We are excited to announce the expansion of our team with a new wonderful colleague: Carl Hansen.
We recently welcomed Carl Hansen to the DENSsolutions family, whose addition underscores our unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence. Stepping into the role of Senior Operations Manager, Carl brings a wealth of experience and expertise to oversee and optimize various operational facets at DENSsolutions. With a comprehensive background in supply chain management, Carl’s responsibilities encompass leading our Operations team, refining logistics processes and ensuring operational efficiency to support our strategic objectives. By leveraging new technologies and fostering strong collaborations with key stakeholders, Carl’s overarching goal is to establish a world-class operational framework aimed at maximizing efficiency and transforming our supply chain into a strategic asset, driving DENSsolutions’ growth and competitiveness in the market. In this article, we invite you to learn more about Carl’s background, education, experience and pivotal role at DENSsolutions.
Get to know Carl: Personally
“My name is Carl Hansen, and I was born in 1986 in Minnesota, the United States, but I grew up in Marietta, Georgia just outside of Atlanta. In 2010, I moved to Quito, Ecuador to finalize my MBA and later moved to Bogota, Colombia on 2012 where I met my lovely wife Lina. Together we moved to the Netherlands in 2014. In August 2023 I was naturalized as a Dutch citizen, making me a dual national of the United States and the Netherlands. I speak fluent Spanish and am on a continuous journey to improve my Dutch. I have a 3 ½ year old French Bulldog named Bruna Fiona de l’Avesnois (aka “Goomba”) who I’m absolutely obsessed with. My hobbies are cooking, baking & hosting, collecting and caring for houseplants and playing poker and board games. I love to travel and always look for an excuse to visit new places and eat local cuisine. I believe in giving back to the community and strive to always be either donating to or volunteering for something. A few weeks ago I made my 10th blood donation in the Netherlands at Sanquin, which I’m very proud of.”
“I decided that I wanted my next job to be back in operations, but this time at a smaller company with a strong sense of community, a big growth potential in future-looking technologies, and a product that is not environmentally harmful: Hello DENSsolutions!” – Carl Hansen
Get to know Carl: Professionally
“I did my undergrad at Georgia State University in Spanish Language & Culture minoring in Business Administration. This program was a prerequisite for the International MBA Program where some courses and the professional internship must be done in a Spanish-speaking country. I also hold several professional certifications: CSCP & CPIM from the Association for Supply Chain Management; Lean Six Sigma Green Belt from SABIC; Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from the University of Georgia, EHBO First Responder from the Dutch Red Cross, among others.
I started working at 14 at McDonald’s where I learned the importance of Spanish in communicating with customers and colleagues. I also was introduced to McDonald’s world-class operational procedures and quality control mechanisms. From the age of 14 to 21 I was continuously employed part-time at restaurants while I studied. Those experiences ultimately inspired me to choose the aforementioned university path. In my late teens and early twenties I backpacked extensively through Latin America which opened my eyes to the lack of resources and education many communities struggle with. That led me to an interest in non-profit work in microfinance and community business development, and ultimately to my MBA internship in Quito, Ecuador at CARE, where I worked on micro-tourism development and AIDS awareness programs in rural indigenous communities.
After CARE I wanted to stay in South America but couldn’t find full time work in non-profit so I moved to Bogota, Colombia to teach at EAN University, in hopes that academia could also be a meaningful way to serve the community. The university environment very fortunately brought me in contact with many high-profile Colombian business leaders and politicians which ‘re-inspired’ me to get back into corporate life, moving away from non-profit and academia. One of these contacts was a recruiter for SABIC based in the Netherlands who offered me a supply chain position in Bergen op Zoom. So together with Lina we packed our bags and set out on the Dutch adventure. I worked at SABIC for just over 2 years as a Demand Planner where I earned my APICS and Six Sigma credentials. I left SABIC to join HYVA as its Global Sales & Operations Planning Manager where I worked for 3.5 years improving supply chain operations and cross-functional collaboration. I sidestepped from that role into a junior financial controller position to strengthen my financial acumen. After 3.5 years in finance (and 7 years at Hyva) I felt I had learned what I needed about finance and contributed as much as I could to the supply chain function. I decided that I wanted my next job to be back in operations, but this time at a smaller company with a strong sense of community, a big growth potential in future-looking technologies, and a product that is not environmentally harmful: Hello DENSsolutions! I feel thankful and blessed to be here and look forward to growing together with this great group of people and products.”
