Voices of TBAuctions: From insights to impact
Welcome to Voices of TBAuctions, an interview series spotlighting the people behind Europe’s leading multi-brand B2B digital auction platform. Through candid conversations with our leaders and team members, we explore who they are, their experiences, insights, and the passion that drives our success.
We are excited to highlight Bas Lucieer, Head of Data at TBAuctions. You can watch the video above or, if you prefer, read the full interview below!
What does your team do at TBAuctions, and what makes them so great?
Our responsibilities include reporting on the company, providing insights, and managing our AI initiatives. We create value by turning data into powerful insights to inform strategy and help our colleagues across Europe. What I also like about the team is that it is so multicultural. We have many different perspectives and approaches to problem-solving, which helps us engage not just with our internal colleagues, but also with our customers to anticipate their needs.
What do you enjoy most about working at TBAuctions?
What I like most about TBAuctions is the significant impact you can make. There are still plenty of opportunities in this field to digitalise and use AI to create more powerful insights, but it’s mostly about making things easier for our customers. What I really want to do is improve the lives of a lot of people, and that gives me a lot of energy, especially when I have a stand in the morning.
What does a typical day look like in your role?
My typical day starts in the morning. I jump in the car and drive to the lovely office in Amsterdam. I then make a quick phone call to someone in marketing or sales to find out what challenges they are facing that week so I can help them. I connect with as many people as possible in the office to find out what they want to achieve that week and to make sure that they get the items they need.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Outside of work, I really like to clear my mind. This could be going for a walk or a bike ride, or reading a really good book to zone out and gain some perspective for work later on. Work is very important to me. But I also really want to zoom out and relax. So those are my main hobbies.
As a child, what did you dream of being when you grew up?
When I was a child, I always wanted to be a researcher when I grew up. I used to call myself Doctor Pineapple. Just to inspire myself. But later on, I actually studied to be a mechanical engineer. Then I fell into the world of data. I really love what I’m doing right now.
What would you say to someone considering joining TBAuctions?
What I really love about TBAuctions, and what I tell everyone I interview, is that there are so many opportunities for us to work together. I feel like we’ve just started this journey, which will probably take us decades to perfect. Not only in the auction space, but also in terms of how we actually trade in different countries. So, I always tell people to dream big, because we can probably build it.
If you could switch roles with someone at TBA for a day, who would it be and why?
If you ask me which colleagues I want to work with, I would say site managers. I would say site managers. They go to locations, see the items we want to sell and connect with the sellers. That’s the business we have here at TBAuctions. So I would definitely love to swap days with them.
Which skills are required for your role?
I sometimes wonder what skills you need to work in data, especially as Head of Data. I think the first skill is the ability to take a step back and see the bigger picture. What problems do we want to solve as a company? It’s quite like operational thinking in that we want to improve efficiency, perhaps for our own employees. We also want to improve efficiency for customers, making it easier for them to search for the items they need. So, you need to think analytically and consider whether this is the issue we need to tackle, because everyone has issues. But at the end of the day, we need to focus on creating value.
If you had to sum up TBAuctions in three words, what would they be?
If I had to sum up TBAuctions in three words, I would say ‘impactful, speedy and high-quality’.
