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Maiko Van Der Meer
Director Novish / Consultant/ Board member
Professional Background
Maiko Van Der Meer is a prominently skilled professional in the international agri-food and specialty ingredients industries, known for her inspirational approach and an agile mindset that blends strategic vision with practical execution. Over the years, Maiko has built an extensive career working across various roles within fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and B-to-B sectors. Her diverse experience encompasses both brand development and private label products, positioning her as a well-rounded leader in her field.
Currently, Maiko is involved with M.A.I.K.O. Consultancy, where she excels in offering consultancy services that focus on supporting investors in their mergers and acquisitions activities. Her international mindset and hands-on mentality enable her to navigate complex market landscapes and deliver valuable insights to clients seeking opportunities within the agri-food sector. As she continues to expand her influence, Maiko is actively seeking board and non-executive roles in the international agri-food industry to further leverage her expertise and vision.
Education and Achievements
Maiko's academic background laid a strong foundation for her successful career. She earned her VWO diploma from the Ichthus College, which set the stage for her advanced studies. She pursued a Master's degree in Chemistry at Utrecht University, sharping her analytical skills and understanding of complex scientific principles. Following her passion for business management, Maiko completed an MBA at the University of Twente, empowering her with strategic management capabilities essential for corporate leadership.
Throughout her career, Maiko has held numerous esteemed positions that highlight her dedication to the agri-food domain. Notable roles include Chief Executive Officer at Klaas Puul B.V. and Chief Commercial Officer at Vion Food Group. These leadership positions showcase her capability to drive commercial success and foster innovation within dynamic organizations. Additionally, Maiko played a significant role as the CEO of Marine Harvest Consumer Products at Marine Harvest Group, where she demonstrated her ability to manage and grow consumer-oriented business lines effectively.
Maiko has not only thrived in corporate roles but has also contributed to the development of upcoming talent in the field. She served as a student mentor at StartHub Wageningen, where she provided guidance and support to aspiring professionals seeking to establish themselves in the agri-food industry. Her involvement reflects her commitment to nurturing the next generation of leaders by sharing knowledge and offering industry insights.
Achievements
Maiko's career is adorned with substantial achievements that underscore her expertise in various sectors. As an interim and board consultant, she guided companies through transitional periods, enhancing their strategic outlook and operational efficiency. Her earlier position as a global business manager for oleochemicals at Unilever further illustrates her versatile skill set and ability to manage diverse portfolios across international markets.
Furthermore, Maiko's significant experience as Vice President of Food Ingredients and Flavors as well as Vice President of Catalysts at Unilever solidifies her reputation as a leading thinker and innovator in food technology and ingredient solutions. She impacts product development and marketing strategies at a global scale.
In her various roles, Maiko has not only focused on financial performance but also emphasized sustainable practices, which is a crucial consideration in today's agri-food landscape. Her work often involves balancing stakeholder interests, promoting sustainability, and advocating for responsible food sourcing and production methods.
Maiko's collaborative nature is evident through her affiliations, such as her time as a board advisor at Foppen Paling en Zalm, where she contributed to enhancing the company's strategic vision and operational performance within the seafood sector. Her tenure as a co-founder and director at Novish B.V. added to her portfolio of experience as she leveraged her knowledge in developing innovative solutions in food technology.
Her continued efforts to explore and adapt to market shifts boldly positions Maiko as a thought leader in the agri-food domain. By continuously expanding her network and seeking non-executive opportunities, she aims to facilitate greater collaborations within the industry aimed at addressing contemporary challenges and unlocking new growth avenues for businesses.
Future Directions
With a wealth of experience and a clear vision for the future, Maiko Van Der Meer is poised for exciting new ventures within the international agri-food landscape. Her commitment to sustainable practices, combined with a strategic and creative approach to business, allows her to contribute positively to the industry’s evolution. As she navigates upcoming opportunities, there is no doubt that Maiko will continue to inspire, leading initiatives that promote innovation, sustainability, and growth in the agri-food sector.
Achievements
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Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
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Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.