London-Milan-Amsterdam: Conversation with Robert

It was a pleasure to visit Rotterdam for the first time, even though it was only a matter of hours and I spent them in meetings on Friday, December 13th.  I flew into Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, on a KLM flight from Milan, shuttled from there to Rotterdam, and into a meeting in my client office in Europoort ("gateway to Europe").  Then it was another hour long ride from there to my hotel near Schiphol, right after my second meeting.

I was exhausted and sleepy on the first ride, but on the second I was far more alert and engaged myself in a good conversation with my driver Robert.  What I learned was that Europoort is the oil and gas capital of Europe, just Houston is in the US, where many concerns in the industry have set up shop.  I'd love to come back, then, and develop client relationships, I told Robert.

Then, Robert shared that his daughter's boyfriend is a young Iraqi businessman, whom he likes and hopes will become his son-in-law.  Apparently it's a serious relationship, and while the boyfriend travels home regularly, the daughter is dead set on staying in The Netherlands and not relocating to Iraq.  The young man is inventive and entrepreneurial, and his father introduces him to business contacts at home.

Robert runs his own transport company, and I was right that he has eyes and ears goings-on with business people.  One time, there was news that a company was in financial difficulty and was laying off scores of staff.  Near that announcement or even on that same day, the CEO and his wife arranged for a pickup by him and ride to a posh restaurant that was just five minutes from their hotel.  For Robert, it was an odd thing to witness: the executive extravagance, in light of laid off staff.

Finally, he mentioned that my accommodation was for a Hilton in Amsterdam, and my client arranged for him to pick me up again on Saturday and take me to Schiphol.  Alternatively, Robert suggested the Hilton right by the airport.  It ended up being cheaper, and because it was only a short walk away, I didn't need pickup service.  So why not?