Nick Veenhof's README

README for Nick Veenhof

About me

Hi! I started with GitLab in April, 2022 as a Servant leader (Director of Contributor Success) in the area of Contributor Success. I live in Ghent, Belgium and my primary operating hours are 9 AM to 5:30 PM (CEST).

Coffee Chat topics

If you’re reading this, you might be trying to find things we can talk about for a coffee chat or 1:1.

Here’s a bunch of topics I’ll be happy to talk about:

Tech-stacks / Open Source communities

  • Drupal
  • Mautic
  • PHP
  • Apache Solr / Lucene
  • Google Cloud Platform
  • Large scale linux deployments/production cloud systems
  • GitLab
  • Google Sheet scripting
  • OSX little tools to make life easier
  • Gmail tips & tricks

Travel

These are some places I’ve lived in for a while, or live in that I am always keen to talk about:

Conferences I adore

  • Fosdem
  • Drupal Developer Days
  • Drupalcon

Parenting & Kids

It’s a challenge. Always in for tips!

My working style

I’m here for you. You in my role is a really wide interpretation. This means

  • You, as an employee of GitLab
  • You, as a contributor to GitLab
  • You, as a member of our team
  • You, as a customer

I prefer to deep-dive into an issue so I can get a great understanding of the topic at hand. I don’t function very well without a deep understanding of the technicalities behind the conversation, so please do not withhold any information because of the words in my title!

Next to that I like to brainstorm and have direct conversations to dig deeper into the why and the semantics of the words. Words mean something different to everybody, so finding a common understanding is key. I prefer to do this syncronous, and once we found that common ground, we can continue async.

How to communicate

I generally keep Slack & Email open, but it is possible I don’t reply instantly. For your information, I work with 3 types of todo classifications. So it is possible you will receive communication from me a month later asking for a reply or your insights to a specific issue.

  • To Reply
  • Expect a reply
  • Longer term follow-up

In terms of communication style, I like direct communication but I don’t fear the hallway-track/coffee chat style conversations. You can schedule a coffee chat any time that fits in my working-hours.

Weaknesses

I have a tendency to be impatient. Please push back, and don’t worry about me being offended by it, I hardly ever am. I prefer a good discussion compared to a walk through the china cabinet :).

Strengths

I have a lot of experience with Open Source communities, mainly the Drupal ecosystem, but some others as well. Next to that I am a social person, which comes from my background as a youth-organization leader. I love public speaking, so I am not shy to take the stage to talk about topics that I am passionate about. I also love working towards big goals, and will always cheer for you, as I can’t get there on my own!

Book Recommendations

There is also a good book list in our handbook if you are looking for more suggestions.

Where do I work

I work in a coworking office in the city centre of Ghent. Come say hi!

Last modified June 27, 2024: Fix various vale errors (46417d02)