What began as a small, pioneering team eventually grew into a fully-fledged PMC (product-market combination) that is now involved in a wide range of projects. As Marcel puts it: ‘At the start, I was very impatient. But I’ve since learned that change happens slowly. You have to be patient and learn to enjoy the journey.’ In this video, he looks back on 30 years of developing ecology at Witteveen+Bos.

Over the years, Marcel collaborated with many colleagues and played an important role in developing his field at the company. For marine ecologist Annemiek Hermans, he was why she applied for a job at Witteveen+Bos: ‘Marcel is incredibly driven when it comes to subject matter, but he’s also very people-oriented. That’s a great combination. When you hear him talk, you think: Yeah, he knows what he’s talking about. And he does. He’s really seen the profession grow up.’

Lennart Turlings, current Ecology business unit manager at Witteveen+Bos, was hired in 2001 by Marcel, who held the position at that time: ‘He’s an example – someone you get energy from.’ With Marcel now leaving, 25 years of intensive collaboration come to a close. In this video, Lennart looks back on them.

After more than 30 years, Marcel is handing responsibility over to a new generation of ecologists, who continue to build on the knowledge and projects he spent all those years working on.