Leadership

Our leadership is one of highly motivated people with a unique drive to excite our customers with our sustainable ingredients.
Interim Chief Financial Officer
Stefan van Kessel
Stefan is the interim CFO of Protix. Previously, he worked for a long period at Mars (chocolate, petcare) in the Netherlands, Canada, Hungary and Germany and at Trespa (HAL private equity). He held the role of interim CFO at several private equity and private companies. Stefan has extensive knowledge in the field of finance, IT and procurement. In addition to his work at Protix, he is chairman of the Supervisory Board of Woonpartners in Helmond and Area in Uden/Veghel. Stefan holds an MSc degree in Business Economics from the University of Groningen.
HR Director
Loes van Rijsoort
Loes is the HR Director of Protix. Loes held several senior consultant and management positions in the field of employee benefits in (big four) consultancy firms. After this, she became HR Change Manager at PostNL, HR Director at Bilfinger Benelux and at Landal Greenparks. With over 30 years of experience in several international companies and industries, Loes covers all aspects of HR, builds HR Teams with great business acumen, can give lead to organisational transitions and leadership development. Loes has degrees in Business Econometrics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and Applied Ethics from University of Utrecht. Furthermore she is a member of the Supervisory Board of Vebego.
Chief Growth Officer
Jeroen van der Staay
Jeroen is the Chief Growth Officer (CGO) of Protix. Following a career in Strategy Consulting and Private Equity, Jeroen held several international and senior management positions within Cargill, in the area of Business Development, Strategy, M&A, Commerce and Strategic Marketing. With over 15 years across a wide range of industries and a variety of roles, his experience encompasses many facets of business. Jeroen has degrees in Industrial Engineering & Management (MSc.) from University of Groningen and Financial Law (LL.M) from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, and has successfully completed several executive education programs at INSEAD and IMD.
Chief Commercial Officer
Anneke van de Geijn
Anneke is the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Protix. Anneke holds over 15 years of global experience in Food businesses, in Business to Consumer as well as Business to Business environments. Anneke has a comprehensive background in Sales, Marketing, Research & Development, Global program management and Supply Chain. She holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Health Sciences and thorough education in Marketing and Leadership at London Business School, Ashridge Executive Education, Hult International Business School and Vlerick Business School.
Chief Operational Officer
Bas Jürgens
Bas is Chief Operational Officer (CCO) of Protix. Bas worked prior to Protix at DSM in several operational positions and acted as internal operational excellence consultant on projects worldwide. Bas has a Msc degree in Sustainable Process & Energy Technology and holds a green belt in martial arts.

Operations is everything

R&D Director
Eric Schmitt
Eric is the R&D Director of Protix. He has worked for NERA Economic Consulting in their finance practice in New York City with a focus on complex valuations in legal proceedings. Subsequently, he has served as an independent consultant to multiple industries. He was instrumental in the creation of the California Data Collaborative, which serves water utilities by aggregating information and developing strategic insights for water management and conservation programs. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Reed College and a master's and PhD in statistics from KU Leuven. Eric's research related the insect industry and other disciplines is regularly published in international, peer-reviewed journals. 

Make it nice, don't make it twice

Chief Executive Officer and founder
Kees Aarts
Kees is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founder of Protix. Kees is a frequent speaker at international forums, and he is widely recognized as a visionary and innovator in the food and feed industry thanks to his work in reimagining global food supply chains. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Future Council on Food Security and Agriculture, serves on the board of The Shadow View Foundation and is a member of the Druid Collective. Prior to founding Protix, Kees started his career as an advisor at McKinsey on R&D innovation and business development. Kees holds a MSc title in Aerospace Engineering.

Evolve daily and work hard

Director Asset Development
Stijn Harms
Stijn is Director Asset Development at Protix. Stijn has extensive international experience in the execution of large capital projects within the energy industry. He held various roles in engineering, project & portfolio management and project development. Stijn has a MSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from Delft University of Technology and an MBA from University of Cape Town.