About Coen
Technical expert …
In 1978 I built my first computer, soldering the components on to the “motherboard”. Since then I have programmed in many different languages and used a wide variety of software packages and operating systems. Used to learning new software, I still prefer to keep things as simple as possible, and won’t easily be seduced by the latest and shiniest offerings
With business skills …
Since doing my Computer Science degree I have worked for two up-start computer companies, one successful and one glorious failure, which taught me a lot about business and the importance of strategic planning. I am trained as an internal quality systems auditor
And coaching skills …
A self-employed coach since 1998 and graduate of Coach U, I am a trained NLP Practitioner and attended Newfield Network’s “Mastery in Coaching” programme. Fully bilingual, I coach in both Dutch and English
Offering technology for coaches
Providing technical services for coaches since 1998 I have created from simple websites to a database-driven four hundred page website, hosted email discussion lists for coaching groups, presented email workshops and teleclasses, created an online workshop progress system and moved a large website to a new server
Host of Europe’s premier online coaching community
In 1999 I took over the running (and later the hosting and ownership) of a lively online community for coaches with up to 800 members, the Euro Coach List. I built the new community system, including a searchable archive, an online payment system, an events, products and services listing and new email digest formats
2008 saw our first Euro Coach List Conference, with a fantastic atmosphere. Some of the conference attendees met for the first time after many years of virtual contact. As the conference organiser my roles included project management, leading the team of about 30 volunteers, liaising with the venue, managing the budget, creating the conference website, managing the marketing, and membership of the programme team. I organised another successful conference the next year
Father, husband, athlete, teacher
Originally from The Netherlands, I live in Bristol, UK, with my wife and two children. We are within easy distance of many beautiful places, such as the Mendips, the Quantocks, the Cotswolds, the Forest of Dean and, a bit further away, Dartmoor. These are the places where I can often be found in the weekends, enjoying a variety of sports, usually involving a combination of running, cycling, navigation (map and compass), mud and hills, and sometimes swimming, kayaking or abseiling. My favourite discipline is adventure racing – six or more hours continuous off-road running, cycling and navigation, visiting as many control posts as possible within the allotted time
Very active at our children’s school, I am a trustee, a member of the community building team, plus an occasional teacher of electronics, computer hardware, robotics and programming
