Commercial Director & Entrepreneur
I’m Erik Bakermans. I build commercial organisations, win new clients and develop lasting relationships. As a Commercial Director, I connect direction with execution: compelling propositions, a team that delivers and a clear focus on revenue and margin. Entrepreneurial, creative and fluent in technology.
Commercial accountability.
Meet Erik
I tend to get to the heart of an organisation’s challenge quickly. Where progress has stalled, which opportunities are being missed and what it will take to move forward.
My foundations are in entrepreneurship. I built my own agency, taking responsibility for clients, people, revenue, costs and results. I went on to lead commercial teams and develop enterprise and international client relationships. That experience means I look at the whole organisation when working on growth.
My strength is turning a commercial opportunity into a concept clients choose and a strategy the team can execute. I bring focus to the market, the proposition and the way we win and retain clients, with clear decisions on priorities, pricing and returns.
I give people direction and autonomy, coach them and make accountability clear. When there is an important client conversation, a complex negotiation or a team that needs help, I get involved. I want to understand what is happening and help move the work forward.
I believe marketing, creativity and technology belong together. That belief broadens my commercial perspective. From new revenue models to digital platforms and AI, I recognise possibilities and connect them to what a client or organisation needs.
My commercial approach
A commercial organisation needs to know where it wants to win, who is accountable for what and how progress will be made. That is what I lead on.
I sharpen positioning and propositions, and set priorities across target markets, new business and strategic accounts. I turn ambition into a practical commercial plan, with attention to pipeline, pricing, margin and recurring revenue.
I lead and coach commercial professionals, clarify goals and responsibilities, and review progress. I connect sales, account management and marketing with delivery teams, giving people room to use their expertise while agreeing clearly on outcomes.
I build relationships with executives and decision-makers, identify commercial opportunities and bring specialists together for complex engagements. From the initial question and a compelling proposition to negotiation and agreement, I focus on partnerships that create lasting value.
From concept to change
From interactive television services and concepts around Guinness World Records to GDPR SaaS platforms and AI compliance agents for agencies and organisations producing content at scale.
I have held commercial responsibility in my own agency, international IT services and digital agencies. That experience taught me how to turn an opportunity into a client relationship and build an organisation capable of delivering on it.
At my own agency, Tripitch, I brought creativity, marketing and technology together for retailers and brands including Woonexpress, Montel, Ziggo, the Dutch State Lottery, HBO, Sony and Nuon. Developing concepts went hand in hand with responsibility for clients, people and delivery.
At HintTech, I led the commercial team and expanded international client relationships. At Experis Ciber and iO, I combined business development with complex digital challenges. I developed relationships with organisations including Turkish Airlines, BNG Bank, a.s.r. and Worldline, bringing strategy, creativity and technology together in enterprise proposals.
Through Nexpitch, I combined business advisory work with responsibility for the digital service supporting Testen voor Toegang, the Dutch COVID-19 access-testing programme. Clear decisions and effective collaboration were essential under time pressure. That experience strengthened my belief that strategy and execution need to stay closely connected.
I build commercial organisations with clear positioning, strong propositions and teams that turn opportunities into business. At Sumedia, I align new business, strategic account development and marketing around one commercial direction. I set priorities, establish accountability and manage pipeline, revenue and margin. The aim is an organisation that consistently wins clients, grows existing relationships and builds lasting, profitable partnerships.
My perspective on growth
My understanding of brands, digital platforms and AI helps me identify commercial opportunities and develop propositions. I consider what these choices mean for clients, the organisation and its revenue model.
Digital strategy
A sound digital strategy starts with what the business wants to achieve. Which clients do you want to serve, what experience do you want to offer and what needs to change within the organisation to make it happen?
I turn those ambitions into clear decisions. We build on what works and identify where change is needed. The result is a practical blueprint for the brand, services, processes and technology, with priorities matched to the organisation’s people and resources.
Digital platforms
The customer journey and the organisation behind it belong together.
A digital platform reaches across the business. It shapes how clients find you, do business with you and get support. It also connects the people, information and processes needed to deliver that experience.
I start with the business: where do clients encounter friction, where does work stall and where is there room for growth? From there, I connect customer journeys, websites, apps and business systems such as CRM and ERP.
Working with the right specialists, I turn this into a digital foundation the organisation can build on. The goals are less unnecessary work, better service and room for new propositions and revenue models.
Brand & positioning
A strong brand makes it clear what you stand for, who you serve and why people should choose you. That story becomes valuable when people recognise it in your offer, your communication and the way you treat them.
I connect brand positioning with commercial strategy. What need do we meet? What makes us relevant? And how do we translate that into propositions, services and a consistent experience at every point of contact?
I work towards a brand that gives the organisation direction and gives clients a compelling reason to choose it, stay and develop the relationship.
A clear promise. An organisation that delivers on it.
AI & business
Where can AI improve work, strengthen service or open a new commercial opportunity? That is my starting point. I help organisations turn their ambition into focused decisions and an approach whose value we can test.
Alongside specialists, I take promising applications from an initial prototype into everyday use. Examples include AI compliance agents that support content teams in their reviews, or the automation of recurring tasks.
We define success upfront and establish what scaling will require: internal expertise, suitable infrastructure and integration with existing systems. Clear agreements on quality, ongoing management and costs keep the organisation in control of its technology and investment.
Start with focus. Test the value. Scale with care.
A good conversation starts here
Would you like to discuss a commercial leadership role or an organisation entering its next phase of growth? I’d welcome a conversation about the ambition, the people and what the business needs commercially.
Heerewaarden, the Netherlands