Business Development
Are you looking to establish a new business unit or commercial product line and make it financially successful and self-sufficient? iE&D Solutions can help you achieve these goals.
Trailblazer
Thijs van Vugt has extensive experience as a business pioneer and trailblazer. For example, he successfully founded the Studyportals Analytics and Consulting Team, a wholly owned subsidiary of Studyportals, in 2015 and expanded it to over two million euros in revenue by 2024, serving over 140 clients with a client satisfaction rating of 8.9 out of 10. During this period, the team grew from 2 to 15 staff members, and many interns and junior staff developed into senior consultants and team leaders under Thijs's guidance and mentorship.
Testimonial
"I had the privilege of working with Thijs for over a decade at Studyportals, where he has been an invaluable force in shaping our growth and impact. Starting in university relations, he quickly proved his expertise and determination.
What made his journey truly exceptional, however, is how he went on to found and grow our Analytics & Consulting team. From the ground up, he established a team and insights solutions that help universities and governments across the world to make better decisions, shaping the future of the sector. His vision, dedication, and ability to translate data into actionable insights have had a lasting impact on Studyportals’ success.
As a leader, Thijs is straightforward, to the point, and deeply committed to his team’s development. He balances clarity and decisiveness with genuine care for the people he works with. He leads with integrity, always keeping the bigger picture and purpose in mind.
Anyone fortunate enough to work with Thijs will find in him a strategic thinker, a dedicated professional, and above all, a leader with his heart in the right place."
Edwin van Rest, CEO Studyportals BV
Testimonial
"I was very fortunate to work extensively with Thijs when DVCI at Coventry and, because that was such a great experience, I was delighted to be able to convince Oxford International to also become a client so that I could continue that relationship. In both roles the insight and analytical expertise he showed has been transformative - these are roles where it is crucial that we have a really deep understanding of what is happening in overseas markets at a really granular level - and Thijs and his team provided truly exemplary services, so that we have been able to meet the rapidly increasing requirements of internal and external customers.
He is the thing that made the Studyportals service superior to anything else on offer in the sector - nothing was ever too much trouble, nothing was ever delivered other than to an extremely high standard, and the team he built around him very much functioned in his excellent image. It is a sad loss for Studyportals that he is pursuing new avenues, though he leaves a highly trained team behind him.
Whoever has the good fortune to recruit him or work with him in the future will be sure to benefit enormously from the experience - I would not hesitate to employ him in a heartbeat as data and insight are absolutely going to be the key to the future success in HE markets - and we have only just begun to scratch the surface of what can be achieved by experience combined with seriously relevant expertise such as Thijs offers."
David Pilsbury, Chief Development Officer, Oxford International Education Group
For more information, please see our client testimonials or contact Thijs van Vugt.
