Joep was born in the Netherlands, starting in the hotel trade at a young age, prior to completing his degree at the International Hotelschool in Leeuwarden. As part of this education, he completed his management traineeship at the then Dutch owned the Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West, South Africa, which is where he discovered a love this continent. Joep’s career in the hospitality industry has seen him specialising in restaurant projects, F&B management, hospitality real estate and hotel management. These roles were completed at a variety of companies, such as the Arabella Sheraton Westin Grand, Pam Golding Hospitality and the Table Bay Hotel, which included the opening of the Maslow Hotel in Johannesburg. Joining Valor South Africa from day one, he was first involved as GM for Spier in Stellenbosch before heading up operations for Valor which included the opening of the first voco in Africa in Johannesburg.
Joep lives in Cape Town with his wife, Samantha, and two daughters, Natasha and Isabella and enjoys sailing the oceans, as well as trail running in the mountains.