The board of Mars Pension Fund consists of people who work or have worked for Mars. Who are the board members? In this article you will learn more about board member Paul van Beek.
Who are you and how did you end up at Mars?
My name is Paul van Beek, I am 48 years and live in Uden with my girlfriend and two kids, aged 12 and 15. I grew up in Uden and studied in Vlissingen at the Hogere Zeevaartschool to become a Maritime Officer, as I didn't want an 8 to 5 job. That’s something I still don't, not at Mars either. I sailed for a while, but eventually looked for a job on the shore so I wouldn’t be away from home for 6 months every time. I started at Mars in 1999 and have been working here for over 23 years now. A ship is actually a kind of factory as well. You don't make chocolate there, but you do have the systems to generate heat, drinking water, electricity, etc. However, a ship at sea is not in the same place every evening, like the factory in Veghel.
What kind of work have you done and are you doing now at Mars?
I started in Veghel as a process technician at Engineering, where we design machines to make bars from raw materials. This large and heavy equipment makes my eyes twinkle. That is perhaps the link to the maritime world, where everything is also a bit bigger and more heavy. In 2004 I relocated to England to do a number of projects for Mars. In 2007 I returned and did several projects in Europe. In 2011 we started working more globally with our team, some countries involved Dubai, China, Egypt, India, Russia, America and Brazil. Currently, as a Global Engineer, I am responsible for the filled bar lines (Mars, Snickers, Milky Way), the biscuit lines (Twix, Balisto), the bonbons and tablet chocolate lines, and the peanuts.
What makes it special working at Mars?
The people. In my work I do have the opportunity to meet a lot of people and discover different cultures. Every day is different, sometimes with new people, sometimes with the same people. The combination and diversity is important, I prefer to work with people who are involved at a detailed level and wish to continuously improve. You want to create something together and increase the bar. And we can achieve this, with our own associates and certainly together with suppliers and our global partners as well.
How did you end up in the world of pension?
At Mars I worked closely together with Wim van de Laar's team, who has been active within Mars Pension Fund for quite some time. He asked me if I would be interested in a position at the fund. What triggered me was the challenge of learning something new and not linked to my daily job. And it affects all of us, the pension fund. At Mars we talk a lot about ambitions & development. I believe everyone should actually have it in their personal plan: I want to reach my pension. Ultimately, your pension is an extension of your working life and therefore a career step. Everything you do in your career is reflected in your pension. This is inspiring and it was the right momentum for me, an additional challenge, so I joined the Talent Pool.
What does the Talent Pool entail?
The Talent Pool is a process to prepare you for a role at Mars Pension Fund. It is a safe environment where you can learn, try and gain experience. In the Talent Pool you will be assigned a coach who is already active within Mars Pension Fund. You can exchange ideas with your coach and ask all your questions. Together with your coach you will define several goals and how to achieve these. I first participated in the Accountability Council. You are present at board meetings and attend training courses from internal and external specialists on various topics.
Did you already know something about pension before you joined the Talent Pool?
I don't have a background in the pension or the financial world, so everything was new to me. Although many parallels are present. For example, I also do risk analysis, projects and take investment decisions in my regular work for Mars, but you are in a completely different environment here. You will discuss different topics and responsibilities. The learning process in the Talent Pool is a bit easier for topics that have connections to your own work, and it requires a little more attention for subjects which are out of your comfort zone. It is rewarding to work with people who do have a financial background. Thinking differently about topics with my background, it gives me the opportunity to add the right counter balance with fresh eyes. This way we complement each other. You don't have to be always the expert in any field. Make sure you have knowledge to ask the right questions, trust the experts you work with and use them if you don't know all details yourself or wish to learn something. This way you become a better board member and the board becomes stronger together as a team!
What do you find most valuable about the Talent Pool?
A whole other world opens for you. You learn so many new things, you become much richer as a person and you can add a lot of value. The Talent Pool is a great opportunity to get a flavor. If you eventually transfer to the Accountability Council, the board and/or one of the committees, you will be part of defining the future path. The pension fund isn't just old grey men in suits and ties, time changes. The board members of the future are the people who start in the Talent Pool today. They add diversity, in terms of age, gender, educational background, where they were born and raised. This is already reflected in our pension fund today and why the Talent Pool was initiated. Pension is the icing on the cake of your career and you can influence this.
What positions have you held at Mars Pension Fund and when did you become a board member?
I started in the Talent Pool at the end of 2019. I did that for just over a year. During that term, I got to know our pension fund well and I got a chance to work with the Accountability Council. At the end of 2020 I was asked if I was open to become an aspiring board member. In 2021 I did an education at SPO (Stichting Pensioen Opleidingen) with successful result. As a board member you have a great responsibility, so there are still quite a few steps that you have to go pass before you are officially appointed as a board member. Support by your line manager, because it takes you a day a week, the Supervisory Council, P&O and the Works Council have to give their approval and I had to be introduced to DNB (De Nederlandsche Bank). In May 2022 I was approved by DNB and in June I was installed as a board member on behalf of the active members.
What do you hope to achieve at Mars Pension Fund?
I believe what the people at Mars Pension Fund do, they do very well. For example, look at where we stand in terms of funding ratio, a simple indicator. So I am not here to change everything, but I will add fresh blood. Some people say 'never change a winning team', but if you never change anything, you won't keep winning. You actually want to strive for 'continuous improvement'. You should learn from past experiences and continuously improve. This will assure everything goes faster and more efficiently. What I would like to show is that the world of retirement is not an old-fashioned, grey-men-in-suit culture. I want to show that the pension fund can also be dynamic and attractive.
What is your personal retirement tip?
Use your voice! The influence you have now, the voice you use now, will be reflected in 10, 20, 30 years and/or when you retire. Our main goal is and remains providing a good pension for our associates. If you see me in the office, come and speak to me. Sign up for the newsletter, participate in surveys and make your voice heard. Then it is up to us to proceed and identify what is best and to define the optimal balance for all involved.