Amoria Bond’s dynamic duo celebrate anniversaries in Amsterdam

Congratulations to Daan Fokkema for a tremendous 10 years and Andy Barrow for a fantastic 15 years at Amoria Bond!

Daan and Andy celebrating their anniversaries at the latest Lunch Club.

Andy was the the very first employee hired by our Founders shortly after Amoria Bond was established back in 2006 – so his work-iversry actually coincides the company’s 15 year birthday! Since then Andy’s progressed his career having joined as a graduate with no salesor recruitment experience, he’s developed as both a recruiter and leader to Associate Director - Step on 7 on our 10 Steps to the Top, and now leads our European Life Sciences team – a division that he started from scratch just over six years ago.

Andy’s been named Leader Of The Year (2017), PROFES Of The Year (2011), Top Biller and Top Perm Biller, with his team the first to be Highly Commended (2017) at our much loved AGM Award Ceremonies. When asked about his career highlights so far, Andy is quick to mention the multiple global Sales Conferences he’s experienced with the company including Dubai boat party, Ibiza, Palma, Prague, Barcelona, Nice; ski-ing in Kitzbuhl; taking a plane-ride down the Grand Canyon; and playing blackjack in Las Vegas next to Leonardo di Caprio!

Next on Andy’s list of the ‘best-bits’ of his 15 years #Inside Amoria were the scores of lunch-club meals he’s enjoyed in some of the world’s finest restaurants – most recently Michelin starred MOS Amsterdam! He also credits Amoria Bond to providing him with one of his dream cars – an “all singing, all dancing Mini” when he hit his very first car target – just like in the Italian Job!

“I was driving an old banger which broke down within the first six months of working for Amoria Bond, so I was stuck to bus, tram and lifts to get around. That gave me the impetus to work for that first car target and when I hit that goal, my first hat trick, I was able to get the car that had been my dream for a few years which was just amazing.”

Andy didn’t slow down though, and his impressive work- ethic and positive, resiliant attitude saw hin quickly progress to Senior Consultant and soon after to lead consultant.

As Andy says: “Working at Amoria Bond has given me opportunities I wouldn’t have had anywhere else: now I’m a Sales Director at an international company, living in Amsterdam and have been given incredible experiences by the company – it’s easy to take it for granted because Amoria Bond is continuously looking for ways to provide remarkable experiences to all staff – but having been here almost since the early days and I know we are a unique company built around a unique culture and value-set. . I’m very proud of the strong culture we’ve developed in the Amsterdam office built around our PROFES values and a genuinely supportive team-ship ethos… that’s what makes the Amoria Bond family so special”.

Andy Barrow in Amoria Bond’s first Manchester office 15 years ago.

Also commemorating a milestone this week is another Associate Director in Amsterdam, Daan Fokkema, who joined Amoria Bond as a trainee 10 years ago and has progressed through our 10-Steps with an amazing 7 promotions in 10 years!

Daan’s hit some massive targets in his time with Amoria Bond and was recognised as Top Biller both within the Netherlands and across the whole company in 2018. His team were also named Team of the Year in 2018.

Daan’s also enjoyed global travel with the company over the last ten years, including Las Vegas, Madrid, Barcelona, Puerto Banus, Rome, Dublin and multiple ski trips, plus his personal highlight of the “best AB party” on a boat in Dubai in 2013.

He says: “I really connect with our purpose Progressing Lives Everywhere. Supporting, helping and progressing the lives of the people I work with gives me so much job satisfaction! Currently we have people at their start of the journey, people progressing in the top sales level roles and also future leaders making their way in to management and building their own teams. All stages I’ve been through and seeing those succeed and hearing they appreciate what you do for them is what drives me today.”

Daan’s team are quick to recognise their manager who is renowned for his great sense of humour and creativity in generating both a great sense of fun and team connection at work… stepping it up a level during the long months of social restrictions and lockdowns during the pandemic with his infamous quiz nights and team incentive games! As Jody Bos (recently promoted for the 3rd time herself since joining Daan’s team 2.5 years ago) commented: “During the Covid19 pandemic Daan made sure to stay in touch with me on a daily basis. When checking in he not only asked my about how my business was going, but always made sure to check in how I was feeling myself. Daan made sure to keep all the employees connected by organising fun remote activities like quizzes and escape rooms… I have nothing but positive words on how my manager and how Amoria Bond helped me during Covid19”.

Daan getting ready for his first day at Amoria Bond in 2011.

Both Andy and Daan are valued members of the Amoria Bond leadership team and have continuously embraced our PROFES values through their time in the company. They are also a reflection of our industry-leading retention (consistently over 80% throughout the company's 15 year history) and employee progression record. By setting out our commitment to progressing the lives of our own employees we see brilliant people like Andy and Daan staying with us and achieving evolving personal and career goals.

With our commitment to our people, we’re sure we’ll soon be celebrating many more anniversary milestone’s like Daan’s 10 years and Andy’s 15 years.

If you’d like to progress your own career with Amoria Bond, get in touch and find out about our latest opportunities.