Arko van Brakel

Being an entrepreneur is in his blood, lowering thresholds in his DNA. Arko van Brakel was still a student when he started his own advertising agency in 1990. He made it his specialty to make complex campaigns accessible to smaller enterprises. He archieved this by creating new combinations.

Being an entrepreneur is Arko's life style. After jobs in computer sales and catering and adventures in the Caribbean he accepted a sales positition at KPN Telecom. To go where no one has gone before appealed more to him and he became an entrepreneur again in 1994. He started a series of companies in the field of education, the internet, interactive television, hosting, advice and e-learning. Even in his spare time Arko van Brakel likes to challenge boundaries. He loves outdoor sports.

EuroNet Internet, Holland's first commercial Internet provider, was his first major success. EuroNet made Internet available to a large number of people. It was the first company to sell Internet access as software in shops. EuroNet made van Brakel financially independent at 27. He sold EuroNet to Wanadoo in 1998. Arko van Brakel became a NIMA A and B teacher at a relatively young age. It is van Brakel's philosophy that a teacher should listen rather than talk (too much), although he is a passionate speaker himself. He established education company PuntEDU in 1997, where the role of the students was of utmost importance. It was the first company to apply interactive media in the Netherlands. The diplomas Interactive Marketing A and B and Webdesign A and B became popular among 'marketing lovers' in the Netherlands. Arko van Brakel's strategic e-business training and e-marketing training, primarily aimed at process renewal and innovation, proved to be successful. PuntEDU was sold in 2000 to Newconomy. Van Brakel bought his company back a year later. Anybody can predict and use trends. Assessing and interpreting developments form an important part of van Brakel's story. He based many decisions and advices on very sharp observations and his talent to really predict trends. Realism is crucial. Van Brakels hands his audience the tools to translate trends into chances and threats.

At the moment van Brakel is an active trainer, coach, adviser, chairman and host, but entrepreneurship is still in his blood. He established the agency 'Nieuwe Helden' (named after his book) in 2003 to help companies stay successful in our communication society. All decisions have to be based on core values, core competence and core business to obtain strategic competition advantages. Van Brakel is co-owner of Didactor, a successful open source electronic learning environment. His latest initiative is his project 'The Innovators'. He wants to help Dutch enterprises and organisations learning to innovate. He will make this possible by introducing new working methods and promoting out-of-the-box thinking. New internal and external combinations play an important part.

Arko van Brakel has a clear vision on working, enterprising, marketing, innovation and success in the communication society. "We will have to perform better than ever. The customer has never been this critical. We must show courage. Courage to share knowledge. Courage to innovate. Courage to throw certainties overboard. The art of letting go. Making intuitive decisions. We have to meet many demands. Being healthy is important. Vitality and innovation are inseparably linked together if we want to be successful in 'The Communication Age'." It's all in his book 'Nieuwe Helden'.
Arko van Brakel's performances are fast and highly interactive. Arko has a high energy level and his unrestricted enthousiasm is inspiring.