Describe your typical day at work
In my job there’s no such thing as a typical day. Apart from monitoring the sales performance indicators each morning, every day is different and that’s exactly what makes my job so interesting. Pathé Theatres has 29 cinema theatres in The Netherlands with 247 auditoriums and a rooftop cinema. In record-breaking 2019 we received over 16 million visitors. Recently we re-acquired TVOD operator Pathé Thuis that originated from Pathé. The past two years we’ve been very creative in finding ways to stay connected with our visitors. Moreover, we’ve continued working on innovations in our cinemas through renovations and opening a new cinema theatre in Leeuwarden. We realise that for a sustainable future we must take our responsibilities and therefore we have made Corporate social sustainability one of our strategic pillars.
Today, I’m happy to work with my team on the recovery of our business and we’re getting back to business as usual. The diversity of all the different commercial disciplines makes my job very varied: guiding and coaching the teams in developing and executing strategies for Content and Programming, Food & Beverage, B2B Events, PR & Communications and Marketing & Sales. I often visit the cinema theatres to know what’s going on in the daily business and see how we can improve our performances. On a perfect day, I would end the day with an opening night in our Royal Theatre Tuschinski.
The moment you fell in love with the Big Screen?
I remember my first movie experience as if it was yesterday. There I was sitting in a red velvet chair, between my parents with a large bucket of popcorn, being blown away by E.T. It was such a memorable experience, and I was very impressed by the huge screen and the ultimate audio experience. Today, I enjoy going to the movies with my family to create the same unforgettable memories for them. It is a privilege to work in the cinema industry and to be able create these unforgettable cinema memories for millions of friends and families.
The best thing about the cinema experience?
There’s no such thing as watching your favorite movie in a cinema theatre. It’s not only the big screen, but also the immersive sound that you can even feel in your comfortable chair, or even better in a reclining Relax Seat, the Premium Large Formats such as IMAX, Dolby Cinema, 4DX and ScreenX and the ultimate cinema snacks like fresh popcorn and nachos. It is also about experiencing together. You laugh together, you cry together, you get amazed together. All of that creates an extra dimension to the film you’re watching, adding up to a unique entertainment experience. Pathé is already doing this for over 125 years and will continue to do so with passion for generations to come.