We are happy to announce that the first engineer, Robert de Bock, joined our team in the Netherlands. Welcome aboard!
Last week, our dutch team made it all the way down to our offices in Basel and Bern. So we already had the opportunity to meet Robert and were very curious about his background, his goals and everything that makes him special.
We are happy to share the interview we have had with Robert and hope you can meet him sometime soon.
Hi Robert, welcome to Adfinis! It’s so nice to have you on board and we are looking forward to our joint future journey. We are very interested in getting to know you! Please tell us more about your background and wherein IT you are specialized in.
Thank you very much, I am looking forward to it too. As for your question: I have a strong Linux background, which I sometimes see as a problem: Because I can only do Linux. But it also has its upsides to be specialized in something. Regarding technologies, I know Terraform and Ansible very well and all kinds of technologies, where you don’t have to do things manually anymore. I kinda moved to “everything as code”. This kind of work is much more honest, because everyone can contribute and read how it works. This shift meets well with the culture of Adfinis.
So is that why you wanted to start working at Adfinis?
Yes, I like the core values, and that the working field is very broad. If you work with many different technologies, you see much more of the market than with only a single product. I worked at a bank for five years, which is a good place to work, but the field is narrow and therefore limiting. At Adfinis we can work with different technologies, which opens the mind. I see huge possibilities and the chance to discover new things to focus on. I also really like working with people, learning from others, broadening my portfolio and getting confronted with new technologies. That’s why I see in Adfinis lots of opportunities to grow.
A keen learner with a passion for technology, I like that. Do you have interests beside IT?
As almost every dutch person, I’m really fond of water. I like swimming, sailing and diving. I once used to be a diving instructor but with three kids, there is hardly enough time to keep it up. Architecture is also something I’m interested in. It tells you something about the time. You can walk through the streets and see the history in it.
What about your history? What is a characteristic or a fun fact that makes Robert – Robert?
That I do something daily. This “something” can be anything: writing, painting, coding. Important is that you are not doing it for your boss, not for money, but yourself and every day.
So back in 2014 when I started, I took a photo every day. After working off all the ideas I had, I started questioning myself. Why do you do this? Why do you do the things, that you do in life? So I then had to realize that I like taking pictures, but that I don’t want to be a professional photographer. So after 3 years, I decided to start writing code in a language I really wanted to master.
And what have I learned? That I am a slow learner. My starting point might be a bit better than the average, but then others’ learning curve is just taking off, while I’m still learning quite slow. But if you are motivated and persist, you will get much better than the rest. You will master, whatever you do daily.
Thank you so much for these personal insights. We are really looking forward to working with you and I’m already thinking about what my “something daily” could be …
Want to learn more about Robert and his work? Feel free to visit his website.
Want to learn more about Adfinis Netherlands? Feel free to get in touch.
