ENTRO Service Group – meet the team

Marc Groenewegen is CEO of ENTRO's Dutch partner companies and brings more than 25 years of international leadership experience across aviation, manufacturing and the energy transition. In this interview, he talks about his leadership style, what mentoring means to him, and where he sees the biggest growth opportunities for ENTRO in the Netherlands.

In the Netherlands, ENTRO operates through three partner companies — Flexx Service & Parts, Nauta Deurenservice and Deuren Service Nederland — with around 60 employees combined. Like the rest of the group, they work manufacturer-independently, specialising in the maintenance and repair of industrial doors, dock systems and garage doors.

From Aviation to the Energy Transition: A Career Journey

You've spent over 25 years leading and scaling international B2B businesses across aviation, manufacturing, and now the energy transition. Looking back, what has stayed constant in how you lead, despite the different industries?

Across 25 years and several different industries, one thing has stayed constant: I grasp the essence of a new sector quickly and carry lessons from previous ones with me. What I find most rewarding is working with a team, setting ambitious goals, and making that growth happen — it takes motivation, hard work and, at times, difficult choices. Building trust holds it all together.

What drew you to the energy transition space, and how does it connect to the work you've done throughout your career?

After almost 20 years in aviation, where I managed to grow the EMEA region from 3 to 13 locations in 10 countries mainly through buy-and-build and was the commercial lead globally for the last 3 years, I came to the energy transition in a way I hadn't planned — I backed a heat-pump startup as an investor, believing in the need, the founders and their plan. I wanted to contribute more than capital: building a team, entering new markets and integrating acquisitions all carry across sectors. That's the thread running through my career — helping ambitious companies grow, now while contributing to something that matters for the future.

Marc Groenewegen's Leadership Philosophy: Trust, Feedback and Direct Communication

You've described your approach as “work with me, not for me.” What does that actually look like in day-to-day practice with your teams?

Partly because of my Dutch background, I'm not very hierarchical — different viewpoints lead to better outcomes, as long as the discussion stays focused on the real challenge at hand. My first instinct is to make my team's work easier, not to tell them how to do their jobs; they usually know that better than I do. Where I add value is thinking together about how we can work smarter. That's what creates room to grow.

You focus on what people are good at, rather than where they make mistakes. Why is that distinction so important to you, and how does it shape the way you give feedback?

Focusing on what people are good at is simply more productive and makes for a more positive conversation. People make the difference through their strengths — that includes room to develop, of course. In a trusting environment, anything can be said, including when a mistake has been made; dwelling on mistakes only breeds defensiveness. Take me: I can't draw to save my life, but if I'm good at ideas, why dwell on that? Better to find someone on the team who can — and who will likely improve the idea.

Directness is part of your style, but always without making it personal. How do you strike that balance, especially in more difficult conversations?

In a trusting environment, you can afford to be direct. Most people can handle being told they've made a mistake — they don't have to like it, but if it's true, it's true. It's another matter to make it personal. That doesn't make anyone better; it just destroys trust. If something bigger is going on, I'd rather talk it through together.

Investor and CEO: A Dual Perspective Within the ENTRO Group

As an investor and advisory board member for companies in the energy transition, you're used to supporting growth from the outside as well as leading it from within. How does that dual perspective shape the way you approach your role now?

Having both perspectives, I understand what a company needs to grow, as well as the investor's priorities. That makes aligning the two sides smoother — and in my experience, that alignment is where value is created or lost.

What excites you most about being part of the wider ENTRO Group, and what do you hope to learn from – or contribute to – our companies?

There's a great deal to learn, since this is a new sector for me — though it has similarities to industries I've worked in before. What I hope to contribute is my experience of forging one team out of several companies, rather than treating them as separate businesses. What's key is to preserve the local cultures — that's what made these companies successful — while making it work within a group. That's exactly what I did in aviation, where we also grew through buy-and-build and organic growth. At ENTRO, we'll take the same approach: strong local companies, reinforced by the group. My background in integrating acquisitions should help too, along with opening up new markets — something I've done successfully before.

Growth Opportunities for ENTRO in the Dutch Market

What makes the Dutch market distinctive when it comes to your industry, and what opportunities do you see for growth there?

What sets the Netherlands apart is its smaller geography — companies quickly find themselves operating in one another's backyard, creating real opportunities to optimise and support each other with staff and expertise. It also makes sense to grow by adding services ENTRO Germany already offers and we don't yet, such as fire and access control systems.

Where do you see the biggest potential for the company in the next few years?

Much of that is where the growth will come from, along with making smarter use of our teams. There's also an opportunity for one of our parts businesses to supply materials to ENTRO Germany, and possibly our UK partner companies, as it already does for other group companies. Whether that extends across borders depends on import duties and transport costs, but the potential is there.

A Team That Genuinely Enjoys What It Does

If there's one thing you'd want colleagues across the ENTRO Group to know about you or your team, what would it be?

That we genuinely enjoy what we do — serious about our work and our customers, without taking ourselves too seriously. We're an open, approachable team that believes growth comes from working together, sharing what works and celebrating the wins along the way. My door is always open, and I'm looking forward to getting to know colleagues across our other partner companies.

On a more personal note, I've been happily married to Selma for more than 20 years, and we have two daughters together. To stay fit, I get out on my road bike a few times a week for rides of 50–100 km, and a few years ago I took up kickboxing, which I really enjoy.

Thank you for the interview, Marc!