the F&A. Currently, I have non-executive board positions with Aqua Spark, an investment company in sustainable fish; and with Calysta, a scale-up in the U.S. that produces protein from natural gas by using fermentation (this could potentially become huge); I’m chairman of the University Fund Wageningen where we use philanthropic funds from individuals, foundations and others to stimulate and accelerate research, talent and entrepreneurship; I’m in the board of Breadfruit House, an educational foundation in Dominica; and I’m chairman of the advisory board of Openfoodchain, a blockchain company active from farm to fork. So, to sum up, I would say that I’m helping to drive purposeful change by using my knowledge, experience and connections.”
"In my opinion, sustainability should be an integrated part of your core business; and that’s what I’m trying to help companies with.[...] And it doesn’t have to be 100% right from the start, it can be a gradual process but with clear and tangible goals."
What is your experience and view of companies trying to become sustainable?
“Many companies don’t know how to start or how to make it tangible and assume they need to choose between sustainability or profit.
I’ve seen CEOs on stage with fantastic sustainability stories. But if you dig into companies’ KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), you see that many are still using the same old KPIs. They tend to keep sustainability next to the core business. Whenever I see a company with a Sustainability Department, I get suspicious…. It’s as if they were saying ‘oh, as long as we have them, we can continue doing things in the same way as we have always done them’. In my opinion, sustainability should be an integrated part of your core business; and that’s what I’m trying to help companies with. Doing your business, within your framework of sustainability goals and keep the flexibility to change, adapt and learn. And it doesn’t have to be 100% right from the start, it can be a gradual process but with clear and tangible goals.”
What are some of the key challenges and opportunities for companies (to truly become more sustainable)?
“I think that there are two main challenges for companies to truly become sustainable, one is the uncertainty of time; generally, the question is how much time do I need and how much time do I get to make the necessary changes? The other main challenge is profitability, as many externalities like carbon emissions, water pollution and more, are not (or not enough) included in the cost of production. And the investments you need to make for externality reduction won’t immediately result in an improvement of profits or in a reduction of risks. So, to make this work, you need time, slow capital, a forward-looking board and investors, the right innovations, and a level playing field provided by governments.
But please be aware that next to challenges there are also opportunities involved when companies implement sustainability in their business. For instance, they can create new markets and new products; reduce costs by reducing waste; become a more attractive employer to new talent and be better prepared for the future. As doing nothing also has its risks and potential costs.”
"I think that’s one of the major roles of the Supervisory Board, to bring the outside perspective inside.”
You hold various functions in Supervisory Boards. In your view, what is the role of the Supervisory Board in driving purposeful change within organizations?
“Supervisory Boards (SBs) have three functions: the role of employer, supervisor and advisor of the managing board. Regarding all three, the SB can have an influence on purposeful change as it starts with the choice of leadership; which is instrumental in the direction a company takes. The SB advises leadership on strategy; and then through supervision can ensure that strategy is indeed implemented and goals are reached. Also, the function of the SB is to do what’s best for the company and its stakeholders in the long run. Especially this long-term perspective enables the SB to help embed sustainability in the core business: by questioning, advising and supervising the results. As an independent non-executive, I noticed that I’m particularly able to raise the more ‘uncomfortable’ questions as my interest is only the company in the long term. Sometimes the Managing Board (MB) is so busy managing the company, that it’s difficult to see the obvious and remain openminded of what’s happening outside. I think that’s one of the major roles of the SB, to bring the outside perspective inside.”
What motivates you to continue working in this field and what do you hope to achieve?
“I hope that the companies I’m working with will have a meaningful impact on feeding the world within the planetary boundaries. That’s my aim and it motivates me to continue working in this field. Personally, I hope I can provide different perspectives and name the elephant(s) in the room when necessary. I don’t have a personal agenda apart from doing the right thing for the company. I hope that makes my role impactful, or at least, honest.”
Is there a particular resource that inspired you which you would like to share with others?
“Wageningen University and Rabobank Research provides quite some interesting articles about new innovations and research. I also read quite a bit about new companies, particularly regarding new startups and innovations in AFN & Ag Funder. But there are three people in particular that inspire me in my ambition to ‘feed the world’:
The first person is Frans Timmermans, as I’m impressed by his contribution to the European Green Deal. Although there are things to be said against some aspects of the Green Deal, he was persistent and purposeful in a very difficult environment, which I admire.
The second person I look up to is my mother, the first female dairy engineer in the Netherlands, who was a sustainability activist already in the 1970s. She was particularly interested in saving energy and did not only lecture this but applied her ideas to our house hold as well. To illustrate, only 1/3 of our house was heated, which mend I had to wear a jacket to watch the television.
And the third person that inspires me is Feike Sijbesma, the ex-CEO of DSM. At DSM, he implemented sustainability at the core of the business and he is still very active in explaining and helping companies to truly embed sustainability in their business. It’s good that someone at that level remains true to his beliefs.”
If you could give 3 tips about embracing change and driving it purposefully towards a positive outcome, what would those tips be?
“My 3 tips would be:
First, decide what you really would like to change and why this would make you happy. Change starts with you as a person and needs to have meaning for you.
Second, define what your role could be in this change. This depends on your expertise, the moment in your life, the context, etc.
And finally, start. Start to act. Don’t wait until something big comes along; begin with something and try different things. You will then see if something comes out of it and what survives from those attempts.”
Do you consider yourself to be a change misfit[1]?
“I consider myself a free and independent mind. I think that if you don’t have a lot of ballast to carry, it’s easier to move, change and adapt. So maybe in that respect I am a misfit, yes.”
Want to know more about Jacqueline and what drives her? Have a look at these resources.
Jacqueline’s LinkedIn profile
Scale Up Nation article: “Why are entrepreneurs and VCs willing to share control with an outside party?”
[1] A misfit is a term used to describe a situation where there is a mismatch. Human beings are hard wired to be change averse, yet some of us embrace change. We call this type of person a ‘change misfit’.
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