I built it from retail, sales, entrepreneurship, mistakes, difficult years, innovation, digital growth and starting again.
Commercial.
Creative.
Still learning.
I didn’t start in tech. I started in retail and learned early that business is about people, pressure, margins and making things work when the day does not go to plan.
That thread never really changed. Whether it was consumer brands, wine, innovation, Wix or AI, I have always looked at one question first: does this create real value for the customer?
This is not a polished success story. Some chapters went well. Some absolutely did not. Both shaped the way I work today.
Barry started his career in Albert Heijn franchise retail with Cees van der Poel. At 21, he became store manager for Jos van den Berg: an early lesson in people, pressure, customers and responsibility.
At 24 he joined Bickery Food Group as an account manager, working in the out-of-home channel with brands including Maaza, Capri-Sun, Orangina and Punica.
At 28, Barry started his own wine business. Those years brought both strong periods and difficult ones, and taught him that entrepreneurship is shaped by much more than your own decisions.
Between 34 and 40, Barry was a member of Ronde Tafel Maastricht, combining entrepreneurship with friendship, service and a strong local network.
At 39, Marcel Alberts invited Barry to work as Business Development Manager for Bodyshield. The work led to winning the Innovaward, one of the recognised innovation awards in the Netherlands.
Alongside Bodyshield, Barry supported his brother Peter at Flor-IT. Just before Covid he joined full-time, and together they helped grow the company into one of the largest Wix partners in the world.
In October 2022, Barry founded WE-Optimizz as his own next entrepreneurial chapter, building on the digital experience gained at Flor-IT. Bruno Dini joined as co-owner in 2023. Since 1 September 2026, Barry is once again 100% owner of WE-Optimizz, while maintaining close ties with Flor-IT.
Since 2025, Barry has been active as a board member at UNIZO Hasselt, and since July 2026 he has also served on the board of directors.
I knew both good and bad years in wine. I also saw how the bankruptcy or decisions of other people could make normal entrepreneurship extremely difficult. After too many situations where trust became expensive, I was ready to choose something new.
Digital happened to cross my path at exactly the right moment. What started as helping my brother eventually became a completely new chapter.
“You can make good decisions and still end up in a difficult position because of decisions made by others.”
That experience changed how I look at partnerships, promises and long-term business relationships.
What drives me most is turning a first conversation into a long-term relationship and being able to grow alongside the success of the client.
The goal is not to sell one project. It is to build a relationship from the first conversation and grow alongside the client’s success.
Barry sees opportunities quickly and naturally thinks in terms of business, positioning and what can actually create value.
He has little patience for polished language that is not backed by execution. Promises should survive contact with reality.
Years of entrepreneurship taught him that decisions made by others can make business unnecessarily hard. Trust remains important, but it has to be earned and protected.
Helping grow Flor-IT from a smaller Wix operation into one of the largest Wix partners in the world is one of the chapters I am most proud of. Not because of the title, but because it proves what can happen when commercial drive and execution stay connected.
InnovawardWon through the Bodyshield chapter.
Global Wix experienceBuilt through years of Flor-IT and WE-Optimizz work.
UNIZO HasseltBoard member since 2025, board of directors since July 2026.
Long-term relationshipsStill the part of business that matters most to me.
I’m the father of two teenage daughters, Sophie and Lauren, and I’m happily married to Wendy through a Buddhist marriage in Thailand.
As a family, we love travelling through Asia. That mix of business, family, travel and different cultures keeps life broader than the next project or the next deadline.
Father of Sophie & Lauren
Buddhist marriage with Wendy
Family travel through Asia
Commercial by instinct
Creative by nature
Still allergic to empty promises
If you want to talk about your business, website, visibility or a digital idea, start with the real problem. That is usually where the best conversations begin.
No scripted sales pitch
Business first
Long-term mindset
Clear about what I can and cannot deliver
