Who: Esther Leijen
Position: Director of Finance at The Dylan Amsterdam
Hi Esther, lovely to meet you! Can you tell us a little bit about your function, what does it entail?
As my title specifies I am Director of Finance at The Dylan, which really is a supervisory and controlling role. I am in charge of all financial matters of the hotel, from coordinating audits to making financial statements to creating and monitoring budgets.
That surely sounds interesting! Talk us through a typical day for you..
I live in Akersloot, a little village in North-Holland, just below Alkmaar. I am a proud mother of 2 girls: Femm and Tess. I start my day by getting the kids ready to go to school. We’re having a family breakfast at the kitchen table each morning after which their grandparents pick them up and take them to school. Meanwhile I go to the train station, and hop on the train to Amsterdam, which takes approximately half an hour. This time of the day really is me-time: I read a book, or watch a series, or simply enjoy the views outside..
When arriving in Amsterdam, I cycle from Central Station to The Dylan. It’s always a beautiful to cycle along the canals and see how the city awakes.. When I get to work I start with a cup of tea and I go over the financial reports of the day before and check if everything is correct. Just before 9 we have a morning meeting with the department heads and operational managers and then we start the day. There is no ‘typical’ working day for me, however the first 10 days of the month I’m mostly working on the financial closing of the month before. The other days I’m focusing on many different things such as cost control, checking revenues, making/monitoring budgets and forecasting.
Great! And besides work, what do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to spend as much time with my family as possible. We often go camping, our girls love this! I also play handball and I’m training the team of my oldest daughter. It’s great to combine the two things I love! Our whole family is really sportive, last weekend we did a ‘Strong Viking Run’ all together. Great to be outside, work-out and toil through the mud with the girls. Other than that I like to do a bootcamp, to read, watch the latest series on Netflix, or have fun with our neighbors. They’ve become real good friends of ours, we often like to share a drink, true Dutch ‘gezelligheid’!
Since you’re working at one of the nicest locations in the city, the Keizersgracht, what are your favorite things to do in Amsterdam?
Cycle through Amsterdam! Just grab a bike and cycle through all different kind of streets and look into the alleys and hidden gardens. Amsterdam is full of surprises!
And your favorite place #insideTheDylan?
Of course the secluded garden! Enjoy the sun, a drink and a bite when you can! Maarten, our head-bartender, is a true cocktail-master. Allow him to surprise you and you won’t be disappointed…
Thanks Esther! Great to get to know you!
NL
DE
