Interview: New CEO of TSH, John Reynders, is infinitely ambitious
You can tell from everything that John Reynders is eagerly waiting. As of September 1, he will be the new CEO of TSH. He is very enthusiastic about the company, which is as ambitious as he is.
Reynders describes himself as a “geek. “I have a deep passion for technology and what it can do for people and organizations. In addition, I love helping people and teams achieve things they never thought possible.”
He began his career as a technical consultant and then worked long and happily at Microsoft, where he progressed towards various management positions. Currently, he is Area Director Benelux at Visma. “I have had the opportunity to experience a phenomenal journey there, growing from one to 50 companies and from 20 million to 600 million in sales, with 4,000 highly committed employees.”
Flywheel
Still, he is taking on a new challenge after the summer. “In a conversation with TSH, some sparks struck. TSH’s ambition is truly limitless. They want to become the leading European MSP platform. The culture matches my curiosity to learn new things. Like me, they believe in a trinity of entrepreneurship, technology and people. That can lead to a flywheel of value creation.”
His new position fits seamlessly with his passion for both entrepreneurship and technology. “I can really go into entrepreneurship without limits. As a boy from an entrepreneurial family, that’s in my blood. I can also fully express my love for the magic of technology, which originated in my college days. While I no longer code, I get to start thinking about how technology can be applied to harness the potential of people, teams and organizations. This is hugely relevant right now. Also in the area of developing people, TSH and I are completely on the same page.”
Reynders had another important reason for choosing TSH. “I have now worked for an English, an American and a Norwegian company. As a Dutchman, I like the idea of helping a Dutch tech platform achieve its international ambition. After all, I think there are too few Dutch tech successes.”
Uncertainty
If you want to name current trends in the MSP market, Reynders says you can’t ignore the state of the world. “Everything is full of uncertainty. On the political level, first of all. Then economically, with inflation, high interest rates and a big labor market squeeze. And also at the technological level, a lot is happening. The transition to the cloud is not going anywhere fast, AI is causing a paradigm shift and the amount of cybercrime continues to increase. Because of this uncertainty, MSPs, as well as their customers, are looking for guidance. Modern, flexible and secure IT is then prerequisite.”
“MSPs are often seen, even by themselves, as tech companies. I see that differently. They are directors of technology.”
MSPs have an important role to play as a result, he outlines. “MSPs are often seen, even by themselves, as tech companies. I see that differently. They are directors of technology. In English, I would call MSPs tech-enabled customer experience companies. From deep customer knowledge, the ultimate customer experience is realized. The technological developments in the areas of cloud and AI help with this. It goes beyond applying technology smartly. In addition to realizing unique customer experiences, the employee experience is also crucial for the MSP of the future. That’s where it starts.”
So the MSP is a director. “Just as a movie director works with people on set and people outside, an MSP has to deal with activities inside and outside the established business model and direct responsibility. Whether they will unburden clients in the future with adjacent value-creating services, such as in the area of finance, for example, I find difficult to predict. It’s very interesting to keep an eye on.”
Champions League-network
“In a relatively short time, TSH has become MSP market leader in the Netherlands, but this is really just the beginning,” sounds promising from Reynders’ mouth. “We want to continue in the Netherlands, but also literally cross the border. With support from the renowned Strikwerda Investments, we have a wonderful foundation.”
His tenure has yet to begin, but he has no trouble pointing out where TSH stands out. “An MSP who joins TSH has the guarantee that they are partnering with the leading pure play MSP platform in the Netherlands, with tremendous ambition, helping them become a truly premium MSP. We have a portfolio that enables MSPs to stay focused on their core business processes and customer intimacy. They can do what they love most: business. They retain a lot of go-to-market freedom, and we don’t have a philosophy of forced integrations. We don’t believe in that. That there is a Dutch family investor behind it with a long-term view is also a nice thought.”
“New opportunities arise as an MSP with us because you end up in a kind of Champions League network of other TSH entrepreneurs,” he emphasizes. “We facilitate it that companies make each other stronger. We also help transition from a tech company to a tech-driven company that improves customer experiences. We do that with our Shared Digital Capability Center. In it, we jointly develop new services and technology solutions that you could never create as an independent MSP at that aforementioned Champions League level. Think of 24×7 SOC-SIEM, a high-end cloud platform, Managed Security solutions, but also exchanging knowledge together and sparring about the future of IT and new developments such as AI. We also support talent attraction and retention, including development and leadership programs and recruitment support.”
Needless to say, Reynders is ready for his new adventure. “It’s a big step, but I’m looking forward to it with great enthusiasm.”