Gerard Poolman-sf

A recognized global OpEx leader, known for scaling operational excellence across industries and coaching executive teams.

A seasoned operational excellence leader with experience across global organizations including Shell, Maersk, and Johnson & Johnson.
His work spans the full operational value chain — from sales and supply chain to manufacturing, sourcing, R&D, and finance — giving him a rare cross-functional perspective on how transformation is executed in practice.
In recent years, he has focused on coaching senior executives and leadership teams on embedding operational excellence and driving sustainable performance improvement.

Gerard is a certified Master Black Belt and Lean & Agile Sensei. He was awarded the Kaizen Award in 2019 and named Global OPEX Leader of the Year in 2022 for his contributions at Shell.

He is particularly interested in how AI is reshaping operational excellence and decision-making in complex organizations.