Luc van duren
COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, EUROPE
What is your current role? How long have you worked for Monument?
I am a Commercial Development Manager at the Belgian site. I joined the team in 1990 in a technical-commercial role for our tolling activity. During those 18 years, I worked with a competent multi-functional team at the plant – all the time developing new business opportunities that fit the plant. When Monument purchased our site 10 years ago, a key priority was the development of a product portfolio – and I was happy to volunteer to be a part of it, so that I could try something new.
What is your favorite part of what you do?
And what a fantastic opportunity it has been! After 10 years, I still find Monument’s entrepreneurial way of working really exciting. In most chemical production environments, there is a push for stability – but at Monument, we’re always looking to push beyond the borders to explore new products, new technologies, new markets, and new regions. When new possibilities come along, there are always many reasons to articulate “why not,” but it is far more interesting to find that one good reason why we truly have to give it a try – and realize our next growth opportunity. And that is what we do! If it makes sense, strategically or sometimes opportunistically, we go for it. I spend about 75% of my time on new business development. Some opportunities prove not to be as fantastic as originally planned; but then we jointly decide to step away from it – and take the learnings with us and beginning discussing “What’s next?”
It’s simply a great learning experience – and exciting – to be in a developing role in an environment like ours, with excellent support around us.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
My wife and I have two grown daughters (ages 24 and 25) who are now living on their own. It’s great to see how they have steered their lives, and even their boyfriends are bringing interesting new perspectives and ideas into our house – which is enriching to all of us. Our families are very precious to us, and we spend a lot of time together – especially these days!
I love traveling, both for my job and in my private life. I love to discover new cultures, beautiful places, or intriguing wild life. That fits well with one of my other passions: photography. These days, my pictures have definitely featured more locations near my house, but I am confident that this will change (hopefully very soon).
What is the most surprising thing about you?
For the past two years, I have volunteered at a small organization in Ghent that supports children who have moved to Belgium, but don’t speak sufficient Dutch yet. I’m a big fan of continuous learning, so it’s been rewarding to help young students learn to communicate – which is essential for feeling more at home in their new community. Right now, I’m working with a six-year-old little girl from Chechnya, a small republic close to Russia. I used to go and visit her once or twice per week at their apartment in the city. Nowadays, we communicate via Whatsapp or Teams – and work together on some of her homework or practicing reading and math.
No matter how challenging my day has been, those precious conversations always put life back into perspective – and remind me of the days when my own girls were young. Time moves way too quickly, so it’s important to enjoy every moment!