Intended managing director VDL Nedcar: John van Soerland

John van Soerland has been Executive Vice President of VDL MPC in Amersfoort since December 2019. Before that, he held various managerial positions at Philips business units for 35 years. For the last ten years, until his switch to VDL, Van Soerland was responsible for, among other things, the operational activities of Philips Healthcare in Best. 

Experience
During his working life, Van Soerland has gained extensive international experience, including in China, India, Taiwan and the United States. During his time at Philips Semiconductors and later NXP, he gained experience with major automotive customers, including in the German, French and Asian automotive industries.

After a period of stormy growth and the continued development of the organisation, VDL Nedcar has entered the next phase of its development. This will be all about ensuring long-term continuity. Until 2023, VDL Nedcar will build cars for the BMW Group. For the period after that, new clients must be secured for the car factory. John van Soerland’s international experience will certainly be of value.

Pragmatist
VDL Groep is convinced that John van Soerland will be a good successor to Paul van Vuuren, who has done an excellent job in Born over the past three years. ‘John’s strength, like Paul’s, lies in the field of organisation and strategy,’ says Willem van der Leegte, president and CEO of VDL Groep. “John is a pragmatist who is familiar with all facets of the business operations. He is accessible and switches easily between various stakeholders.” 

John van Soerland: “I and all colleagues at VDL Nedcar will fully dedicate myself to binding new clients to VDL Nedcar in order to secure the future for many years to come. I’m confident we will succeed. We know that, across the globe, there’s a strong interest in the quality, delivery reliability and competitiveness of VDL Nedcar. In Born, we have fantastic professionals working in a hyper-modern, highly automated factory.’