How is ... doing these days?
Ithar da Costa
We know for certain that Ithar da Costa looks back fondly on his time at Turner. He met his wife, Juliette Bos, while he was with us. But how does he reflect on his time at Turner, from 2003 through 2007? And what has he been up to since then?
How did you end up at Turner?
“The consulting firm where I used to work went bankrupt, and through Enno Wiertsema, I ended up at Turner in 2003. To be honest, the hiring process didn’t go very smoothly—I didn’t handle the final round (the workshop round, ed.) very well. Still, the debriefing with the group turned into a good conversation. And we thought: let’s just go for it. It really captures the atmosphere and collaborative style at Turner—very reflective, very open.”
How do you look back on your time at Turner?
“It was incredibly educational and a lot of fun. There was plenty of room to be yourself, to make the occasional mistake, and to learn from them. We drew on the strength of the group to grow together. Looking back, it was an intense period; we soaked up all the new information like sponges and were focused on our personal growth. We all went through a transformation, where the personal and the professional overlapped. I took that very seriously, because I also met my wife, Juliette, at Turner, haha.”
What have you taken away from your time at Turner?
“At Turner, I learned to combine the ‘blue’ and the ‘red’—the head and the heart—to take an integrated, almost holistic approach to transformation and change issues. Both sides must be in balance to achieve what you set out to achieve. When I think of the ‘blue’ side, I’m mainly referring to Turner’s process model, which ensures you continually take all aspects of a business model into account. It’s a very rich framework.”
“I still apply that holistic approach to issues. Back then, Jacques Pijl taught me the ‘look, because, so’ method: look, this is happening; because this is the reason; so we do that. I use that a lot now. And then you also notice how few organizations actually draw conclusions—using that ‘so’—and act on the consequences of those conclusions.”
"At Turner, there was plenty of room to be yourself and to make the occasional mistake so you could learn from it."
Ithar da Costa, a Turner alumnus
Why did you leave Turner back then?
“I wanted to sit ‘on the other side’ of the table. That’s how I ended up at De Hypotheker, where I fairly quickly became responsible for the franchise organization. My conversations with De Hypotheker’s franchisees were conversations with entrepreneurs about their businesses—their heart and soul. When you work with entrepreneurs, you see immediate results—especially in small and medium-sized businesses, where many responsibilities fall on a single person; as a result, the outcomes are more tangible. It was really enjoyable. Later, I became Director of Operations and worked at the intersection of business, IT, and digital transformation. In the end, I worked there for ten years.”
And then what?
“After that, I started working on an interim basis fairly quickly. Initially, I served as the permanent director of a healthcare institution in a private equity setting for a short time. It was a very educational experience. After that, I started working as an interim consultant. My first assignment was as interim director of the IT operating company for Royal FloraHolland. It was a fascinating combination of building an organization and implementing DevOps (a software development methodology, ed.) in a highly mission-critical environment. Fascinating! Now I’m working on an assignment at APG, the largest pension administrator in the Netherlands. First as interim director of Business Improvement & Change, and now in a support role for the Executive Board. The best part of interim work is the variety of assignments, the places you wouldn’t otherwise get to visit, the variety, and the dynamic of diving right into a new environment very quickly. In that respect, it’s also very similar to consulting work. But, to be honest, I do miss the other important aspects of my previous executive roles as well. The permanent team, building the organization together, the mutual connection, going through the whole journey together. The feeling that you’re working toward something together—through thick and thin. That’s why I’m now looking into a permanent position again.”
What else would you like to do next?
“Supervision has always appealed to me, and I’m currently pursuing a degree in that field. For example, I serve as a supervisor at the Utrecht Volunteer Center (VCU), a foundation that matches volunteers with organizations and also supports those organizations in running their operations. A supervisory role like this requires something very different from you. You have to monitor such an organization critically, but you aren’t responsible for it. It’s an observational role in which you primarily support the current director.”
What exactly does the volunteer center do?
“The VCU was originally an organization that provides training and helps volunteer organizations run their operations more effectively. How do you handle finances, HR policies, or how do you find volunteers? They also have a very large digital ‘database’ with all the volunteer openings from volunteer organizations in Utrecht. As a new volunteer, you can have an intake interview to see what kind of volunteer work suits you. Often, people don’t know where to start when they want to volunteer. This organization connects supply and demand in this way. In this role, VCU also serves as a point of contact for the municipality regarding volunteer policy. They also present an annual award for Volunteer of the Year. It’s really great.”
"A supervisory role requires something completely different—a very contemplative role."
Ithar da Costa, a Turner alumnus
How did you experience the past (COVID-19) year?
“I’ve been working out a lot, so I’ve never been this fit, haha. But what I’m really proud of is how my kids are handling this situation. It’s really cool to see how openly they talk about it, how they’re trying to make the best of it, no matter how annoying it all is. I also think it’s wonderful to see how resilient and adaptable people and organizations can be. At APG, we launched a major program last year. Everything has to be done remotely. A lot of things don’t work out or are more difficult, but at the same time, we’re able to build something together. That’s incredibly cool.”
Do you still have any dreams for the future?
“I’d love to start traveling again, because I miss it. Still, the pandemic has also made me realize even more how rich our lives are in terms of prosperity, family, and love. In the future, I’d like to continue appreciating the beautiful things from this period: family and friends being close to one another. And, just like the rest of the Netherlands, I’ll keep going for walks!”
What else do you want to say?
“I’m really curious to hear the stories of other alumni. I still see people from my time at Turner from time to time; for example, I’m currently working with my former colleague Collete Leeflang. But I think it would be interesting to get to know other alumni I’ve never worked with before. Because even if you don’t know each other, you can still recognize that red-and-blue Turner DNA.”
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