Arkadi Koluntz is one of the owners of Leidse Taxi Centrale (LTC), a private taxi service that operates a small fleet of vans and luxury sedans in the Leiden area. Calm and philosophical, Arkadi doesn’t particularly enjoy driving. But he does enjoy interacting with customers, and he spends much of his time behind the wheel listening to their stories and thinking about life and his role as a kind of confidant to his customers. Arkadi, 33, lives in Leiden with his wife and two young children.

For the past four years, Mariam Alloul has managed a laboratory at the Leiden University Medical Center which focuses on leukemia and other hematological diseases. She takes pride in solving problems and making sure the lab runs efficiently and maintains its accreditation, but there are times when managing the lab’s technicians brings headaches. Mariam, 37, lives with her husband Fahd Ramdhani and three children in Valkenburg. [A profile of Fahd Ramdhani also appears at www.theysaidwhat.co.]

After six years as a business development manager with pharmaceutical companies in Germany and France, and after completing an international executive MBA program at RSM Erasmus University, Fahd Ramdhani was ready for a new challenge. In 2011, Fahd and a business partner orchestrated a management buyout of Benecke, an Amsterdam-based company that provides continuing medical education (CME) programs to physicians in the Netherlands and a growing number of countries in the Middle East. Fahd, 40, grew up in Leiden and now lives with his wife Mariam Alloul and three children in Valkenburg. [A profile of Mariam Alloul also appears at www.theysaidwhat.co.]  

From drinkable breakfast cereals and frozen vegetables to soft drinks and cheese in a squeeze-bottle, Wim Blom has helped develop a wide range of food products. Wim has worked with several Dutch food product companies since 1988, including Quaker Oats, Honig Merkartikelen, HAK, Leerdammer Company, Iglo and Heemskerk Fresh Convenience. He is currently a project manager with Vrumona, a Heineken subsidiary that produces soft drinks and sparkling waters – though he will be moving on later this year. In recent years, Wim has worked as an independent contractor, and is growing accustomed to the risks and rewards of living without a “normal steady job.” In his spare time, Wim is also developing innovative products in fields other than food. Wim, 53, lives in Warmond with his wife and two children.