Menno is currently working as CIO for VDL Groep, driving digital and IT transformation for
the 105 companies in VDL Groep. This includes Industry 4.0, Cloud and AI components,
but also upgrading of the underlying infrastructure to enable these new developments.
Prior to this role, Menno has been the founder and Managing Director for the newly
founded VDL Enabling Transport Solutions (ETS) company in September 2015. VDL ETS
is aimed to providing (technical) solutions for the e-mobility market for heavy duty transport
(bus, truck, AGV) in the broad sense. Solutions include vehicle concepts (including
prototype vehicles), e-mobility building blocks, charging infrastructure, alternative energy
systems (hydrogen), energy storage, connectivity, software solutions and new business
models.
After transferring the MD role for VDL ETS to his successor in January 2021, Menno has
continued to be active and involved in the important automotive developments in VDL
Groep, such as batteries, hydrogen, autonomous driving and connectivity.
Menno throughout his professional life, has been working in business environments facing
technical and business model disruptions and has successfully managed these in various
instances. His passion is to drive these from a customer, user and technical perspective
and form teams to successfully storm these disruptions.
Previously, Menno has been working in various business and marketing positions in
different Philips divisions. Prior to his current position, Menno occupied a number of
international business management and marketing posts at Philips Lighting, Philips
Business Electronics and Philips Semiconductors / NXP Semiconductors. In his last role
as VP & GM Indoor Professional Lighting Solutions Europe, he was responsible for the transition from conventional to LED lighting in the professional luminaires business of
Philips.
A Dutch national, Menno holds a master’s degree in business administration from the
Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands. Menno Kleingeld was born in 1972;
he is married and has 2 children.