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Jul 31 2024

Meet Bert Tiems, a NATO employee for 33 years


Bert Tiems has been working for NATO for 33 years, contributing to NATO's mission by developing important software capabilities for the Alliance. Throughout his three-decade career, Tiems has worked at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) Technical Centre, NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3 Agency), both later became the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), and was deployed to Afghanistan during his NCIA role. He will retire from NCIA as Chief of Service Support and Business Applications (SSBA) in August 2024.

Meet Bert Tiems, a NATO employee for 33 years

Tiems' colleagues regard him as a professional and hard-working individual and a compassionate and respected leader. His commitment and confident energy have helped build and sustain a positive working environment where people feel motivated.

We sat down with Bert Tiems to reminisce about his long career at NATO.

What is a particularly memorable highlight from your professional time at NATO?

There are many to choose from, but I would like to focus on one that highlights the fluidness of the NATO geographical and political context. In 1999, I supported SHAPE in preparing the deployment plans for a mission in Kosovo. Non-NATO Nations participated in this mission and their deployment plans needed to be integrated to create an overarching multi-national deployment plan. One of these non-NATO Nations participating was Russia, a NATO Partner at the time.

On many occasions, I supported planning sessions where we sat together with our Russian counterparts, working together to determine the best use of the Pristina airport in the reception and onward movement of NATO and Russian troops and supplies. This is hard to imagine in the current situation, but the common thinking at that time was that this collaboration would continue. Unfortunately, that situation is very different today, Russia has become an aggressor, and this gives us a lesson on how important it is for Nations to contribute to defence spending, even during peace situations, so we can maintain a strong military posture and ensure readiness to face any threat.

How have you seen NCIA grow during your career?

During my career at NATO, NCIA has made quantum leaps in maturity and evolution, as has the entire IT industry for that matter. I started my NATO career as a Software Developer at SHAPE Technical Centre, where an IT department didn't even exist at the time. Everybody took matters in their own hands, buying their own hardware and developing software. This was beneficial in the sense that we could address customer needs very quickly, but addressing the overarching NATO perspectives was missing, as everyone was only focusing on their direct customers rather than the wider vision.

Nowadays, I would argue it is quite the opposite. All aspects surrounding software development and acquisition are strictly governed, regulated and focused on safeguarding the overall Alliance aspects, including procurement, enterprise architecture, cyber security, and others. It has become a lot more complex to timely address the direct needs of individual groups of customers, therefore it is essential to further develop and implement agile acquisition and development techniques. This will enable us to be more responsive to our customers while still complying with all NATO directives.

What has been you biggest achievement while working at NCIA?

Throughout my 33 years working and contributing to NATO, I have held several different roles related to command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) and business applications portfolios. First as a developer, then project and programme manager and finally as SSBA chief. I can think of many great achievements from any of these roles.

From developing software capability for military logistics, to implementing new tools for both exercise planning, as well as for equally important back office functions such as Finance, Human Resources and Acquisition. All these accomplishments are due to great coordination from excellent colleagues across NATO and industry, I count myself lucky for having had the chance to work with them.

How important is teamwork for you? Especially when working in a large, multinational organization in a pressured role.

In my opinion, teamwork is essential to address NATO's IT requirements within its complex and challenging environment. A team can achieve a lot more, and in a healthier way, than the sum of the individual team members.

I was very lucky that early in my career, I worked with a very bright and visionary leader. He always included the whole team in developing the overall direction of play and gave us the space to implement that vision, removing barriers and obstacles we faced. In the 10 years I worked with this individual, these principles became engrained in my mind set and I have tried to apply them ever since.

What are your plans for the future?

First and foremost, I will spend more time with my family and friends. I worked away a lot during my NATO career, including several long deployments to the NATO mission in former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan, so I need to make up some time!

I will also have more time to dedicate to my hobbies. When it comes to cycling, I aim to cycle up Mount Ventoux at least once a year for the next ten years. I also hope to improve my wine making skills, with the first objective being that my family and friends can sip my products with a straight face.

And perhaps, if time allows for it, I will take on some consultancy projects and utilize the 33 years of NATO IT experience I have gathered.