I'm Stijn Bakker
I’m a (digital) product builder. Designer and engineer at heart. Product executive and tech lead by trade. I design, strategise, code, brand and manage. I lead product teams in creating new business and digital products. The more complex, the better.
I do so now as Lead CoreConnect at RB2, building a platform for SMB (e-commerce) companies to drastically simplify the development and maintenance of complex and expensive MACH architectures.
Cum laude graduated as engineer from the Delft University of Technology, self-taught software architecture, and experienced across a broad range of industries including corporate operations, tech startups, private equity, e-commerce, boutique consulting and creative agencies.
Experience
2023 - present: Tech lead and product lead at RB2
CEO of a company, within a company. After years of productive collaboration as consultant and PO, I joined development agency RB2 as a partner, to build out an idea, into a full-fledged product and business. CoreConnect is a development platform for mid-size e-commerce businesses to create and manage complex MACH architectures at a fraction of the original costs.
2020 - 2023: Independent strategy consultant
Taken the leap into entrepreneurship. Away from corporate, broadening my horizons. Worked for various tech startups, TransIP (Team.Blue), KickstartAI (Ahold, NS, KLM) and EuroParcs as mixed roles Business Analysts, Product Owner, Strategy Consultant and Business Developer.
2017 - 2020: KLM + Boston Consulting Group
My first ‘real’ job, joining the joint venture of KLM and BCG as right hand to VP of Digital Operations. I helped build out a new venture, from 6 to 120 people. Pioneering in AI, we created various digital tools for airline staff to manage day-to-day operational schedules, AI assisted.
2013 - 2017: Various internships, traineeships and student assistant jobs between 2013 and 2017
FlensBV furniture factory as mechanic and management assistant (2012), VanBerlo design agency as engineering intern (2014), Good Hotel London as furniture designer (2015), Pezy Group engineering agency as strategy trainee (2016), Research assistant (2016-2017), business economics student assistent (2017).
Education
Masters degree in Engineering and Management at Delft University of Technology
Program: Strategic Product Design
September 2016 - October 2018
Graduated cum laude, with thesis on organisational design for self-steering teams (KLM + BCG). During program collaborated with Ford, KLM, DHL, PwC, NS, Deloitte, IDEO and HarmanKardon on projects (ranging from 1 week to 5 months).
Bachelors degree in Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology
Graduated cum laude, with a thesis and working prototype for a haptic metaverse controller. Completed 5 month internship as product engineer at VanBerlo.Skills
- Simplifying things and making them actionable
- Team leadership (bottom-up)
- Software architecture
- Product design & visioning
- Product marketing
Interest and hobbies
- All-round abstract thinker and nerd on philosophy, lifehacks, biographies and podcasts
- Writer of blogs with unsolicited advice and tech explainers
- Sunday’ Tapas Chef
- Fitness and swimming when I have to
Special topics of interests and secret dreams
- Nerding out about HCI (Muse podcast, Ink & Switch)
- Technical production of a full AV show like Roger Waters The Wall
- End user programming
- Love for (automated) manufacturing and beauty of machinery
- A deep-rooted appreciation for well-designed (hardware) products