Looking for the sweetsot between brands, customers and technology; but a real stickler for quality systems ad orderly procedures. Keeping an eye on young entrepreneurs in Mechelen with www.mest.be , keen on everything which is food and motorbikes :-)
Sunday, October 30, 2005
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
Friday, October 28, 2005
Good Year (Dunlop) and Good Times
To Good Years and to Good Times.
Brother
Koen
Sunday, October 16, 2005
There is a part of me ....
ons toontje
PS: for everybody who still wants to make a posting: feel free to send it in on: onstoontje.friends@blogger.com
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Wij zullen u missen
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!
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!
Jörgen Berg
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
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
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
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
Tchau!
Wishing you the best always!
Enjoy the ride :-)
Um abraço,
Adriana Morales
It's been a pleasure...
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
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
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?...
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 ;-)
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?
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!
wij zullen je ECHT missen!
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 -
Good Luck with your new mission in life. Make tires your passion but
stay smartly dressed!
Joel
Haere ra, tot ziens, ciao bella
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!
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 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
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!
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
Mats Hindhede
From Belgium wanna be!
Take care, keep cool, buy a TV and don't get contacts. See you
Daniel
Toonje Lager ? Denk ik Niet ...
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
Monday, October 03, 2005
Toon,
Be nice :-)
Magnus
The usual suspects
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:
Revolution Rookie
Some nice ego boosting too look at on a rainy day, Toon!
Goodbye Toontje!
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
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
Sunday, October 02, 2005
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
Saturday, October 01, 2005
A fellow sportsman...
...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!
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"
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
Je t'embrasse tres fort et te souhaite de tout mon coeur que tous tes voeux se realiseront
Danielle
The world is not enough
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!
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
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!
Ben Blench
Meet the Belgian Yeti
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...
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...
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!
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
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...
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! ;-)