Roel GordijnSend a message to

Roel Gordijn

Roel Gordijn

Michael was for me an engineer, a team leader, and a friend I met Michael in 2014 when Pall acquired ATMI. Michael was managing the Pall PASS engineering team. We worked together but at that time the PASS team was more focused on stainless steel systems. We, at ATMI realized the PALL-PASS and Single Use capabilities could create a powerful combination. Michael and I became really close in 2018 when we merged the Pall Biopharma and Single-Use divisions in Pall Biotech. We were asked to launch an Integrated Solutions Segment which included all the equipment and all the (single use) consumables. This wasn’t an easy task as the engineers in Michaels team and the salespeople in my team weren’t always collaborating in the most optimal way. We decided to travel to all regions where engineers and salespeople collaborated and lead by example, showing that the head of engineering and the head of sales could work together so everybody else should do the same. We travelled between 2018 and 2020 at least twice per year to Shanghai China, Pune India, Westborough US, Portsmouth UK, and Dreieich Germany to talk to a combined group of Engineers and salespeople. Michael was the expert leading the engineering discussions. We shared many hotel bars and we learned to know each other well. The integrated solutions initiative was successful. I think that a lot of Pall’s SUT success resulted from installed Integrated Solutions. During the trips I realized that Michael wasn’t only a great team leader, but he also took great care of his team. Pall isn’t famous for serving their employees good coffee. Wherever I arrived in a PASS office I realized that Michael took care that they had a Swiss Jura coffee machine making great espressos and cappuccinos. I quickly realized that when I need at Pall a good coffee, I need to look for a PASS office. Michael didn’t always think that salespeople where needed in the process. I think that when he was personally involved, he was right, as he was the best seller of the PASS engineering services. He always told me that it isn’t about what the customer wants or what we want. It is all about the process. The process will tell what equipment is required and that is what we will sell to the customer. Michael was in his heart an entrepreneur. The story I liked most was when during his studies he helped father who had a farm, to buy an embryo of an American milk cow. The cow, Donna became an award-winning cow who was still early 2021 in the Swiss newspapers as she gave an impressive amount of milk. Michael and I spend many times in hotel bars. At one night in the Hilton bar in Westborough we drank a Zinfandel, which was his favorite wine in US. We toasted on friendship. He couldn’t believe that colleagues could stay friends if one of them left the company. I didn’t agree. I left Pall in March 2021. We stayed in touch but not often enough. I wish I would have called more often or that he answered more frequent. Michaels leaves a big hole. I wish his partner and family a lot of strength in this difficult situation.

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