John is a passionate entrepreneur owning, managing and having started several businesses within the UAE Marine Industry sector. He is from the Netherlands and moved to the GCC in 1995 after completing a Master's Degree in Business Law. After working 14 years in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait he became the majority shareholder in Exalto Emirates LLC based in Sharjah, UAE. Exalto Emirates is a Marine Equipment Distributor and has grown over 500% since 2009 under John's leadership and is the primary supplier of marine parts and accessories to the regional Leisure and Commercial Marine Industry. The company has a particular focus on innovative and sustainable technologies in electric propulsion and onboard power management. In addition, John has started, together with a Joint Venture partner, a new entity in India in early 2020 with the aim of distributing the company's range of products as well as recently a marine industry E Commerce Market Place Platform based in DIFC. John is the Founding Chairman of the Leisure Marine Association MENA, the UAE's first and only leisure marine trade association established under the Dubai Association Centre, and is a board member of the Entrepreneurs Organization, UAE Chapter. In addition, John and his wife are the co-founders and directors of the ZC4H2 Research Foundation Netherlands and the ZC4H2 Research Foundation Inc. based in the United States, creating awareness and funding research for a genetic condition called ZC4H2 Associated Rare Disorders (ZARD).