... I feel Christmas coming closer ..

as you can see on the images, Christmas is coming closer for us. It feels so strange not to travel to China, RTP or Miami jus before Christmas. I remember last year I had a crazy time flying first to Beijing and than to RTP and Miami just before Christmas, when I finally got home then it was... mmm is it Christmas now, are you really sure ...

today it was Christmas shopping in town, and we just relaxed out time away, looking outside the window and reading some comic strips (our new favorite hobby) ... Only thing i did not count on is the fact my car is being thowed away for the second time. The picture says you are not allowed to park here between 7 and 18 on workdays.... so i went to the police station for a nice and lengthy discussion. Result: a typical belgian situation: saturday are workdays .... no kidding

My god will I be happy when my week of holiday is there, I feel really exhausted. Changing job is not something you have to do to have a relaxing time, on the contrary ... it will be still very busy days and months since the new business is mainly active in January, February, march and April, after which it starts to slow down to practically nothing in December. As said: a new world with a whole new set of rules ... I'm very much amazed how much time it really takes to find your way around a new place, every company's culture is so different and you really need time as an advisor on how to play the cards. But as you all know me: i have a difficult time being patient, but this time i will try to take that time ...

I see the awards for our digital work streaming in: Dare Digital agency of the year with a lot of mentioning of the Sony Ericsson work, K750 getting honors, W800 still in the press ... I must admit: I secretly still feel a part of it , but way to go ... It's so nice to have Gavin and Martin keeping me informed.

Going tomorrow to London, but this time by train. On my way i will try to meet up with some colleagues, but we'll see if the schedule allows it ... i hope it does, because it is during this time of year you look back to what has happened the last 12 months .....

I wish you all love peace and understanding ...


Toon

.... A place called home ...

ok .. i know it has been a long time that i have updated the blog, but moving house has some disadvantges: no internet connection at home, even not today. So had to make a little hack in the system here to get to my update page. All in all our move went just fine: what do you expect we were helped by the whole family. Can you imagine my brother and sisters, my dad and my stepmom and my mom as one team: guaranteed efficiency :-) ....

it really feels like a home .. my little nest in the middle of the city. I call it my little New York since i'm in the middle of the city city center .... Just around the corner is my favorite pub and in my street i have the bakkery, the fresh market and the fish market ... all fresh things. So basically there are two option if you see me next time: or i have slimmed thanks to healthy food or i'm a real elephant since i eat too much ...

with Xmas just around the corner i hope all of you will find the time to do the necessary shopping .. our holiday will bring us another move: i'm moving into my studio in Luxemburg beginning of Jan, so still need to get some stuff for that place. Also the things like electricity, residents permit , .. will need to be fixed in the first of Jan, but we still hope to get the time to go skiing 4 days in the first week of January....

Next week i hope to update the blog with some picture. Talk soon :-)

Time is moving fast

.... I just realized that next week-end we move top my new apartment. Today the kids and I called for help from mother and sister to start the packing . Next week the team will be complete for the moving of one end of Mechelen to the center. ... I think I will throw a house warming part, but we still need to decide on the date ...

last Friday I was out on town with Jan from Jip and Janneke the producers/directors of the WorldQuest adventure. He met up to celebrate the award Sony Ericsson WorldQuest received at the Night of tea advertising in Belgium. We won the award for best Interactive campaign and best return on investment .... a pithy we can not go for the 06 version because after Friday we are sure: it was a one of our best experiences ...

Talking about work: it is not only getting used to new colleagues, but also to new agencies :-0 ... it is when you leave a job after 4 to 5 years and then start over again that you realize how deeply interwoven your thinking is with that of the lead agencies you work with ... It feels like in the good relationships I had with the lead agencies there was a common way of thinking and creating which made life so easy on one hand ... Today I have to start the process with the agencies again to come to that common ground from which the best projects are delivered ... But who from the agencies does not remember the first meeting with me :-) .. History repeats itself ...

talk soon - love peace and understanding my friends

Felt like coming home ....

this week-end. Believe it or not I went to Malmo this week-end. It felt good to re-visit all the places of which I parted now already more than a month ago. I thought I was never going to see them again, but there was some reversal of fortune. The food at Hai still tastes wonderful, served with a smile and that little exchange of thoughts with the people working there make it such a nice place ....

Running into Martin and Lisa had something enriching. Of course we talked a bit about work, but the most important things were what we were doing, how we felt and where we were heading to .... a new house, a new life ....

Earlier that week I met up with Cecilia F and Magdalena at the Audi Open in Brussels where I could witness the class of our Team Sony Ericsson in show jumping. Of course I took them out on a little tour in Brussels to show them my favorite places and my favorite bar.

It was a true joy feeling that after all I moved on, there will always be a place and a time to meet. Let this therefore be an open invitation to everybody reading this blog: don't be a stranger, you will always find an open door when you are around ...

T.

Never realized ...

But last week was the first week in 4 years that I worked and slept the whole week in my own bed.

I'm glad in a way that I was home all week and that I could finally meet up with some friends in Mechelen without having to think about the next flight to catch. In a way it is addictive the traveling and maybe I'm just happy now not having to do this , but I know that I some way I will miss it in the long run ...

this week-end also it got more an more clear that the move is coming really close. We set the date of the actual move to Sunday 27th of November. We have to do this on a Sunday since the apartment is in the city center and on Saturday there is the market and a lot of week-end shopping going on ...

On the work front things are starting to get in place .. I tumbled from budget meeting to budget meeting. In Sony Ericsson it was the last thing I did, within Dunlop it is the first thing I do .. Talking about continuity :-) .... It is really fun trying to find the right tone of voice :-) for this new environment and to figure out the specifics of the business ....

it has been now already two weeks that I closed a very big chapter .... and I'm slowly getting used to my new habitat. Last week on Thursday I had a meting in London (sorry flew in in the morning and out in the evening so no time for a social visit, but next time I will make sure I have the time) and it felt so strange not to get off at the Hammersmith station on the Piccadilly line .... wonder when it will feel strange to do so ....

Life is pretty hectic for the moment with trying to sort all paperwork for my apartment in Luxembourg and the one I bought last month in my home town Mechelen . We can hardly wait to move and to build a new home which I hope to see more often than I did my current place .... a new home, seems like such a big new thing, an opportunity to make a fresh start, but aren't things a bit more simple, since the simplest questions are the most profound: Where is your home? Where are you going? What are you doing? Think about these once in awhile, and watch your answers change.

feels like I have found the answer to the first question, but the second question I hope to have some indications when I have a more clear view on what I'm doing today .....

ons toontje

Good Year (Dunlop) and Good Times

Stay tuned with Toon

To Good Years and to Good Times.

 

the past is never brighter than the future.

the future is only brighter by the day

the day is never here to stay

the road ahead a long and winding way

Brother
Koen
 

There is a part of me ....

that I have to leave behind with all of you at Sony Ericsson. To feel whole again I will have to come back to the memories. It sounds strange but here am I sitting at the eve of a new challenge feeling sad to leave behind the wonderful time and people I had to pleasure to work with the past 4 years.

 

When I was my last day in Malmo-Lund and my last day in London I took the opportunity to wonder around the both cities to pick up memories of the places I visited the most and came to the conclusion that the memories would be meaningless if they were not filled with people. But at the same time I realized that we tend to forget and take the time to just sit down and look at the surroundings and the everyday life we work in .... Malmo and London offered me a tremendous farewell present: under the warm autumn sun I enjoyed watching people at the squares in Malmo, having my light dinner at Hai, overseeing the sea with an setting sun on my way to the airport. London gave me the pleasure of shopping for some nice new shirts at Paul Smith and strolling around Portobello discovering all little shops full of fashion treasures .... A recommendation to all of you: why not just take of one late afternoon and taste the cities you visit instead of rushing in and out ... Ok, I should walk the talk , but what I did not do in the past, I can still do in the future...

 

The last four days I really enjoyed the silence of no mails, no calls ..... the weather in Belgium was superb, as if the last weeks they granted me the favour of sun, good food, great fun with friends and family . But tomorrow reality strikes back ... still haven't decided to which glasses I will be wearing for this first day :-)...

 

I wish you all a nice week, and I will keep this updated on a regular basis (maybe already tomorrow night with the first impressions of the new colleagues)

 

Peace love and understanding

 

ons toontje

PS: for everybody who still wants to make a posting: feel free to send it in on: onstoontje.friends@blogger.com

Wij zullen u missen

Ik wens u veel geluk voor de toekomst en ik hoop u terug te zien in t'kort.

Kieron

Greetings from the AM team

Dear Toon,

It has been a pleasure working together with you over the last years. You have been a tough but fair requirement owner. We wish you all the best for the future and hope that our paths will cross again!

Best regards
The AM Team

Per Pedersen

Good Luck!

Toon,
Lund will be a duller place when it looses the color of you glasses, now we will never know what really hids behind all that glamour!

It has been a pleasure working with you - I wish you all the best for the future.

/Dan

Toon you are a bad bad bad good friend wish you all the best!

whatever happens it was fun to be a part of you journey, who knows we might travel together sometimes in the future!!

Jörgen Berg

Thanks for a good year!

Great to get to get to know you during this year Toon. Good luck in your new life and hope to see you soon again!

/Tomas

An era comes to an end

Many thanks for working together. It was a joy and a great experience. But particularly it was a lot of marketing fun.

Good luck on the Goodyear-shoed Dnjepr.

/Serge, your man on the Belgian marketing frontier.

The SoundToon to my job

I'm not sure if I've got enough Sony Ericsson moments yet to do a
Walkman 100, but certainly there is a consistent theme too many of the best ones.

Where to begin? Creating experimental whisky and fruit juice cocktails
in Berlin? Dinner with Amelie Mauresmo? Picking up ex- tennis players
and taking them back to our private box in Miami? Helping Greg Rusedski turn around his tennis match at the Nasdaq Open? Being on our 'very best behaviour' whilst meeting famous people with Dee? The quiet dinner until 5am in Amsterdam? Maybe turning Martin into our 24 drinks waiter after the Revolution Awards?

I’m not sure if it was such a good idea though that same night to leave a phone message for my fiancé saying: “I’m not coming home tonight, I’m sleeping in in Toon’s hotel room.”

As I was drunk my message was slightly slurred, and my good lady thought I’d said “I’m sleeping In Simone’s hotel room.” I got home to a slightly more frosty reception than I was expecting!

One thing is for sure, I'm going to miss Herge's Adventures of ToonToon!

Good luck with the new job.

Never forget to check your rubber before you ride! :)

Andrew Warner

Good Luck

Dear Toon,
It's been great working with you - hope you have as much success in the future as you have with Sony Ericsson.
Love, Liza

Good luck!

Hi Toon,
I’m going to miss the weekly conference calls, especially the ones at 7am on a Monday morning!

I’ve learnt a lot from you and I wish you the best of luck for the future.

Kelly

Mr D - more than just a man

Tchau!

Toon,
Wishing you the best always!
Enjoy the ride :-)
Um abraço,

Adriana Morales

It's been a pleasure...

Toon,

You will be greatly missed by all your friends at Dare. As you might say, Mr Diependaele, it's been a pleasure...

Look forward to playing air guitar with you in the near future.

Best wishes and stay in touch,

Mark

Good Luck & Thank you!

Dear Toon,

You surprised me when I first met you in Singapore with your cute looking ‘green’ spectacles! I have this feeling that oh you are so funny and creative and I will definitely enjoy working with you. Thank you so much for your assistance, for sharing with me the knowledge of E-Business/Digital Marketing and helping me to resolve my problems with our internet sites.

It’s sad to know you are leaving Sony Ericsson; I wish you all the best in your future endeavors, have fun & keep smiling :-)
Cheers,
Jasmine

Good luck!

Hi Toon,

I've really enjoyed getting to know you. I wish you all the best in the future!

/Pontus

Good Luck

All the best!
Good luck with your new challenge. I hope we will continue to work with you.
And by the way I need to start to use glasses (true I am afraid). What should I go for?
Per-Axel

Good luck!

It has been a pleasure to know you and work with you Toon. I wish you good luck with your new challenges. Remenber that I am a motorcycle racer, so if you need some advice on tyre selection, give me a call! :)

Mattias

How to manage a Belgian blue...

I have to admit, I've been caught squatting outdoors
It was in a garden indeed, however it was not in yours

Where did he come from, this roaring Belgian blue?
And what had I done, I did not have a clue

Toon a man so frustrated, yet seemingly sweet
I could not turn away, ignore or misstreat

Instead I decided, I need to be smart
And play a little game, with the bully tart

An invitation he got, too good to refuse
Spiced up with a twist, just to confuse

A bottle of Bowmore, was all it took
then he swallowed nicely, the bait on my hook

There we were, with nothing else to do
But to straighten out, what was false and what was true

For although a Belgian blue is rarely seen in a pool
A good swim, will make him cool


/Cecilia

Good Luck Toon - from Lars

Toon,
It has been very stimulating and fun to work together with you. I wish you the very best for the future and good luck with your new assignment - keep up the spirit and let the (MC) wheels spinning!

And remember - Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards!
I attached a picture that could serve as a memory from the crazy days in Digital Marketing.

Best regards Lars Palmér

Goodyear and goodbye

Toon,
Your decision is a big loss for Sony Ericsson, and all your colleagues. Your enthusiasm, focus, passion and glasses will be really missed. We'll endeavour to keep up your high standards.

So go and make a spectacle of yourself at Goodyear. And how about a campaign offering a free phone with every tyre change. We can call it Tyrequest.

All the best, Alex

can it be already 3 years ago?...

…when we met in Stockholm for the first time and I dared to comment on your glasses?

I now have been searching for the Dilbert cartoon which we had fun with then, but couldn’t find it anymore, but I found another one with the guy with the glasses, thought this one was fun as well :-)









Knuffel en ik wens je het allerbeste
Sibylle

Wish you the best luck!!!

Hi Toon,

Colourful sunglasses is your label in my mind.
Keep fun and cool, and wish you all the best...

Cheers,
Helen Huang

Burning Rubber

Toon (aka "the man with a plan" ) –

CIP projects will never be the same! I will seriously miss your sharp wit, keen eye for IA & design, wry sense of humor and stylish yet crazy glasses. You are a true original. Now who’s going to take over the role of heckling me without mercy?

Tot snel-
Ilse

See you later

It's been fun working with you. I hope our paths cross soon again. Keep in touch. Thank you.

Or as a wise man once said: "Quiquid latine dictum sit altum viditur".

/ Mikael Blidö

See you Soon ;-)

Toon,
You will be greatly missed and I wish you all the best of luck for the future.
Make sure you keep in touch and we get to see you soon!!

Saludos from Latin America

Hélène

u serious u are leaving?

- let us warn u ..u will never find any other colleagues who can match up with us in terms of beauty, wit, intelligence, resourcefulness and the list goes on.. if you have thought about it seriously and still intend on leaving.. let us then WISH YOU ALL THE VERY BEST !!!!

Arthur, Sarah, Amy, Poh Lee, Shaw Wun from APAC

Princess Conzuela and I...

....would like to congratulate you on all your great achievements at Sony Ericsson. You should be very proud (you are "number 18" in the Revolution Power 50 after all!). Here's to many more great achievements and a higher ranking next year!

Finally...

"Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again after a moment or lifetime is certain for those who are friends."

BETS of luck. See you soon.

Gav

Kai-Loong & Michael says goodbye...

Toon, It has been Fun working with you on Fun & Downloads. You casual and 'can-do' attitude has made it a joy to work with you. I wish you all the best working with tyres! Kai-Loong

Looney Toon greeting from Martin

Hi Looney Toon,

It's been good to work with you, if not for any other reasons than checking out which glasses you're wearing from one day to the next :)

It's been good to know you, if not for other reasons than having discussions about who's right concerning different matters (normally I was) :)

There you see where the priorities have been!

Don't forget me when you're over there at Goodyear, especially if you get into the F1 circuit, I've always wanted to check out one of those events.

Take care and don't be a stranger,

Martin

Award ceremonies will never be the same without you!

Take care Toon, going to an award ceremony will just never be the same again. Good Luck, Sam xx

wij zullen je ECHT missen!

Lieve Mr D...

Wij zullen je nooit vergeten. Jouw bijzonder gevoel voor humor/humeur, onzagwekende intelligence, direkt communicatie en je totaal uitstraling zijn onvergetelijk! Wij hebben allemaal heel veel van je geleerd en ook genieten!

Wij wensen je alle beste voor je nieuwe baan. Tot het volgende feestje! ;-)

MC Crew (verdrietig)

Muscles from Brussels -

brain, that is.

Good Luck with your new mission in life. Make tires your passion but
stay smartly dressed!

Joel

Haere ra, tot ziens, ciao bella

Hey Toon.
You were my introduction to the non-PC world of European clients. And way back then, it was a hell of an introduction.
I am so happy to have had the opportunity to work with you the last 3 years, to see you grow into your role and have you help me grow into mine ;-)
As a client you have been inspirational – your extensive knowledge and passion for your work, your ability to flip from the big picture to the detail, and your constant pushing for the best result – have pushed me and my colleagues to be on the ball and to strive for the best constantly.
As a friend I have really enjoyed getting to know you – late night whiskeys and philosophical chats about life – I hope these will continue!
E iti noa ana, na te aroha.
Ka kite ano
Kiwigrrl

Beware of the Michelin Man!

A gift from me to you, my best bookmarks:
http://www.yokohamatire.com/
http://www.nokiantyres.com/
http://www.streetdreams.org/
http://customwheel.com/
http://www.dubempire.com/catalog/
http://www.mtv.com/onair/dyn/pimp_my_ride/series.jhtml

Have fun!

/Magnus S

Toon, tu me manques deja!

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do.
All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no, until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly.

AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES."

Nike


Mr Toon,
I thought this quote summed up both your amazingly positive and inspiring attitude through 'thick and thin' and your exciting decision to move on to the next big thing....

On se connait seulement depuis un an, mais je sais deja que la vie chez Sony Ericsson ne sera pas la meme chose sans toi ... et sans ton aide au debut, je suis sure que je ne serais plus ici!! Donc, je te dis mille fois merci pour tout.

Je te souhaite bon courage et je t'embrasse

JO x

Dear Toon

Thanks so much for the good years of great, great cooperation - we've always appreciated your openness and sharp eye (and mind).
Hope you'll get many Goodyear(s) at the new (pit)stop on your career road!

Good luck!
Jonas and the KAN-team

Dear Toon,

It's been a pleasure working with you! I've really enjoyed your straight forward but always polite way of communicating; particularly the yes or no alternative that you quite often provide...it kind of makes the dialogue quite effective sometimes:-) Besides work, you are really fun and inspiring person to talk to and I've thoroughly enjoyed the discussions we have had together. Keep up your high energy and focus and I wish you the best of luck, both in your professional and private life.

Best regards
Jonas Lindback

Good Bye!

Hi Toon,
It was really a pleasure to work with you!
But you never know - may be we will meet another time!

All the best!

Take Care

Christian Andersen
The soundtrack to your life: www.sonyericsson.com/W800i

Best of luck

Best of luck with all your future endavours, Toon.

Mats Hindhede

Bye Bye

Bye bye... Vrrrrmmmmmmm!!!!

Rupert

Who's your Daddy????????

Bite Me!

Chema.

From Belgium wanna be!

Hej Toon,
Take care, keep cool, buy a TV and don't get contacts. See you

Daniel

Toonje Lager ? Denk ik Niet ...

Toon,
Het is triestig gesteld met het quota Belgen bij Sony Ericsson...dat worden er hoe langer hoe minder ...hoe kan dat nu verder?
En hoe moet dat hier nu in de Verenigde Staten ? Jij zette altijd nieuwe mode (en brillen) trends bij elke trans-atlantische trip...
We zullen je missen! Er is er maar 1 zoals jij!

Geniet van de volgende uitdaging...maar zoals ik je ken zal dat geen probleem zijn ;-)

Geniet ten volle!

Veel liefs & dikke kus

Griet 'Nicky' Csellak-Claeys

Toon,

Best wishes and the best of luck.
Be nice :-)

Magnus

Bon voyage

May your ideas forever confuse, confound, captivate and capitalize!

xx Olly

The usual suspects

The Dare/SE line-up 2005:













Flo Heiss, Mr D, James Cooper, Mark Collier, Magnus Schön
John Owen, Martin Lundin, Gavin Bell

(60 seconds earlier):
-Let's see...one, two, three buttons...and three buttonholes...hey, what am I doing wrong here?












...Reservoir dogs leaving Barcelona after completed mission:

Dare anniversary

Dare 5 years anniversary party, June 30 2005.
Toon on the balcony looking in. And good.

Revolution Rookie

Number 18 - with a bullet! UK digital marketing magazine Revolution every year lists the "50 most powerful in digital". Of course a list like that is no real list if it doesn't include an eccentric Belgian...

















Some nice ego boosting too look at on a rainy day, Toon!

Goodbye Toontje!

It was good working with you, though very in-frequently, over the last few years. If you ever think you need a tool to analyze your marketing expenditure then don’t call me, because its code owned by SEMC, and I would get in trouble J

I hope everything goes well at the new place – do you get free tyres now instead of phones? Do you have a car? Maybe you can get free bike tyres if not!

Seeya

Jamie (Media Catalyst)

the day I met this man

10 hours later, I’ve got a new Jacket, he’s got a new Jumper, I’ve lost an expensive bet and it’s all gone Spectacular Internationale.












Good luck Toon,

When will we be having the whiskey?

James

King of Design

Hi Toon,

Never thought a client would ever push our boundaries in design, but you did. Even more that we do ourselves...
Best wishes and all the best in your new job. You will be missed at LUON.

Onno

Good luck!

Often we forget to look at the sky and wonder about life and what we want to do with it. I truly wish you the best of luck in pursuing your dreams even though it means that you're leaving us. Keep this blog and us updated! :-)   // Fredrik Lantz

Fashion is his Passion 2

Flo

Fashion is his Passion 1

Flo

Barcelona, 5am...

..the famous - failed - whiskey on the glass experiment.














Flo

You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me?

Flo

A fellow sportsman...

- Man, I love the outdoor life...

















...like kayaking...













...and shooting... - Don't aim for his forehead, Dear. Mats' got a metal plate implant there!













...and birthday cake-eating...

















- Hey, I'm being clusterfucked, here!

Good Luck!

Dear Toon,
It has been a true joy and privilege to get to know you. I which you the very best for the future and sincerely hope that you find what you are looking for in life. I will always keep a special place in my heart for you and hope that you will do the same. And Toon, it is true what they say "a man in a kilt is the sexiest thing" :)

Lots of Love, Helen K

Time to "Toon" out, but Toon is always "in"

Hello dude,

I am going to miss your freaky glasses and positive attitude.

I hope you stay “Tooned” with your old colleagues in Global Marketing as well as the ones that bailed out before you……

I wish you all the luck in the future!

Game on…

Andreas

Mon tres cher Toon

C'etait une tres belle experience de faire ta rencontre et surtout au fil des annees la connaissance de quelqu'un de vraiment special! Donc avec ca en tete, je sais que meme si tu es loin de mes yeux tu resteras proche de mon coeur et que nous auront des soirees et/ou weekends formidables et inoubliables a Bxl (avec jupe) ou Lux

Je t'embrasse tres fort et te souhaite de tout mon coeur que tous tes voeux se realiseront


Danielle

The world is not enough

Several years ago, and not so long after we first met, I wrote an email to you where I spoke about 'magical' people - people who have the power to change the lives of other people, to influence them to be better than they would otherwise be, or sometimes simply to make one day or one moment more vivid and memorable for those around them.

At that time, I included you in my very short list of magical people that I knew.

Over the last three years, I've watched you change and develop into a very different person from the man I first met. You've encountered many disappointments and frustrations, been sometimes baffled by how hard it can be to achieve seemingly the simplest of things. You've had great successes, moments of unadulterated triumph and excitement. You've worked harder than it should humanly be possible, throwing yourself at one minute into politically-charged high-level meetings, and at the next into detailed critique of a tiny change on SE.com.

You still stun me with your ability to deal with whatever life and work throws at you - to really experience the lows, and the next day be back again with that naughty smile, genuine laughter, and some encouraging words or outrageous innuendo for your team.

In some ways, you're harder now - more professional, more ambitious, more able to step back from a situation and calculate the right move. You're more focused on giving than getting approval - and the comments from your team on this blog show how much you're valued as a manager and how much you teach and inspire people.

But despite the added polish, despite the industry recognition, despite the ability to be hard-nosed, you've kept your humanity and at times your humility - and, yes, you're still on my now even shorter list of magical people.

One warning: don't let all these words of admiration and excessive compliments go to your head. I've heard there's a guy at Goodyear Dunlop who wears a different pair of earrings every day, sports countless variations of facial hair and designer clothing, picks all the right fights with all the right people, and has all the ladies falling at his feet... ah well, it's about time you had some real competition!

So 007, onwards and upwards, and remember you can still call on Miss Moneypenny when you need her ;-)

Hey Diependaele!

It’s been great working with you.
Good luck with whatever it is you’re going to do in the future.

/Niklas Sandström

P.S. What’s the deal with the glasses? D.S.

Man you gotta move on man

Toon, you maniac, I'll miss you.

It's been great working with you over the past years. In that time I've been delighted to see your taste in shirts improve dramatically, and your taste in specs... well I don't think that will ever change. May your collection continue to grow in size and extravagance. Top Marks!

More power to your elbow, my little Belgian bun. All the best for your future career from me and my colleagues at Media Catalyst. Stay in touch!

Much love,

Ben Blench

Meet the Belgian Yeti

For the first 35 years of Toons life he was completely incompatible with snow.
But after a week in the Swedish Alps (aka "Fjällen") things all changed and Toon became a huge winter sports fan. (In fact just by putting on a pair of ski boots on Toon immediately moved up to the Top 100-list of best Belgian skiers ever.)

Sure, he struggled the first few days though (see evidence below) but managed at least to outshine our Indian friend and ex-colleague Gagan Singh. :-)

This is the end of the world as we know it...

Perhaps a little bit too dramatic heading, but indeed the digital world of Sony Ericsson will not be the same without the creative and passionate driver behind the steering wheel. I hope Goodyear tires are made for high speed and great traction, so they can cope with you as a driver. Details or high fly strategy discussions as well as non work related discussion, I know you will have and answer, if not I am pretty sure your will have an opinion, most likely not a expected one. Nurish the creative mind and take care I will stay tooned!

Fredrik Gemzell

 

Wheels of fortune spinning Goodyear's way

I remember being late for a phone conference where I was to present a few webpage layout mockups. One of my first Sony Ericsson projects, and as I entered the call the creative review had already started.

"...I want balance, air, I want the page to breathe", someone said. "But this page doesn't breathe. 'Ey. It ****in' suffocates you!"

I swallowed. Toon the Belgian had swung his axe. Afterwards, there was silence...apart from the soft thumps of chopped-off heads landing on the floor (or did I just imagine that?).

However, even if, as they say, first impressions last, the above paints an unfair picture - I wouldn't label it Typically Toon. True, I have found you to be a man who does not beat around the bush. But I've also found you always constructive, always eager to encourage and make us aim higher, always able to provide a razor-sharp analysis in the blink of an eye. And perhaps even more importantly, I've always found that a smile and a laugh never is far away. 

So, Toon, I'll miss you. The best of luck in the tyre business. The wheel of fortune has indeed spun Goodyear's way.

Henrik.

Few small words for the road...

It's hard to believe it's time to say goodbye when it only feels like yesterday you've threw me into the big jars of CIP, GPD, DRB, UDM, WLR, LCM, UAT, etc..

Thank you for the inspiration and guidance, your encouragement, never ending energy, blame and praise, twinkle in your eyes, for being there in good times and in bad times...

It has been a wonderful journey... Have a great time towards new destinations
agnes

Good Luck at Good Year!

Toon
Old Irish blessing …

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face and
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again.

I wish health and happiness for you and yours.
Tim

Greeting to Toon

Toon,

Thanks so much for everything you've done for all of us!
Things will not be the same without you.... :(

Good luck with your new start in life, and don't forget to stay Tooned!

Big hug!

Lisa

Those are cool tires!

Toon:

 

That's a cool phone!

 

Those were my first words to you. I think it was a pre-production K700i (one of my favorite phones), but not even the brand new, bright, silvery-metallic, futuristic looking phone could take away the focus from your engaging personality and ready laugh. Well, then again, not even your glasses can compete with your personality...

 

Nearly a year after our first meeting, and with several failed attempts at catching up in between, you gave me this job with the outstanding marketing team you had built at Sony Ericsson. Here, you impressed me again with your unrelenting commitment to your work and to your colleagues, because, not only do you excel at what you do, but you also take good care of your people, which I can see reflected in our team’s loyalty and admiration towards you.

 

No doubt these traits will bring you much success in any new challenges you take. As for me, I just hope that we are better at staying in touch in the future than we were before I started this job.

 

Farewell!

Etienne

Bye from Michael Lantz

I've been working a long time in the telecom and media industries,
meeting a multitude of persons in a variety of international companies,
and it is very rare that I'm truly impressed by a person.
The relentless drive, the deep commitment and the detailed knowledge of
both online marketing and nitty-gritty team issues are things that have
impressed me and inspired me in my daily work both inside and outside of
Sony Ericsson.

One thing I can say for sure, Dunlop won't know what hit them until it's
too late....

Michael Lantz

Someone...

...can't remember who, once told me that you and me reminded him of the unforgettable team of Dr Bumsen Honeydew and Beaker from the Muppets.











Dr Honeydew (bald with funny looking glasses) always coming up with new vicious ideas, which Beaker (assistant w spiky hair) gets the doubtful pleasure to try out...

It's a fun simile (well, not being compared to a muppet, but I apart from that). And maybe not so far from truth. One of your biggest assets is your creativity. Your ability to come up with new ideas - and find ways to realize them. A comparison between the "2002 edition" of sonyericsson.com and the current one really proves that. The improvents are massive and impressive - and all innovations have Dr Honeydews/Diependaeles name on them in one way or the other.

Sure, some of your ideas have given me some grey hairs over the years (no electric shocks or any explosions in my face though). But it has really been worth it. I have learned so much and I have had the time of my life. I will miss you. Badly.

Good luck - I hope you'll have many good years in your new position!

//Martin "Beaker" Lundin


ps: Please never (ever) let your hair grow out to make you look something like this... Art Garfunkel looked like a dork 35 years ago and things hasn't changed since! ;-)