Jan van der Hoop

Co-Founder & President

Jan is the President and co-founder of Fit First Technologies. He regularly consults with senior executives across North America to get their organizations running more smoothly by better aligning their talent with their operations. In many respects, Jan has always been a bit of an oddball. He started his career in Operations and ‘accidentally’ spent 15 years leading HR functions at Hilton international Hotels, Pepsico and Office Depot. In 1999, he came to terms with the fact that he really was a bit of a misfit in the Corporate world and decided he could be more effective working from the outside.

As a consultant, Jan built a roster of clients across North America, with most of his work in Leadership Development, with particular focus on the intersection between people and organizational systems. A set of recurring themes and pain-points across his client base (and a chance encounter in 2005) led him to co-found Fit First Technologies, a company that has revolutionized how Talent gets matched with Opportunity. He has been instrumental in helping clients across North America reduce turnover, increase efficiencies, and generate a return on investment of more than 300% in one year – all through better people practices. His views have been featured in media across the country including the National Post, the Globe and Mail, CTV News and various small business publications.

So from accidental HR guy to reluctant-but-determined entrepreneur, to the really unlikely owner of a thriving tech company… Jan has figured out how to make being a misfit both fun and rewarding.