Stanley Foster
Academy Manager at BPM Company
Stanley: “I was born in The Hague in March 1968. Not exactly ‘from the clay,’ as they say: my mother is Indo-Dutch and originally from Indonesia, and my father had South African roots. An old photo of my great-grandparents on my mother’s side captures this beautifully—my grandmother as a young girl, my great-grandmother as a classic Indo woman, and my great-grandfather, a Frisian man. Three worlds in a single image. That truly reflects my background.”
Back to my youth
“In the mid-1950s, after the Indonesian War of Independence, my mother and her family were forced to make a life-changing decision. In Indonesia, people who were not of Indonesian origin were compelled to either take Indonesian citizenship or leave the country. They chose to leave and boarded a ship to the Netherlands.
There, she met my father, who was already living in the Netherlands at the time. He passed away six years ago. Nowadays, I spend many Sunday afternoons as a caregiver for my mother. We often go to an Indonesian restaurant together, a place that feels familiar to her and brings back memories.
But back to my childhood. Our family moved to Voorschoten, where I had a carefree upbringing and attended secondary school in Wassenaar. After that period, I went on to study Business Administration in Rotterdam, which took me six years to complete. I eventually graduated with a thesis on the integration of healthcare systems.”
The start of my career
“My first real job was at Pink Elephant. The company originated from a student association in Delft; half of the student community worked there. I thought I had left student life behind, but instead found myself right back in the middle of it. During that period, Pink Elephant grew extremely fast. At times, we would literally unplug the fax machine because we could no longer handle the volume of requests.
I worked there for four to six years as a quality manager and then moved to the Education & Development unit. That’s where everything fell into place for me. I felt completely at ease sharing knowledge, setting up processes, and making knowledge accessible to others. At the time, Pink Elephant focused heavily on ITIL and PRINCE2, and I traveled across the country as a management trainer using their training materials.
Later, I progressed into the role of delivery manager within the Education & Development unit and became part of the management team. In the years that followed, the organization changed its name and ownership several times. Eventually, it felt like a completed chapter for me, and I decided to move on.”
My time as a freelancer
“After that, I worked as a freelancer for about five years. I delivered courses and training programs, including at Inholland University of Applied Sciences in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and developed learning tracks for career switchers. The work was meaningful and varied, but I missed working with colleagues. I never truly felt part of a team.”
My introduction to BPM Company
“I already knew Eelco, the CEO of BPM Company, from my student days in Rotterdam. When I started working as a freelancer in 2010, he founded BPM Company. A few years later, our paths crossed again—this time via LinkedIn. Eelco had clear growth ambitions. Pega is a niche market, and growth means attracting people. This can be done by hiring experienced professionals from the market or by developing new talent internally. Eelco needed consultants, and I could help—with certification, training employees, and setting up traineeships. This is how I helped build the BPM Company Academy. I translated the management’s ideas and ambitions into a concrete Academy structure. I developed training materials, practice cases, and clear learning and development frameworks.”
Helping others grow and develop
“What I find so rewarding about education and training is that you can truly see something shift. Someone joins, gets to work, and starts to develop. Over time, they are able to do or understand something that wasn’t there before. Sometimes you even see that happen within a single day: someone arrives in the morning and leaves in the evening visibly wiser. I work a lot one-on-one and really try to get people talking. Within one or two months, I usually have a clear picture of where someone stands and how we can help them grow in a focused way towards the right level.”
“What I enjoy most about BPM Company?”
The people, the energy, and the ambition. Through the Academy, I really get to know my colleagues and work closely with them. That personal and engaged character suits me well.
Outside of work
“In my free time, I enjoy reading and exercising twice a week. My daughters have also always been very active in sports; football and horse riding shaped our family schedule for many years. I was often on the sidelines, officiating matches, until a torn Achilles tendon brought that to a temporary halt. Ultimately, my family comes first. My wife and our two daughters, that’s what it’s all about.”
