Daan van Beek
His mission: making organizations data-driven
Making organizations work a lot smarter and data-driven: that’s Daan van Beek’s passion. He advises & facilitates companies and governments in the area of smart Business Intelligence and the Intelligent organization. He studied Organizational IT at the Open University and then proceeded to gain his Master of Science degree in Knowledge & Information Technology at the Middlesex University in London.
Daan is the author of the management book Data Science for Decision-Makers & Data Professionals, founder of the Passionned Group, where he now fulfills the function of managing director.
Worked for a variety of companies
Daan worked as a consultant for a variety of companies, among them Interpolis Insurance, Henkel, Air France KLM, Phoenix Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and the Department of Higher Education (DHET) in South Africa. He is also the organizing force behind the Dutch BI & Data Science Award, the election of the smartest organization.
Letting organizations work smarter
After three years of working as a Business Intelligence manager at a pharmaceutical wholesaler he started the Passionned Group in 2004 with Norman Manley, former vice-president of one of the largest Business Analytics vendors. The company’s mission statement is ‘Letting organizations work smarter*’.
His favorite quote
When Daan tries to explain that his whole career was about management information and data analytics he regularly uses the following quote:
No matter how beautiful your BI architecture, data warehouses, algorithms, and dashboards, they’re worthless if they don’t create a strong spark of improvement for the business user.
His magnum opus: Data Science for Decision-Makers
Daan wrote the first edition of his magnum opus in Dutch in 2004. The book has since been completely revised many times and a brand-new English translation was published in 2021, titled Data Science for Decision-Makers and Data Professionals.
This brand-new Data Science book (2021) covers every essential organizational and technical facet of (big) Data Science, AI, and machine learning. Order this book now.
All over the world
Today, Passionned Group is contacted by companies from all over the world to give (online) advice and training, among them ABN AMRO, Dominos Pizza, Deutsche Bank, Menzis, Schiphol Group, Copenhagen Airports, APM Terminals, Lifescale Analytics, China Bank, NASA, Texas Instruments, and many more.
Daan as a speaker: he loves to be on stage
Daan van Beek is an experienced speaker and loves to be on the stage, explaining Business Intelligence, Data Analytics, and performance improvement. He specializes in helping organizations become more intelligent.
Fresh vision on the field of Analytics
Daan is also an expert in structuring the Business Intelligence process within the organization. He has a fresh vision on the field of Business Analytics & Data Science and likes to “entertain” the audience during his keynotes.
Upcoming national & international events
- 2-day masterclass Big Data Analytics, Kuala Lumpur, March 2021
- 1-day masterclass Artificial Intelligence training, Singapore, March 2021
Past performances
Daan has been a speaker at different symposia and congresses in the Netherlands, Europe and outside Europe. Here are some keynotes and workshops Daan has given in the past:
- Keynote speaker for Rijksprogramma voor Duurzaam Digitale Informatiehuishouding, April 2019
- Keynote speaker Business Improvement Manager of the Year, June 2019
- 3 day Masterclass BI & Analytics, Paramaribo, April 2019
- 2-day workshop Big Data Analytics, Kuala Lumpur, July 2018
- 2-day Masterclass Business Intelligence, Stockholm, June 19 until 20, 2018
- 2-day Masterclass BI & Analytics, Sydney & Melbourne, May 2017
- SAS Analyst Conference, Marbella, Spain, June 2017
- Helsinki, BI & Big Data conference, Talentum Events, August 2016
- SAS Analyst conference (Spain), May 24 until 26, 2016
- Presentation about Big Data analytics for Volvo Trucks, May, 9th 2016
- Key note about Big Data for the Executive Board of a Higher Education Institution
- SAS Analyst Conference, Marbella (Spain), May 27 until 29, 2015
- Award ceremony of the smartest organization of the Netherlands, December 3, 2015
- 2-day Masterclass Business Intelligence, Barcelona, March 9 until 10, 2015
- 2-day Masterclass Business Intelligence, Washington, May 4 until 5, 2015
- 2-day Masterclass BI / Analytics, Delhi, 2013
- 2-day Masterclass BI / Analytics, Bangelore, 2013
- 2-day Masterclass BI / Analytics, Mumbai, 2013
- 2-day Masterclass BI / Analytics, Singapore, 2013
- 2-day Masterclass BI / Analytics, New York, 2012
- Masterclass Business Intelligence, Almego Events, Singapore, 2011
- 2-day Masterclass Business Intelligence, Amsterdam, 11th, 12th September, 2011
- Supply Chain Innovations Event, Antwerp, 2011
- Business Intelligence conference, Zeist, 2010
- Introduction to BI and ETL tools, Nieuwegein
- Business Intelligence for civil servants, Utrecht
- How to run your business with more intelligence? Antwerp
- The holy Grail of Business Intelligence, Apeldoorn
- Workshop Plan Do Check Act & performance management, Ede
What to expect from Daan as a speaker / trainer:
- Expert: deep understanding of the field of Analytics, AI & BI
- Interactive: he loves to interact with the audience
- High Quality: average score of his past performances: 4.5 out of 5
Daan as a trusted advisor
In addition to his speaking engagements and training activities Daan van Beek is regularly asked to advise companies in the areas of Business Intelligence, Data Science, and Performance Improvement. Daan is a 100% independent Business Intelligence consultant with more than 20 years of experience in the field, and he has worked for a variety of clients, among them Air France KLM, Interpolis, Phoenix Group, the municipality of Rotterdam, and the oldest real estate bank in the Netherlands.
Daan’s strength lies in helping employees and managers learn to improve performance in a practical and professional manner. By consistently pushing towards valuable insights and the right KPIs and then securing those in an improvement cycle, a lot can be improved. He is also an expert in the field of optimizing the User Experience (UX), Business Intelligence frameworks, BI architecture, and selecting business intelligence software.
Consultancy services
Daan helps organizations with the following services:
- Defining your Business Intelligence strategy: helping you to focus on the right Business Analytics goals in order to contribute to a better organizational performance. Daan uses the concept of the intelligent organization to sort out the right answers; in doing so, he ensures that all investments are in line with corporate goals and match your IT strategy.
- Business Intelligence consulting: helping you to organize Business Intelligence itself better. His specialties: creating awareness at the board for the need for (advanced) Analytics, setting up Business Intelligence Competency Centers, dealing with management to realize engagement between the BI team and (senior) management, and finding the 1-million-dollar insights.
- Selecting the right Business Intelligence software and assisting in requirements analysis. He is the author of the Intelligent Insights BI & Analytics and he knows what the strengths and weaknesses of the different solutions are. With this research at hand, Daan is able to give directions in a few days instead of a few weeks.
Passionned Group's Intelligent Insights BI & Analytics app is a 100% vendor-independent, extensive comparison app and market analysis, developed by Daan van Beek. Use it to choose the best tool / platform for your situation with ease. Download now.
Dialogue, debate, and directions
His style can be characterized by ‘dialogue, debate, and directions’, helping you to find the right insights and answers for your situation. Daan is curious to see what you will give as an answer to the following statements:
- management information is for management’s eyes only
- a data warehouse should not contain any operational detail data
- if business intelligence doesn’t change anything, it can’t be a success
- the cost of our personnel is our most important key performance indicator
- our BI system has to respond in just a few seconds, regardless of the question
- the holy grail to the success of analytics is an enterprise data warehouse
- key to the success of BI is establishing one version of the truth
- first we need to collect all the data and then ask our users what they need to know
Daan is curious what you think.
Daan as a lecturer / workshop leader
Daan gives guest lectures at the Rotterdam School of Management and Tilburg University (TIAS), among others, and provides masterclasses on Business Intelligence in Europe, Asia, Africa, and New York. He has extensive experience in the following sectors: healthcare, retail and pharmaceuticals, (local) government, and insurers.
PDCA: success factor for BI & AI
In the Netherlands, he leads the team for the Plan Do Check Act masterclasses, and the Master of Data Science. The PDCA cycle is seen as one of the major success factors for Business Analytics. This training is given six to ten times a year and fulfills a huge need:
How can we help business managers in using KPI’s, data analytics and management information in order to achieve a better Return on Investment (ROI) on Business Analytics and performance improvement?
He is also the trainer for the 3-day Business Intelligence course (Dutch) and the Master of Data Science course.
Testimonials
In his training, Daan uses a lot of real-life examples and best practices to achieve better insight for the participants. Read also: Good testimonials for our Business Intelligence training: “Would be pleased to attend again”
Training background
Daan started as a lecturer at the University of Applied Science in Utrecht in 2007. Right at the same time, he was installed as trainer for the 3-day masterclass Business Analytics in the Netherlands. In 2010 en 2013 he was asked to provide a 2-day masterclass Analytics in Singapore for BI managers. He enjoyed this international experience very much and from then many cities followed: New York, Pretoria, New Delhi, Madrid, Copenhagen, Mumbai, Bangalore, et cetera. Daan is now also trainer for the IT Executive master program of the Tilburg University (TIAS).
Daan’s expertise and interests:
- What are they biggest success factors of Business Intelligence & AI projects?
- How to find genuine key performance indicators in an organization?
- How to deal with politics in organizations when it comes to an implementation of BI?
- Artificial Intelligence and why it is so challenging to implement
- Data Visualization techniques and how to design excellent dashboards.
- The psychology behind proper decision making (‘How to make better decisions’).
- The selection of Business Intelligence tools (reporting, dashboards, big data).
- All the requirements to successfully use Data Science & Artificial Intelligence.
Webinar TIAS
See also the webinar “BI’s right to exist rests with the Business”. Daan van Beek takes care of a number of programs within the Passionned Group that may be of interest to you. The 3-day BI masterclass is definitely a must if you want to score with BI / Analytics.
Daan as an author
Daan likes to write: he authored the book Data Science for Decision-Makers and Data Professionals. He has also wrapped up work on a new (Dutch) book on Business Intelligence & PDCA. He is a member of the jury for the election of the ‘Smartest organization in the Netherlands’ and regularly speaks at seminars and conferences.
A selection of his books
Daan is an avid writer and literally lives off of the letters. He wrote several books (most are in Dutch) and has more than 50 publications to his name. A selection of his work:
Daan van Beek's BI & Analytics book covers the most important basic principles, organizational processes, architectures, tools and conditions needed to create a truly Intelligent Organization. Make better decisions faster, on every level of your organization. Order this book now.
Do you have too many KPIs and a labyrinth of indicators? The SMART KPI toolbox, developed by Daan van Beek, helps you decide if an indicator really is a genuine Key Performance Indicator. Contains a comprehensive overview of KPIs and KRIs from various branches and industries. Download now.
Passionned Group's Intelligent Insights BI & Analytics app is a 100% vendor-independent, extensive comparison app and market analysis, developed by Daan van Beek. Use it to choose the best tool / platform for your situation with ease. Download now.
Personal stuff
In his spare time, Daan tries to learn the game of golf, he writes, and he loves to travel. He lives in the neighborhood of Amersfoort, a relatively small town close to the cities Utrecht and Amsterdam.
Do you also want to improve your efficiency?
Do you want to turn your company in a real intelligent organization and achieve substantial efficiency improvements in your business? If so, please feel free to contact Daan van Beek.
A selection of our customers
