Arnauld van Hees (1967)

Owner and Managing Director

In August 2001, my wife Monique and I started AVH dairy trade. Considering my background, I had no other choice than to start my own business. My father and grandfather both ran their own  and some of Monique‚Äôs relatives did too. To us it was quite obvious to do the same.

Our core business is goat and sheep dairy produce and its reason was partly pragmatic. When I started AVH, I had gained a lot of expertise in and knowledge of the international dairy markets. I had studied International Agriculture in Deventer, Holland, and had completed an MBA programme at the Bradford Management Centre. After graduation, I immediately found a job and worked as a product manager for the Latin American market in a packaging company including milk powder. Next I had several positions as a sales manager for Dutch and English dairy trading companies.

As said, the choice for trading in goat and sheep dairy products was also a pragmatic one. Our children appeared to be allergic to cow milk and the answer to our children’s allergy seemed to be goat yoghurt and sheep milk. However, it turned out that these were hard to get and it was this that triggered me off: Goat milk is a niche market. I have always wanted to start a small and personal company myself and that is possible when one is active in that specific market. Fortunately, our children got over their allergy but I am still very impressed about the unique nutritional qualities of goat and sheep dairy produce.

AVH is small, efficient and transparent which form the basis of our strength. Monique and I fully own AVH. Having expanded gradually, we managed to stay financially independent resulting in a stable and relatively low cost company. For me it is important that everybody works here with a maximum of pleasure and a minimum of stress. We have ample working capacity which enables us to respond to our customers’ questions quickly. Working transparently is important, I think, and I encourage my employees to be themselves, together we are AVH.

Doing business you do together. I appreciate good personal contacts highly and I believe in synergy between people. Either on phone or at fairs this synergy must be present creating circumstances right for doing business. One of my talents is to notice if those circumstances are present.
I like a dynamic environment. I get lots of energy from the innovative processes that arise when an appeal is made to my creativity. I try to be a free spirit and I look for unconventional solutions. My perfect deal is when AVH has contributed something substantial to the dairy market.