Getting to know the new Lanner Management Team – Sander Zweers

As Lanner welcomes a new Management Team to guide us into the future, we would like to introduce you to them a series of blogs, where we get to know them a little better. In this week's blog, we sit down with Lanner's Commercial Officer, Sander Zweers.

Q. Welcome to the Lanner Team! How are you finding your new position as Commercial Officer for Lanner?

A. Let me start by saying it has been a very welcoming environment, which made it a soft landing for me under the circumstances of not being able to travel and meet the people in person. It goes without saying that I’m very much looking forward to doing just that (visit in person) in the near future, as I realise that for some of the team I’m still “someone they only know from the screen”. Nonetheless, it has been an exciting and rewarding few months. I’m impressed by the talent, the passion for our work and our clients, and the “can-do” attitude in Lanner, and proud to be part of that.

Q. You’re also the Royal HaskoningDHV Digital Software Unit’s Chief Commercial Officer, what does this entail?

A. It basically means that I’m responsible for realizing the software commercial growth ambitions, from increasing the size of our business to generating the recurring value for our customers. Of course, it is a team effort, and therefore we need everyone on board to realize our strategic objectives. With Lanner being a key part in our strategy, my role as CCO is very much aligned with my role within Lanner.

Q. Tell us more about yourself! What experience are you bringing to Lanner?

A. I believe I can bring new perspectives to Lanner. Achieve things together we didn’t think we could achieve before, or were not achievable in the previous setting. From 2007 onwards I’ve gained years of experience in leading diverse, cross-cultural teams, business units and commercial initiatives, and I’m confident that we as Lanner will benefit from that. I’m a coastal engineer by background and thus can talk the language of the engineer, but more a business developer by trade, so very much commercially driven. Those together can bridge the gap between strategy and execution. Last but not least, I feel privileged to have worked across the world, in Europe, Africa, and Asia, and know RHDHV inside-out, so hope to connect Lanner to our wider context using my network.

Q. As Lanner is becoming further integrated with RHDHV Digital, it is an exciting time for all involved, but what does this mean for our customers?

A. Lanner is, and should be, very proud of their customers, since they are at the heart of our strategy. I’d like to emphasize that we will continue to deliver the high-quality service our customers are used to, but next to that we now have a far greater offering and services portfolio that we could provide to them. More than ever before we can now build on the triangle between domain expertise, software and data, and within the wider RHDHV context we can do this on a much larger scale and with a global dimension, bringing in new talents, expertise and experience into our company. Think of next steps in DevOps, agile, UX/UI design and product roadmaps using customer advisory boards, but also digital marketing, product managers and support. With leveraging economies of scale and a massive pool of expertise one click away, the service we provide to our customers will really go to a next level.

Q. What other areas of RHDHV Digital is Lanner working closely with, and what opportunities is this creating for Lanner?

A. We have developed an integrated portfolio based on what we call ‘Decision-as-a-service’, and simulation modeling plays a very important role in this. We do this with our own propriety software, like  WITNESS, but also with other models like FlowRoute (from UK-based Ambiental). As a result, Lanner (with their modeling expertise) becomes a closely connected offering to, for example, Aquasuite, thereby penetrating new markets. Of course, the other way around, Lanner is now able to expand their current offering to their existing client base, increasing their already strong market positions. Furthermore, our consultancy colleagues in RHDHV Digital, but also in the other Business Lines, will closely work with Lanner and our modeling software in their project implementations, thereby not only becoming super-users, but also providing us with valuable feedback for the product roadmap. Clearly together we are much stronger than alone.

Q. How do you see digital trends moving in the future? Will predictive simulation and digital twins continue to play a key strategic role for businesses?

A. There is no doubt in my mind that the current digitalization will continue, and even accelerate further. Predictive simulations, IoT, data science and cloud software are just a few examples of the new normal. But also, data becomes increasingly important, not only as an enabler but also as an asset. Combine this with global challenges like climate resilience, water issues, and Industry 4.0, and you more or less have the picture of this changing world with ever-increasing speed. With our combination of domain expertise, data and software, we are uniquely placed to offer our clients solutions against that background. I’m therefore convinced the future for Lanner is full of opportunity!