Arje Brilleman

How did you first hear about PamGene?
I came to The Netherlands from Israel in October last year so that I could be with my girlfriend who lives in Amsterdam. I needed to find work of course, so I searched the internet for all the Dutch biotech companies and one of the names I found was PamGene. This was, for me, a completely new kind of technology and that really appealed to me. Although there were no job vacancies on the internet I decided to apply anyway. If you don’t do anything, nothing will happen - that’s something you can be sure of!

Why did you choose to join PamGene?
When I first came to PamGene to meet Tim and some of the team, the first thing I was aware of was the way I was treated. The people I spoke with were interested in me. I wasn’t just another job applicant or just another number on a list. I was excited. Something’s happening here, I thought. I want to be part of this. I couldn’t stop talking about it when I went home that night. The other two jobs I was offered didn’t give me anything like this feeling so the decision was easy in the end.

How have your first three months been?
I figured out that I've really made the best choice. The whole PamGene team works in a spirit of cooperation and I feel I can count on everyone. I've also been very nervous in these two months because of the uncertainty about my stay in Holland. I'm originally from The Netherlands but I lived in Israel for 20 years and took on Israeli nationality at the expense of my Dutch passport. That created some immigration issues but everything’s been ironed out now so I can stay!

What makes PamGene different from the other companies you've worked for?
After my first meeting with Tim, I asked regarding my job application, "What’s the procedure now?" Tim replied, "It’s not about procedures, it’s about people"! And that’s a good summary of what makes PamGene different. The technology’s important of course, but when it comes down to it, relationships are what really count. Without good relationships, we go nowhere in life.

What is your role as 'Director of Sales' and how do you want it to develop in the short and long-term future?
In the short term I want to build new academic relations and take care of the existing ones we have, not only in The Netherlands, also in the rest of Europe and via Israel maybe to the US. I want to set PamGene’s technology as a standard in the world resulting in lots of scientific publications, the triggering of new ideas and, of course, sales so we can all continue to work here. At the same time, I want to have a nice start with my new partner Tamar and to create a new home together.

You've obviously got big plans for your job but if you could have someone else’s job for just one day, whose` would you choose?
Maria van der Hoeven, the minister of Education, Culture and Science (yes, the same winking one mentioned earlier) so that more money would be invested in the export of Dutch knowledge - that’s the future for Holland.

What is the best movie you've ever seen?
The Matrix trilogy. It’s a science fiction movie and I like that very much as it lets you see other people’s ideas about how the future can be. I've seen the movies several times already but I enjoy them every time. The philosophy of the movie triggers my mind and makes me wonder why we're actually here and why we do what we do. I haven’t found the answers yet though!

Arje:
"Everything you do, do it with a smile."

Mostafa Bourakba

Mostafa is one of our production team along with Piek and Arjen. He is very proud of being a PamGener and thrives on the challenges and opportunities he gets at PamGene. Mostafa is very happy to work in a company with such a non-hierarchical structure and his goal this year is to make the best quality PamChip®4 and PamChip®96 arrays possible!

Mostafa moved from Morocco to the Netherlands about 13 years ago. His family convinced him to complete his studies in French/Arabic Literature in The Netherlands in order to have a successful future. The Dutch language and a lack of financial support provided a few obstacles but luckily Mostafa is very adaptable and with the broad background of skills he built up in Morocco and The Netherlands, it was easy for him to make a career change and opt for a technical type of job. Beyond his technical skills, Mostafa also has a good knowledge of French, Arabic and Berber.

Manufacturing is not his only interest. A couple of times a week he has a lot of fun dancing in salsa bars. Also, he never misses a televised soccer game involving Barcelona or PSV!

What are Mostafa’s impressions of The Netherlands and the Dutch people? That brought an instant response; "Your family doctors are one of a kind! Whenever you go to see them, they advise you to take a paracetamol, whatever the problem! Even when you take your neighbour to the hospital with heart problems, the same advice is given! Also that favourite expression the Dutch people have "Oh, lekker" makes me laugh. It seems that you use it for all kind of situations; weather, food, you name it!"

Mostafa:
"It really is unusual to work in a place where you can just go and talk to the CEO when you want to."