Ampleon’s Antoine Leclercq named as Supply Chain Professional 2019

Antoine Leclercq has become the new Dutch ambassador for supply chain management. The Head of Global Supply Chain Management at chip manufacturer Ampleon was voted the winner of the Supply Chain Professional of the Year 2019 award on Wednesday 26 June. He was up against two other finalists, Unilever’s Valérie Kakebeeke-de Bruin and Tate & Lyle’s Rogier van Hasselt, in the battle for the title.

Head judge Jack van der Veen described them as three fantastic candidates. “We’re in no doubt that each candidate is hugely valuable in their own context,” said the Professor of Supply Chain Management at Nyenrode Business University. The expert jury focused primarily on three aspects: strategy, leadership and processes.

“Antoine Leclercq delivered the most all-round performance based on these three aspects. He operates within a rapidly growing company facing enormous risks. Within that company, supply chain is a decisive factor in managing those risks. He does lots of good work in that respect. Besides that, Antoine has a clear idea of what strategy is and also makes decisive choices. He has enthusiasm and passion.”

Leclercq was amazed to be named as the winner: “I really didn’t see this coming. I’m very proud, and it was an honour to go up against these other two top-class candidates. We had lots in common, I think, and it felt like a very close race. We’ve also learnt a lot. You never lose; you either learn or win.”

In addition to the official trophy plus a smaller trophy for him to keep, the winner receives a Strategy Mindmapping workshop and an Executive Masterclass on Strategy & Disruptive Technologies run by Sean Culey (author of the book Transition Point) for his whole team.

Supply Chain Professional Award

Since 2008, the Supply Chain Professional award has been organized annually by Supply Chain Media in conjunction with Inspired-Search – for the recruitment of candidates – and BLMC for the assessment of the finalists. This year, the final was once again held at Fort Vechten, which is situated along the old Hollandic Water Line water-based defence system close to Bunnik. In the fort’s vaults, supply chain peers and members of the jury interrogated the three finalists in round-table discussions about leadership, strategy and processes.

The jury

The six-strong jury comprised Jack van der Veen (Professor of Supply Chain Management at Nyenrode Business University), Lidewey van der Sluis (Professor of Talent Management at Nyenrode Business University), Anouk Wissink (Operational Director at Koninklijke Vezet), Joost Donkers (Director End2End Supply Chain Ingredients at FrieslandCampina), Allison Thomas (Chief Operating Officer at Enza Zaden) and Marcel van Rossum (Senior Director Supply Chain Strategy & Deployment at Johnson & Johnson).

Previous winners

In 2019, Supply Chain Media organized the Supply Chain Professional of the Year award for the 12^th consecutive year. Antoine Leclercq’s name can now be added to this list of illustrious winners:

• 2018: Joost Donkers, Director End2End Supply Chain Ingredients, FrieslandCampina
• 2017: Anouk Wissink, Operational Director, Koninklijke Vezet
• 2016: Jeroen Eijsten, Director Supply Chain, Compass Group
• 2015: Edgar Beers, Director Global Supply Chain & CPO, Vanderlande Industries
• 2014: Jeroen van Weesep, Vice President Supply and Inventory Management Europe/Asia, Lego
• 2013: Allison Thomas, Supply Chain Director Benelux, PepsiCo Nederland
• 2012: Erik Botter, Director Purchasing & Logistics, Pearle Benelux
• 2011: Frank Schaapveld, Senior Director Supply Chain EMEA, Medtronic
• 2010: Erik Bouwer, Director Supply Chain Management North-West Europe, Perfetti Van Melle
• 2009: John van Dongen, Director Demand Flow Planning & Scheduling Europe, Electrolux
• 2008: Edwin van der Meerendonk, Vice President European Operations, Walt Disney

Click here to watch the after-movie!