Planon. Building Connections.

Darlene Pope 
President, North America

As President of Planon North America, Darlene brings more than 30 years of experience in real estate and technology consulting to lead the executive leadership team and manages strategy and growth in the North American market. Darlene joins Planon following a position as Vice President, Global Smart Building Operations at WeWork. Before WeWork, she was EVP/Managing Director and global head of JLL’s Smart Building Program, and was founder and CEO of CoR Advisors, a woman-owned small business specializing in technology consulting for commercial and corporate real estate.

Brian Smith
Services Director

Brian brings more than 15 years of experience to his role as Services Director for Planon North America. For the past eight years he has been responsible for leading Planon’s project management and implementation teams in the successful delivery of Planon’s software products to U.S. and Canadian clients. Brian builds partnerships with our clients, guides the implementation process and ensures go-live is successful, on time, and within budget.

David Karpook
Director Business Development, Strategic Consultant

A 30-year industry veteran, Dave Karpook has been a customer, vendor, system implementer, trainer and strategist, managing workplace technology projects globally. Prior to joining Planon in 2015, he served as president and CEO of Bricsnet, and has held senior management positions at Trimble Navigation, Tririga, and Peregrine Systems. Dave speaks frequently at industry events, and is a member of IFMA’s Audit Committee, past chairman of IFMA’s Real Estate Advisory & Leadership community, and former chairman of the board of OSCRE International.

Ralph Franco
Director New Business Sales

As Director of New Business Sales, Ralph leads and supports the sales team in attracting customers and driving new business for Planon. He believes in a commitment to excellence, with a humble and honest approach to meeting our clients’ business needs. Ralph is one of Planon’s top global sales executives, positioning North America for continued growth and success. Ralph brings more than 25 years of sales leadership experience to Planon, having served as Vice President Sales at Accruent, and Sales Director at Verizon.

John Miller
Finance Director

John is responsible for the Finance department in North America, and brings over 30 years’ experience to his role. Prior to Planon, John held several senior management positions with leading companies including Computershare, EquiServe, and Boston Financial Data Services.
John has a Master of Business Administration degree from Boston University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration-Accounting degree from Northeastern University. He is a CPA.

Jennifer Cook
Sales Operations Enablement Manager

As Manager of the Sales Operations Enablement Team, Jennifer oversees the day to day operational activities for the North American sales organization, including sales support and proposal management. Jennifer has spent more than 20 years working with solution offerings in the investment management and facilities management industries in multiple capacities, including account management, implementation and project management, product development, and business analysis. Jennifer graduated from Dickinson College with a BA in German and a concentration in Environmental Studies.

Pauline Perenack
Marketing Director

Pauline is responsible for leading the marketing, communications, and social media strategy for North America, focusing on branding, positioning, and lead generation. Pauline joined Planon with more than 15 years of marketing experience across various industries including entertainment, robotics, and automotive. Prior roles include Sr. Marketing Manager roles at Brain Corp, Mitchell International, and RES.NET.

Pierre Guelen
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

As founder and CEO of Planon, Pierre Guelen is responsible for global operations and is the architect of the company’s strategy and overall vision. Pierre Guelen spearheads Planon’s leadership role in the facility management and real estate software industry. Since founding Planon in 1982, Pierre Guelen has taken an active role in increasing the profile of the industry and of demonstrating the role that real estate and facilities play in supporting overall business strategy and driving bottom line success. His leadership has resulted in the organization winning multiple awards, including being honored as one of Deloitte’s Best Managed Companies. Pierre Guelen was educated at Avans University of Applied Sciences in Den Bosch and Rotterdam and has a degree in Industrial Engineering.

Peter Ankerstjerne
Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and Chairman of the Planon North America Board

As CSO, Peter Ankerstjerne is responsible for leading the global Product Strategy & Innovation, (Product) Marketing and Communications functions. Peter has an impressive record of workplace and facility management experience, including several senior management positions with leading companies such as ISS, WeWork and JLL. In addition, Peter has been part of IFMA’s Board of Directors since 2016 and currently serves as Immediate Past Chair of the Board. Peter holds an MBA and Bachelor in International Marketing Management from the Copenhagen Business School.

Fred Guelen
Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO)

Fred brings more than 25 years of legal, entrepreneurial and management experience to the Planon team. He is responsible for managing Planon’s legal function, and he leads all Planon acquisitions. Prior to joining Planon, Fred was one of the founding partners of the international law firm Buren van Velzen Guelen (BVVG). He has extensive knowledge and experience managing complex, cross-border mergers & acquisitions, private equities, restructuring and financing projects. Fred studied law at the University of Leiden and the University of Amsterdam.

Edwin Klijsen
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

As CFO, Edwin Klijsen is responsible for the Finance, IT and Information Management departments within the Planon Group. Edwin has broad experience, having worked in a range of financial roles for more than 20 years. Edwin has held senior management positions with leading companies including Ericsson, Imtech, and Redwood Software, where he gained extensive international experience. Edwin completed his studies in Logistics Management at the Fontys University of Applied Sciences.

Marcel Groenenboom
Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and General Manager EMEA West

As CCO and General Manager for the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the Nordic countries, Marcel Groenenboom is responsible for all Planon’s sales and services activities in the northwestern part of Europe. Prior to joining Planon, Marcel worked at HP Netherlands, followed by more than nine years at SAP, five of which were as a member of the management team of SAP Netherlands. Marcel has also held various other management positions, the most notable being four years working as the Director of General Business & Channels. Marcel completed his studies in Engineering Management, specializing in Industrial Marketing and Information Sciences, at the University of Twente.

Henk Laracker
Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

As CTO, Henk Laracker is responsible for the product development and innovations of the Planon Universe platform. As Lead Architect, he first brought the product platform to enterprise level. In his current role, he adapted the organization and product delivery to a continuous process of monthly release of the software to all Planon customers. He led many other innovation projects including setting up the Planon Cloud Center, which is regarded as the most innovative cloud platform in the real estate and facility management domain. Henk has more than 20 years of software development experience. Before his time at Planon, Henk worked for various ICT companies where he gained extensive experience with product development and maintenance management software. Henk Laracker studied at Avans University College in Venlo where he graduated with a degree in Technical Informatics.

Stephan Mau
Executive Vice President Real Estate Management and General Manager Planon EMEA Central

Stephan is responsible for Planon’s comprehensive real estate management software business, which includes the Planon RE and property management software as well as the solutions of acquired companies Reasult and COOR. In addition, he leads the EMEA Central Europe Business Area that includes all Planon’s IWMS business in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Before moving to Planon in 2014, Stephan held various management positions for many years, including CEO of an industry-specific ERP software solutions provider and CIO of a leading service provider in the customer care industry. Stephan also has extensive experience in management consulting and the management of large national and international IT projects. Stephan holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Hochschule Bremen as well as an Executive MBA.

Arjen Heeres
President of the Supervisory Board of the Planon Corporation

Arjen Heeres began his career at Esso and later worked for a subsidiary of Capgemini, which specialized in knowledge-based systems and artificial intelligence. In 1997, he became Managing Director of Imtech IT Systems, a Dutch provider of IT services. In 2000, he became COO and co-owner of Quintiq, a software company headquartered in the Netherlands that provides advanced planning and optimization solutions. As COO of Quintiq, he grew the company from a startup to a worldwide leader with more than 1,000 employees and a presence in all major markets. In 2014 Quintiq was acquired by Dassault Systems, the second largest software company in Europe. As of 2016, Arjen acts as President of the Supervisory Board of the Planon Group.

Onno Krap
Member of the Supervisory Board of the Planon Corporation

Onno Krap has a strong financial background with an MBA in finance from the University of Florida and an RC degree from the VU in Amsterdam. Onno began his career in 1991 at Accenture, where he held various positions within the finance consulting group. In 2000, he made the transition to Biotechnology and started at Applera Corporation as Financial Director Europe. In 2011, he moved to Crucell, where he eventually became the CFO. Since 2012, he has been the CFO at Exact, an international software supplier for SMEs and accountants. Onno has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Planon Group BV since 2017.