HISTORY
History
&Samhoud is an international successful consultancy firm with international ambitions and a hardworking team of consultants. On the 18th of October 2007 &Samhoud turned eighteen. A mature age befitting a mature organisation. As in every childhood &Samhoud has known turbulent and unforgettable moments.
1989, the birth of &Samhoud
In 1989 Salem Samhoud bumps into his old university friend Kees Arends. Both youngsters are disappointed by their first business experiences. Salem is nearly bankrupt after trying to start up two medical centres and Kees also has lost his faith in the product market. They decide to take a chance in the services market.
Armed with a video camera the sole two employees of Arends&Samhoud Dienstenmarketing get on a bus and shoot footage of how rude the drivers are to the passengers. This footage is so shocking to the board of directors of the bus company that Salem and Kees get their first assignment! The later &Samhoud was born on the 18th of October 1989.
1990 - 1995, growth in the transport market
Quickly after their First assignment Arends&Samhoud specialises in the public transport market in The Netherlands. A large project with OV Services Schiphol and continuous projects with other transport companies follow. The young company hires an office in Utrecht, at the St. Jacobsstraat. From this location they will help their clients for a number or years.
Disappointed as they are in the Dutch public transport companies in The Netherlands, Salem and Kees decide to look for a partner abroad to help them start up a new public transport company. They find Vancom in the United States. The CEO, Terry van der Aa, comes to The Netherlands and that is how Vancom is the first foreign player on the Dutch public transport market.
At the same time Arends&Samhoud Dienstenmarketing. and the spin offs Marketing Services and Traffic and Transport, are in the news regularly with their progressive way of treating employees. Salem is asked on national television to explain why his employees are allowed to takes naps during working hours. Salem is one of the first employers to introduce the power nap.
1996 - 1997, diversification
From 1996 onwards &Samhoud grows outside the public transport market and outside of The Netherlands. In 1996 an office in the United States is opened. Due to disappointing results and the high start up costs this office is shut down a year later. The entrepreneurs Salem and Kees know how to take a loss.
In The Netherlands the company is very successful and in 1997 there are as many as seven business units; from vision development to ICT services to recruitment and selection services.
1998 - 2002, stabilisation
In 1998 Kees Arends leaves the company and Salem renames it &Samhoud. Easy to put names of clients, employees and suppliers in front of the company name. 1998 is also the year of the first bestseller: Eigen Doel. This book by Frank van Empel and Salem Samhoud has made many people stop and think about what they really want to achieve and how to get there.
During this time &Samhoud opens offices in Germany, Sweden and Spain. In the end just the most promising, Spanish, office remains. The other European markets are served from the offices in Utrecht and Barcelona.
&Samhoud now narrows down to her core activities. Divisions merge or are closed down and everything focuses on the mission: realising breakthroughs by inspiring and connecting people.
2003 - 2005, fun & performance
Over the last years &Samhoud has become a big name in the consultancy World. Large clients as Zwitserleven, Achmea and Rijkswaterstaat allow for growth. The &Samhoud concepts are developed more and more and in 2003 the second bestseller of &Samhoud is a fact: Plezier & Prestatie (Fun & Performance)
This book in which the term Fun Management is introduced for the first time, is also published in German, Spanish and English. Worldwide managers are made to think about managing fun in order to improve performance of their employees and their organisation. At the end of 2007 an entirely new edition is printed. The book is still very up to date and popular.
In 2005 &Samhoud moves within Utrecht to a new office, to allow for more growth. The old, stately building at the Maliebaan befits the philosophy of &Samhoud. In Spain &Samhoud moves from Barcelona to the capital Madrid. Furthermore a close cooperation with the internationally acclaimed professor Luis Huete is a fact.
2006 - 2008, vision & strategy
From 2006 &Samhoud focuses, next to the other blockbusters, more and more on vision creation. The experience build up over the years in the area of vision & strategy, results in the 2007 book “Kus de Visie Wakker” (kissing the vision awake). Various organisations recognise the value and necessity of a good vision as a basis for sustainable financial value. In 2008 the book is nominated for “management book of the year”.
In 2006 &Samhoud initiates the civilian initiative Visie21, that desires to develop a future vision for The Netherlands. After seven months of travelling through The Netherlands and speaking to 2500 people, the vision is presented on the 3rd of September 2006. Following Visie21 a youth initiative, the Youth Cabinet, starts to involve more young people in the future of The Netherlands.