Advisory Board

Founder & CEO

Richard van den Brink

As a true entrepreneur with a passion for inventing and creating new products, Richard van den Brink started Global Factories in 2000. Global Factories has developed and created successful products for many different markets, such as golf equipment, product displays and medicine distribution. In 2004, Richard decided to focus on pharmacy automation. After the success of the Medicine Detection Machine (MDM) for the verification of medication in pouches, he developed a machine for blister cards. In 2015, the VandenBrink Blister Machine (VBM) was introduced as the first machine in the world that could check and pack medication in blister cards.

Advisory Board

The Advisory Board of Global Factories consists of an external adviser, Henk de Jong. Henk has an extensive amount of knowledge and experience in business development and management. The Advisory Board meets regularly to advise the CEO and to guide the members of the management team.

Henk de Jong

Henk Siebren de Jong was CEO of Versuni (formerly known as Philips Domestic Appliances), a position he has held from 2020 till 2024. He is also Executive Director of the Board. Henk was appointed a Member of the Supervisory Board of the University of Groningen in January, 2022 and a Member of the Board of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in April, 2020. In addition, he is teaching digital transformation management at ISE Business School in São Paulo and IESE Business School in Barcelona. Henk joined the Advisory Board of Global Factories in 2019, advising on a broad range of topics, most notably strategic marketing and commerce.

COO

Arno Bracco Gartner

Arno Bracco Gartner joined Global Factories in August of 2021 as COO after a career that includes 20 years of Management experience obtained in Europe (6 years), Southeast Asia (7 years) and North America (7 years). At Global Factories, together with the other members of the management team, Arno is shaping and preparing the organization for the next level of development and growth: Global Factories 2.0