Kim Ruiter’s passion for entrepreneurship, sales and field hockey has led to a jam-packed career track record blooming with opportunity – from selling energy contracts on the streets to starting two businesses in the Netherlands, Kim is our new Head of Sales for Northern & Eastern Europe for Uber for Business. She’s based in Amsterdam, and she’s all for green initiatives; the thing she’s most excited about is supporting and empowering companies with their sustainability journey.
Tell us more about your experience before Uber.
I would describe my experience in three areas; field hockey, entrepreneurship and sales:
- I have played at the highest level of field hockey in the Netherlands, which eventually led to a full scholarship at a university in Virginia, USA, where I studied business.
- Entrepreneurship has always sparked my interest from an early age. The strength to learn and operate independently, meet challenges and be responsible for my own decisions eventually led to the birth of my first business; ‘So Social Media’. By using creative and effective online and offline social media strategies, we provided a compelling image for companies that drew more attention and awareness of their brand. The second business I started was a Dutch fashion brand.
- For the last 10+ years, I’ve worked in sales and had the classical journey from starting from selling energy contracts on the streets to B2B sales in startups and corporates. The last company I worked for was LinkedIn, where I was a Sales Manager in the Talent Solutions and Sales Solutions department for Benelux, France and DACH.
As Head of Sales for NEE, what will you be doing in your role?
In my new role, I’ll be leading the sales team in Northern and Eastern Europe and together, we’ll be bringing the best of Uber to mid-market and enterprise companies in the Netherlands, Belgium, the Nordics, Poland, Ukraine and Romania.
What are you excited about for the future of Uber for Business?
I’m very excited for Uber Green for Business, where we support and empower companies with their sustainability journey.
Uber has publicly committed to becoming a zero-emissions platform by 2040, meaning 100% of all rides globally will be in Zero Emissions Vehicles. It excites me to be a part of a team that helps companies gain visibility into their carbon footprint and identifies ways for them to reduce it.
What was your first impression when you joined the team?
My first impression was the growth mindset and the diversity of the team.
The Northern & Eastern Europe team are all go-getters – each of my team members is passionate to set the world in motion and eager to succeed around our customer obsession.
Diversity – it’s what you feel and experience at Uber. In our own team, we have seven different nationalities with different backgrounds, stories and cultures, which makes Uber and our team a very dynamic place to work in.
What do you think is the biggest challenge in our sector?
The impact of Covid has transformed the current workplace. We’ve seen that many companies are adjusting to different ways of working when it relates to business travel and working from home. This is opening up discussions around policies; how to keep employees engaged and how to motivate them to go to the office. This is where our Uber for Business team is jumping in as trusted advisers to drive this transformation with our clients.
Fun fact time! Tell us something we didn’t know about you.
I am passionate about fighting loneliness among the elderly. This is something that is very dear to my heart and, one day, I hope to start my own home for the elderly. In this elderly home, I hope to create a place where we can all look forward to when we’re older and where we can experience joy, connection and purpose.
Interested in joining our team? Explore open roles at Uber for Business.
