Hans de Leeuw

Background

About Hans de Leeuw

Right after my marketing study I landed a job at Nike, not a bad start of a career;) The first 10 years at Nike were in footwear merchandising and product creation at country, regional and global level with 3 years in Beaverton, Nike HQ, working closely with product design and driving an innovation agenda for the Cross Training category. I became a shoe dog, a title for life and not to take lightly. A love for product, innovation and design and I still have this strange habit of looking at peoples feet to see what they are wearing. Early 2001 I switched to marketing, I became a brand guy, a story teller, leading teams and marketing agencies from concept to execution in Football, Running, Sportswear, Nike+, Nike iD and many other initiatives. I was lucky to be working with incredibly creative people always looking for new and better ways of connecting with the consumer. A deep shared understanding of what the brand stands for as a compass throughout the creative process combined with sharp insights about the consumer is key. A fascinating aspect that really intrigued me was the influence that culture, and especially subcultures, have on brands. Understanding this as an organization and being fully connected can enrich your product and brand enormously. Especially in today’s digital world. In 2011 it was time for a change, I left the swoosh. Social media was rapidly emerging and I wanted to be part of that. I started ON-agency focusing on community management for brands and athletes. Everything from positioning, to community growth, campaign creation and engagement with the online communities. It was exciting and we had a great portfolio of brands and high profile athletes. But new and other exiting ideas and adventures were just too tempting so in 2019 I decided to fully engage in 2 tech start-ups, BrandMe and Fisherman's Channel. Both on the digital side. So, a shoe dog, a brand guy and a bit of an entrepreneur, curious by nature, creative, a comfortable presenter and a strong conceptual thinker with a just do it attitude. What makes me tick is to dig into new challenges and come up with solutions through teamwork. I love sports, like to ‘build’ things, anything really. And by the way, I have a deep affection for the natural world and our responsibility within it. Something I feel is worth mentioning.