About me

Pieter Van Kerkhove - Freelance Project & Portfolio Manager with proven experience in leading teams and coaching individuals

Leading, coaching and mentoring a team that is managing projects and managing projects myself is what gives me that fire inside. I enjoy the most to create an environment where we go the extra mile, deliver value, offer opportunities to grow, do the right things and do things right. 

If I am asked what is the best project management methodology? 

In my view there is no "right" project management methodolgy. The best methodology is what makes sense and is most suitable for the project, team and client. Often that means combining traditional and Agile practices to best accommodate numerous project requirements.

My professional life?

I started my career working for Mebumar performing topographic surveys in The Nederlands for 'Rijkswaterstaat'. Then I worked for N-VIRO tec as project manager construction of water treatment systems. In 1998 I started working for Tele Atlas & TomTom creating digital maps of the world. This in various roles:

  • From driving 'every" road in East- and West-Flanders to driving the first TomTom mobile mapping van
  • From supporting GIS customers in Belgium & the Netherlands to leading projects for various high tech and automotive customers

Throughout a substantial part of my career, I have led a team of project managers and data engineers, overseeing a wide array of mapping projects for several leading technology and automotive companies. Building maps has been one of the most thrilling challenges I've faced, requiring cross-functional problem-solving across engineering and operations. There's a wealth of uniqueness in the world to explore, a variety of cultures to collaborate with, and a constant drive to push the boundaries of new features and internal automation.

In 2022, I made the decision to realign my career with my passions. I transitioned to freelance project and portfolio management consulting, employing my distinctive no-nonsense approach to deliver maximum impact. Committed to ongoing personal and professional development, I continually invest in myself to better serve my clients.

For more details see LinkedIn

Other things about me?

  • In my younger years I was a 'people-pleaser' and 'nice guy', I was 99% externally oriented often prioritizing others 'urgent' requests. My typical response to continuous-growing workload was to work harder and put in longer hours. Now I step back and examine what makes us do this and focus on finding new ways of operating
  • I am inspired by Marc Herremans (ironman triathlete) who amazed me with his incredible mental strength and perseverance after a horrific accident that broke his back and left him paralyzed
  • I live 'blissfully dissatisfied' which means I have a happy life while at the same time I remain dissatisfied because I know there is always a next level
  • I am straight to the point and less is more, I always take action and respect the time of the people around me. What can be done in half an hour, really takes no longer than thirty minutes
  • My favorite books are
    • To walk again (Marc Herremans)
    • Nonviolent communication (Marshall B. Rosenberg) - A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships
    • Verbaal meesterschap (Remco Claassen) - The ultimate handbook for people who want to be heard
    • Good Strategy/Bad Strategy (Richard Rumelt)
    • 7 habits of highly effective people (Stephen R. Covey)
    • Leidinggeven zonder bevelen. De outputmanager (Filip Vandendriessche en Jef Clement)
    • The art of possible (Kate Tojeiro) - New habits, neuroscience and the power of deliberate action
    • Team topologies (Matthen Skeleton and Manuem Pais) - Organizing business and technology teams for fast flow
    • Critical Chain (Eliyahu M. Goldratt)
    • It's Not Luck (Eliyahu M. Goldratt)
    • INSPIRED - How to create tech products customers love (Marty Cagan)
    • EMPOWERED - Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products (Marty Cagan)
    • TRILLION DOLLAR COACH - The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell (Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle)
    • Measure what matters (John Doerr) - OKRs - the simple idea that drives 10x growth
  • You won't often see me wearing a three-piece suit. Only when I want to never because I have to.
  • I am passionate about chicken colors genetics and together with my son we breed chickens (USA silkies)