Jaco is Chief Innovation at OMV Petrom, driving their change towards a more innovative and digitally dexterous company with a healthy portfolio of new business options.
Before OMV, he spent four years at Shell, helping their transition to a more Open Innovation approach. He re-invigorated initiatives like GameChanger (radical early stage innovation) and External Technology Coordination, and set up internal networks and learning programs to drive culture change. He built Shell TechWorks, an innovative outfit that maximizes the use of external technologies in a ‘skunkworks’ approach. Jaco also spent 23 years with Royal DSM in progressive roles across four different businesses, including VP Business Incubator and Director of the China Innovation Centre. As member of the DSM Innovation Council, he drove change from operational excellence to innovation excellence.