Get to know Wouter Jaarsma: An Interview with Naked Talent’s Managing Director

Arguably one of the most exciting developments to have happened this year at Naked Innovations has been the launch of our new talent search branch - Naked Talent. 

For those of you that missed the announcement, we decided to formalise our long established role as connectors of talent within the agrifood sector and launch a specialised branch of Naked Innovations dedicated to finding and connecting innovative talent with impactful agrifood organisations. It’s an exciting development for the company; one that has been made possible by the appointment of Naked Talent’s Managing Director Wouter Jaarsma. 

We recently caught up with Wouter to chat about his background, experience in the talent search industry, and goals for Naked Talent. We hope the resulting interview will help you to get to know him better and give you an insight into his plans for Naked Talent.

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Welcome to the Naked Innovations family Wouter! How do you feel about joining the team and the launch of Naked Talent? 

Thanks! I’m really excited to be joining the team and heading up Naked Talent. I’m keen to dive straight in and start making an impact. 

Can you tell us a bit about your life and career? 

As you can probably guess from the name, I’m from the Netherlands; Amsterdam specifically. I now live in Barcelona with my wife and two children, although I have lived in multiple countries including the US, Ireland, South Africa, and Singapore. I’ve been doing recruitment for more than 12 years now, and I’m still loving it everyday! I enjoy interacting with people and learning new things, which is useful when working in the field of talent search. In my spare time I like to stay active, spend time with my family and try out new recipes.

What first attracted you to work in recruitment and talent search?

It was the opportunity to interact with diverse, interesting people that attracted me to recruitment and talent search. It’s the aspect of the role that I still enjoy the most to this day.

I love the fact I can really make an impact on someone's life by helping them get their dream job. I also see it as a form of free education as I get to learn some much about other peoples’ experiences and the interesting work they do.

Has the industry changed much during your career?

Yes and no. I think the fundamental core of recruitment; connecting people and ambitions, has always remained the same, however, new technologies have definitely impacted how we now connect. For me WhatsApp made it far more personal and faster to connect and communicate with people.

How do you think technology is impacting the talent search industry, and what is Naked Talent doing to adapt?

Technology is here for a reason and I believe that it’s important to embrace it, instead of pushing it away or ignoring it. It’s dangerous not to invest in the latest technologies that can help you stay ahead of the curve. For this reason, Naked Talent is looking into and investing in technologies like AI, skill based testing tools and remote management software. 

What are you most excited about in your new role as Managing Director of Naked Talent? 

The agrifood industry is amazingly vibrant and I feel that we are at the forefront of some very exciting and groundbreaking events coming in the near future. Talent will of course be the centre of all this, as it’s people who really drive the impact. Naked Talent wants to play a key role in the food system’s transformation, by helping to find and connect the best talent with those determined to make the changes that our food system so desperately needs. The time for action is now, so it’s an extremely exciting time to be working in the agrifood field. 

What sets Naked Talent apart from other talent search services? 

I think our close ties with the team and work of Naked Innovations keep us highly informed and uniquely active within the agrifood innovation ecosystem. Their work has allowed us to build an extensive network that stretches from corporates to venture capitalists, research centres, innovations labs and government institutions. Thanks to this network, Naked Talent has a front row seat and access to the latest innovations, groundbreaking projects and most importantly, quality talent that’s out there!

By this time next year, what do you hope to have accomplished at Naked Talent?

By this time next year I would like Naked Talent to be an established and recognised name in the industry and to have built some amazing and innovative teams around the world. I also hope that Naked Talent will be a warm family for all of our team members; one that supports not only our clients but our talent too. 

Thanks Wouter! It’s been great catching up with you. 

If you would like to get in learn more about Naked Talent and its services, get in touch with Wouter and follow the Naked Talent Linkedin page:

Email: Wouter@nakedinnovations.eu

Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wouterjaarsma/ 

Naked Talent Linkedin Page: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/naked-talent 

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‍About the author: Charlotte Fennell is Naked Innovations' Strategic Communications lead having joined the team back in September 2021. A self proclaimed geography geek at heart; she is passionate about the using her skills in marketing strategy to help bringing about transformational change to the food system.‍ ‍