Maarten Potjer

Executive Vice President Innovation Growth Strategy, Institutional Group at Ecolab

Speaker

Maarten is Executive Vice President Innovation Growth Strategy responsible for creating new digital offerings for restaurants to further expand the operational partner role Ecolab plays for the foodservice industry. In this role, and in partnership with Microsoft, Maarten has led the development and launch of Ecolab’s RushReady program which combines AI insights and expert coaching to help restaurants improve their profit by 10% despite increasing labor costs.

During his 22-year tenure with Ecolab, Maarten has worked across 7 Ecolab divisions. He began his Ecolab career as a marketing intern, held various marketing management roles within the Institutional Division, and has been involved with a variety of product and program launches. Next, he moved to general manager roles for the EcoSure food safety audit division and the Pest Elimination NA division with 2,500+ associates. In 2017 he relocated to Switzerland to lead the Nalco Water divisions in EMEA, and subsequently the Institutional Division in Europe. In 2022 Maarten became the EVP for Commercial Digital Solutions, before taking on his current role in 2023. Also, in 2013, he served as Chairman of the Ecolab Community Giving Campaign, which raised $1.5 million.

Prior to Ecolab, Maarten worked as a process engineer at Procter & Gamble in Brussels, Belgium and as a project manager at Jostens in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Maarten is a dual citizen of the United States and The Netherlands. He received an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University; and earned a master’s degree in Physics Engineering from Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. Maarten is fluent in English, Dutch and German.