Photo: Big Dutchman
Jan Schomaker, a Big Dutchman veteran since 2010, has been appointed to the newly created position of the Head of Region Middle East & Africa (MEA) in the company, effective 1 October, 2025.
Big Dutchman has appointed Jan Schomaker as the Head of Region Middle East & Africa (MEA). Schomaker has been part of company since 2010, most recently as Sales Director MEA, and will take up the newly created position on 1 October, 2025.
Jan Schomaker joined the company when he started a dual study programme in business administration in cooperation with Big Dutchman. After completing his first degree, he became a sales trainee for MEA in 2013. Along with his sales training, he worked on his master’s degree.
From 2015, he was Area Sales Manager. In this role, he was responsible for multiple agencies and subsidiaries in the MEA region and worked closely with them. He was promoted to Sales Director MEA in 2023.
Regarding his upcoming new role, Jan Schomaker says, “For the past two years, I have been working with Ulf and the team to strategically develop the Middle East and Africa. I look forward to continuing this path as Head of MEA, together with the entire team. My special thanks go to Ulf, Mr Meerpohl and the entire Board of Management for their support and the trust they have placed in me.”
Ulf Meyer, who has held a dual role as Head of Europe and MEA since the reorganisation in 2015, will focus entirely on the expansion of the European business in future. Under Meyer’s leadership, sales in Europe have more than doubled, from around EUR 180 million to an expected EUR 400 million in the current year, according to the announcement.
Steffen Bersch, CEO of the company, comments, “The Board of Management would like to thank Ulf Meyer for his many years of commitment to his dual role. With Jan Schomaker, we have a colleague who has a deep understanding of the region thanks to his extensive travelling activities – and who will further develop the strong growth potential in MEA. We wish them both every success and hope they will enjoy their new tasks.”
Meyer states, “We are very proud that we can fill this important position with one of our own. Jan’s career is an excellent example of the quality of our training and the development opportunities at Big Dutchman.”
GROWTH MARKET
“Europe and MEA will continue to be among our most important growth markets. They are very dynamic markets, making it necessary for responsibility to be shared by several people. Ulf and Jan can now concentrate fully on their respective markets and develop them further,” Bersch highlights.
The MEA region is also growing strongly. Managed by Ulf Meyer, the company points out that the turnover there has tripled since 2015 – from around EUR 50 million to EUR 150 million.
