Programme & Operations Lead

Philip
Korevaar

Most projects don't fail because of missing talent.
They fail because nobody owns the whole.
I do — across 3–5 markets simultaneously, for 8 years.

8+ Years EMEA programme delivery
15% Fewer late changes via AI tooling
30% Faster Airtable adoption rollout
Let's talk →

I translate strategy into execution — and I make sure it stays that way. Not project by project. As the person who owns the whole.

How I work

Four things that define
how I deliver.

01
Structure before speed
I map the full picture before we start — dependencies, ownership, risk. Not bureaucracy. The planning phase is how you avoid the crisis call at week 8.
02
People in the middle
Structure without alignment is just a spreadsheet. I invest early in understanding stakeholder motivations and team dynamics, because that's what makes delivery possible.
03
Honest, early escalation
I surface problems before they're emergencies. I don't wait for the right moment or soften the message. If something's off track, you'll hear it from me first.
04
Built to last
The real test is three months after delivery day. I build for the handover from week one — process and capability that doesn't depend on me staying.
What I bring

Six concrete things
you're getting.

Finding & fixing
I identify what's broken and fix the root, not the symptom
Give me a messy programme, an untrusted process, or a team that's lost direction. I diagnose first, act second, and I won't declare something fixed until it actually is.
Stakeholder alignment
I read the room and move people toward a decision
C-suite, technical teams, clients across markets — I've managed them all in the same week. I know when to push and when to listen, and I get people aligned without avoiding hard conversations.
Systematic thinking
I build processes that don't need me to run them
I think in structures. Before I act, I understand the full problem. The systems I put in place are designed to work without babysitting — still running clean six months later.
Ownership
When I commit to something, it gets done
I take psychological ownership seriously. That also means being honest when something's off track, not just when everything's green. People who work with me know they can stop checking.
Feedback culture
I give and receive direct feedback — without the drama
I actively seek feedback in formal and informal settings. I treat it as data, not judgement. When I give it, I make it specific and actionable, not just honest.
Continuous improvement
I'm always looking for where we can work smarter
AI tooling, process design, Airtable workflows, Power Platform automation — I collect approaches and apply them. Not for the sake of it, but because they create real headroom.
Experience

Where I've worked
and what I built.

2020 — present
Dentsu Creative
Amsterdam
Delivery & Operations Lead / Senior Digital Project Manager

Led EMEA-wide digital programmes for enterprise clients across 3–5 markets at once. My job was to hold the whole together — strategy to execution, brief to delivery, client to team.

  • Managed multi-market programmes for KLM, General Motors, Porsche, and Royal Canin — coordinating teams across 3–5 countries per programme
  • Rolled out Airtable as operational backbone across multiple teams; 30% faster adoption within 6 months
  • Designed AI-assisted production tooling that cut late-stage review changes by 15%
  • Coached 5–15 project managers and specialists through influence, not line management
  • Reported programme status, risks, and recommendations directly to C-suite at global clients
2018 — 2020
MediaMonks
Amsterdam
Digital Project Manager

End-to-end ownership of digital platform and website builds for international clients. Cross-disciplinary teams of developers, designers, and strategists — all coordination through clarity, no line authority.

  • Led full project lifecycle from scope definition through delivery and client handover
  • Built lasting client relationships through consistent delivery and proactive risk management
  • Maintained scope, budget, and timeline discipline across concurrent projects
Clients KLM General Motors Porsche Royal Canin + EMEA enterprise accounts

Your commitment, flexibility, and drive to make it work together — especially under real time pressure — made all the difference. This kind of effort has a direct impact on the team and our clients, and it's genuinely appreciated.

Colleague · Dentsu Creative Amsterdam

Skills & Tools

What I work with.

Programme & Delivery
  • EMEA multi-market programme management
  • Portfolio & stakeholder management
  • Agile / Scrum (certified, Scrum Alliance)
  • Risk management & escalation
  • Budget ownership & forecasting
  • C-suite reporting & advisory
Operations & Tooling
  • Airtable (platform design & rollout)
  • Microsoft Power Platform
  • AI-enabled workflow automation
  • Process design & improvement
  • Cross-functional coordination
  • Change management & adoption
Education & Certifications
  • BBA — IBS Amsterdam
  • Exchange — Nanyang Business School, Singapore (NTU)
  • Scrum Master — Scrum Alliance (2020)
  • PMI AI in PM (in progress, 2025)
  • Leading Teams — Hyper Island (2022)
  • Game Changing Talent — Dentsu (2021)

Let's talk about what needs to get done.

Based in Amsterdam. Open to hybrid roles in the Netherlands. Targeting in-house, client-side, and scale-up environments in fintech, tech, and operations-heavy organisations.

philip.korevaar@gmail.com ↗ linkedin.com/in/philipkorevaar ↗ +31 6 52 88 39 19 ↗

I work best when:

  • There's a clear direction but execution is the hard part
  • Multiple stakeholders need to stay aligned across markets
  • The organisation is scaling and processes can't keep up
  • Someone needs to own the whole, not just their slice
  • The work actually matters to the company's mission
  • Hybrid working, Amsterdam — non-negotiables