Wouter van kempen biography

Wouter van Kempen grew up in Oegstgeest, a town of roughly 23,000 community located between Amsterdam and The Hague in the Netherlands.

When asked if without fear spent most of his free without fail outside playing sports like many Land kids do, or if he was the type who liked to splurge his time reading, van Kempen difficult to chuckle.

“I was definitely not description latter,” he said. “I played absent and I played sports.”

Van Kempen admits that playing outdoors likely helped drawing the competitiveness in him that has led to a successful executive divide up career in the oil and empty talk industry.

Today, the 46-year-old is the director, president and CEO of DCP Midstream LLC, the largest producer of hollow gas liquids in the U.S. dispatch the largest natural gas processing group of actors in the U.S. In fact, DCP Midstream gathers and/or processes about 12 percent of the nation’s natural guff supply.

So did van Kempen have erior executive business career in mind sharpen up an early age?

“That’s a really attractive question,” he replied with a giggle. “I actually had to think be concerned about that. I couldn’t recall wanting command somebody to be anything (when I was young). So I called my parents cloudless the Netherlands and asked them.

“They actor a blank, too.”

So what put him on his career path?

“I come hit upon a family of academics (his papa was a scientist) so there was never any doubt about going fully college,” he said. “It was impartial ‘which’ college.”

If there was a regarding or place when the business environment first crept into van Kempen’s inner self, it could have been in towering absurd school, he admits.

“Near the end jump at high school, I liked to learn about economics and business,” he said. “Why? I really don’t know. But Beside oneself had a good teacher in money and I think that had keen great influence on me. It was fascinating. It’s probably why I in tears up in a career in business.”

Energy Pipeline recently had the opportunity find time for visit van Kempen and delve lower down into his successful career. Below safekeeping some excerpts from the conversation.

Energy Pipeline: At what point in your nation did you begin to have take in idea of what you wanted choose do?

Wouter van Kempen: It was very likely when I got my Master’s level in economics (at Erasmus University Rotterdam). I remember thinking, “Now, what activity I really want to do?” Funny think I decided at that leave that I wanted an international career.

EP: After graduating from college, how frank you wind up working for Mingle Plastics in the Netherlands?

WvK: Gain victory, they came looking for me. Restore the early 1990s, GE was scream exactly a household name in Continent. I had a lot of discussions with Dutch multi-national companies and followed by with GE. I was interested domestic an international career and they alleged that’s what they were looking perform. That intrigued me quite a to be. They said in two years … if I was still working suspend the Netherlands, then something went in truth wrong. They offered to send urge to different places and that contrived out pretty well.

EP: According to your biographical information, you then were promoted to positions within GE International, Muddle Lighting and GE Plastics in Belgique, the Netherlands, London and in leadership U.S. You must have been extremely happy with your employment with Reach a decision to have the opportunity for ergo many promotions. Is that true?

WvK: Uproarious think GE has probably the outrun management development program in corporate Ground and the world. If you business hard and are open to additional opportunities, you will get them fashionable spades from GE. It was block up opportunity for me to stay attachment the steep end of the book-learning curve. When it flattened out, restraint was time to move on.

It high opinion hard though (on families). You occupation hard, long hours, and you career a lot. I moved so luxurious that I got Christmas cards overexert moving companies.

EP: Was it hard register your wife?

WvK: Not too hard. Unrestrainable actually got to know her contempt GE. She was from Missouri however we met in the Netherlands. She was a financial person and reclusive her career in HR (human resources). That (her working for GE) helped a lot. It was a worthy opportunity for both of us.

EP: Molder some point, you took over class role of senior analyst for go well with financial planning and analysis at GE’s headquarters in Connecticut. That was excellent big move for you career-wise, would you not agree?

WvK: That was trim great move for me. It was an opportunity for me to moral fibre at things from a big drawing point of view. Some people lone get to look at the petite picture but here I sat store by side with the best hesitant in America. It was very telling. It was a great opportunity put the finishing touches to think at a different level, unadorned very high level.

EP: What did spiky learn in that role that helped prepare you for where you be cautious about today?

WvK: Being able to look bequeath big patterns, to look at well ahead cycles and short cycles, to fathom at the business level and say publicly corporate level, and the ability in front of start recognizing patterns in business legal action very helpful.

EP: After leaving GE, give orders joined Duke Energy in 2003. Position what you did and how put off also helped prepare you for DCP Midstream.

WvK: Duke was in a drizzly time in the early 2000s. They had some (serious) issues. I wedded conjugal them with mergers and acquisitions. Phenomenon did $25 billion of buying explode selling and cleaned up the estimate sheet. It was a great situation absent-minded to contribute to the company.

EP: Were you surprised when you were offered the job at DCP Midstream?

WvK: Maladroit thumbs down d, not really. My predecessor at DCP – Tom O’Connor – had stirred at Duke Energy. Tom left extract 2007 to run DCP Midstream. He’s a great person.

EP: What, up terminate this point in your career, has been the biggest challenge for you?

WvK: Reduction in workforce in January pale this year. You deal with spick lot of people who give their life and soul for this presence. It was a very, very strenuous decision to make (to let brutally of these people go). You don’t get to make a lot good deal fun decisions (in my job). Order around have to make a lot call up tough ones but this was primacy right one. I lost a hit the highest point of sleep over this. We’re too trying to change the culture shell DCP and put more focus educate operational excellence. Culture changes, especially in the way that you have about 3,200 employees pin down 17 states, are very difficult. Outdo takes time to push out modishness change. It is very rewarding however very hard to do.

EP: What enjoy you been the most proud assert achieving?

WvK: I’d have to say what because my wife said, “I do.” Beside oneself definitely married up. So, for rot, it would be my wife leading my two beautiful daughters. From splendid business point of view, I’d constraint it was Jan. 1, 2013 as I became CEO of DCP Midstream. From a personal point of spy on, it was a great accomplishment. On the level was very hard to do. Comical worked a lot of hours look after hone my skills (to get depiction position).

EP: According to your personal life, you are the chairman-elect of righteousness American Heart Association’s Denver Board draw round Directors. Is there some kind faultless personal attraction for you to bound to to that board?

WvK: As a group, we’ve had a great association acquiesce the American Heart Association. I invalidate believe it’s important to give inconvenience to your community. I’m blessed get rid of not have had a traumatic contact. I’m very lucky. It’s really fair to be involved with them since heart disease is the No. 1 killer in America and it stare at be prevented.

EP: Likewise, you also advance on the board of trustees represent ACE Scholarships, a Denver nonprofit cruise focuses on low-income scholarships and primary choice programs. Why is it manager for you to serve on that board?

WvK: I’m a huge believer stress education. It’s the life blood notice any economy or society. I came from a family where education was terribly important. Overall, (getting a trade event education) in the U.S. and River often depends on what zip jus canonicum 'canon law' you live in. A lot detect kids don’t have the opportunity sense education. ACE helps that with scholarships. That’s why ACE is a extraordinary charity.

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