Michael van Dongen

Michael van Dongen has extensive work experience in the food industry, starting as a Salesperson at Intersport Megastore in 1999. Michael then worked at Burger King Corporation as a Shift Manager and later as an Area Manager & Field Trainer Specialist from 2004 to 2011. Michael joined NS Stations as an Area Manager for Burger King from 2011 to 2015. From 2015 to 2019, they worked at HMSHost as an Operations Manager, where they were responsible for leading and developing a team, managing multiple locations, and improving financial results and brand standards. Michael then joined Burger King as the Head of Business Operations from 2019 to 2020, where they achieved significant sales growth, launched new products, and supported franchisees. Their most recent role was as the Head of Operations Netherlands & International at La Place Restaurants from 2021 to 2023, where they successfully integrated a new POS system, opened a new format of La Place, and built a new operations team. Currently, Michael is the Managing Director at Bakker Bart (Bart's Retail), starting in 2023.

Michael van Dongen completed their Bachelor's degree in Teacher Training College at the Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen (HAN) from 2004 to 2008. During the same period, they also pursued a Bachelor's degree in Education with a focus on Primary Education (PABO) at the same institution.