About us

We, the recruiters, trainers and assessment psychologists of Fresco Select, have our love for retail in common. Quality, objectivity and integrity are key values to us. We would like to introduce ourselves to you:

Evert Fermin – recruiter & psychologist

Evert graduated in Social Psychology and Work & Organisation Psychology at the University of Amsterdam. For his MSc thesis he researched Social Intelligence in the then Hoogovens (now Tata Steel) in IJmuiden. His career started with a traineeship at the Centre for Management Assessment of the State Psychological Service (Rijkspsychologische Dienst) in The Hague, on the subject of developing Assessment Centers. He then moved on to work as assessment psychologist for Van der Groep & Olsthoorn in Zeist, and later with the Algemeen Psychologisch Laboratorium (APL) te Amsterdam. Over the past 25 years he has expanded his scope to Executive Search. He managed APL (Executive Search) until 2013. As of January 2014, he is director/owner of Fresco Select in Amsterdam.

Marjan van Cortenberghe – recruiter & trainer

Marjan has extensive experience in retail, with an education in Retail & Management and work experience in various retail business models. She started her career in sales and management in the Dutch luxury department store Bijenkorf. She then added an international focus in luxury retail in a new position of Countrymanager Polo Ralph Lauren, in which she also was responsible for the Ralph Lauren Outlets in The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg.

As of 2016, she combines her passions for retail and for people in the role of Recruiter. Her focus is on (Regional) management and sales positions in fashion, footwear and accessories in the luxury and medium ranges. She is also expert in recruiting in the areas of electronics, DIY and food. Next to sales positions, she also has a track record in job placements in Buying and HR.

Marjan also works as coach and trainer in Retail. She joined Fresco Select in March 2018.

Benjamin Heij - trainer, coach & assessor

Benjamin has a degree in Human Resource Management from The Hague University of Applied Sciences and worked as manager and HR advisor with various retail organisations (luxury department stores de Bijenkorf, V&D, Hudson’s Bay) and Dutch traffic and tourism organisation ANWB. He then followed his passion and focused on where organisational goals connect with personal drives and qualities of the people in the organisation. As trainer and coach he likes assisting people to take control over their personal development and strengthen their (personal) leadership.

His distinguishing trait/value is that he can combine his expert knowledge of HR and coaching with his hands-on experience as a manager. Benjamin's approach is energetic, positive, straightforward and no-nonsense, directed at taking responsibility and control, with a healthy balance between challenge and support. His strength lies in bringing together a methodical approach with intuition based on experience.

Rick van de Water – psychologist & coach

Rick van de Water has a MSc degree in Work and Organisational Psychology from Utrecht University. After graduation, he has worked with various organisations as an assessment psychologist / consultant. His expertise lies in solving the puzzle of individual and context. What defines the individual, and which context suits this individual best? And conversely: What does the context look like, and what individual fits best within this context? To solve these puzzles, he collects information by means of assessments (interviews, assignments and reliable scientific questionnaires). He works independently since 2016 as assessment psychologist, coach and consultant. In 2018 he also joined Fresco Select in these capacities.

Benedikte Schatteman - recruiter

Benedikte graduated in Communications Management at the Egon Hogeschool in Ghent (B). She started out in advertising as Account Manager B2B communications. She worked for 15 years as Buyer, Product Manager and Category Manager in various premium Belgian and Dutch retailers and importers such as Esprit Home, DMG Furniture, Leen Bakker and the Bredemeijer Group. Benedikte specialises in revising collections and establishing and optimising departments. She therefore has extensive experience in recruiting and coaching of employees. As of 2015 she is owner of Be-Schat Consultancy, and in that capacity cooperates with Fresco Select. Benedikte is based in Kasterlee, Belgium and is thus well placed to search for positions in the South and East Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

Piet-Hein Koster - trainer & coach

Piet-Hein has been educated in Human Resources Management and shaped his career in Human Resources Development, in particular in Retail (De Bijenkorf, and – then- V&D). He later chose to follow his passion and specialise in training and coaching people to realise their full potential, from which he derives a lot of energy. He believes that within each individual all resources are there to be successful, only sometimes the inner compass needs to be calibrated – and he is happy to help with that. His approach is to always start from the client’s needs and develop an integrated solution with the organisational goals in mind. He likes to be practical and speak plain and direct language, to work in trust and security, and most of all with fun and a sense of humour.

Picking fruit: from people and organisations to a fruitful match

All that grows, will only mature fully when the inner strength is nourished and fostered by suitable environment – and vice versa. This applies to fruit trees and flowers in nature, and to people in their professional life. The right match between professionals and organisation is key to an optimal development of all personal professional qualities, so that the individual and the organisation can reap the fruits.

Academic psychologists usually investigate only a small portion of man; that is a suitable way to focus and to do in-depth research. But in the end, the whole is more than the sum of parts. For instance, a degree or work experience is an indicator of competence, but in addition personal knowledge of the individual professional is essential to be able to assess whether there is a match with a position and an organisation. Our recruiters are able to make that assessment. Our trainings are happy to contribute to further development of professionals to optimize the match. Assessments provide an objective measurement and validated insights. If and when the professional and the organisation reinforce each other, this results in a flow that generates energy and effortless achievement of goals.

Personal and in-depth knowledge of many professionals, organisations and positions – in an area or network – is our key strength and is essential as a first step towards achieving the right match; next steps are the right assessment and the facilitation of this match. We are happy to contribute towards this.

We are happy to assist