I (Patrick) have always been interested in the origins of things. Have you? Then it might be interesting for you to read how my company GPP Support came into being.

In 2008, Toine Wamper (♰, my former director at Brocacef Intramuraal) and Arie Booij (♰, hospital pharmacy manager whom I often met on the opposite side of the negotiating table) decided to join forces and set up GPP Support B.V., which stands for Good Pharmacy Practice Support, for that matter.

By the way, this name describes very well what the company stands for: offering support in word and deed to organisations involved in pharmacy. This ranges from interim management to project management to guiding market introductions. This support is offered to (hospital) pharmacies as well as to companies that supply products and services to these pharmacies.

In 2013, both my former co-partners asked if I wanted to join them. They could very well imagine that someone with my profile (Closed Loop Medication Management, Project and Change Management, Innovation and Business Development) would feel at home at GPP Support. And so it happened on the first of May 2013. Then I became an entrepreneur with two experienced professionals. And two became three. You can still see this trinity in our company logo.

Both men laid an important part of the foundation for where GPP Support stands today. Where do you ask?  Well, GPP Support has helped shape the strategic course for many hospital pharmacies, several pharmacy organisations have been strengthened by GPP Support’s involvement and many an innovation has seen the light of day thanks to the input of the three of us.

I am proud of that, and I want to continue this frontrunner position for many years to come. However, I will do that on my own within GPP Support. In early 2020, we lost Toine Wamper, and then three became two again. Fortunately, I was able to work with Arie Booij for quite some time, both within GPP Support and outside as a sparring partner. This year, Arie Booij sadly left us much too soon, and two became one.

I truly appreciate the time I was able to spend with both of them, both professionally and personally. Aside from all these great projects, we had a lot of fun working together, and I also believe that many have been able to observe and experience that. I will cherish these memories for the rest of my life.

Dear men, wherever you may read this from, I will raise a glass to our collaboration on the first of May every year!