Team Akodomus
“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office” ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower ~
rustan avezaat
Managing Director and co-owner
Rustan’s passion for the construction industry started the moment he was born into a construction family in the early 70s. During his adolescent years, Rustan’s father took a project manager job with a large construction company in the Caribbean. Throughout these formative years Rustan was exposed to the peculiarities of the construction business and the Caribbean culture, like reggae music, stunning beaches and mouth-watering food. During this period he also developed an exquisite taste for food and cooking.
His entrepreneurial spirit and cultural awareness further developed during his student exchange program in the United States. His field research work covered 37 states and he cooperated intensively with American retail and production companies to gather the required market data. In the land of the unlimited possibilities, he learned how important it is to be result driven.
His passion for the construction sector meanwhile intensified and Rustan finished his internship at ING Real Estate. He even acquired commercial real estate for himself and together with his father he completely remodelled and renovated several houses including his current residence which he finished remodelling in 2016.
During his professional career, Rustan worked for international banks like ABN AMRO Bank and Deutsche Bank. He also participated as a co-shareholder in a Corporate Finance boutique specialised in Debt and M&A advisory.
Over a span of 18 years, the financial sector provided him valuable insights regarding the international corporate world. In his roles as a senior corporate banker and manager he mainly focused on new business development and acquisition. Additionally he acquired detailed operational and financial skills across a broad range of companies and sectors, from SMEs to listed companies, from services to industries, always engaging with senior management.
For a couple of years he also took up the challenge to become the CEO of a medium-sized Dutch family business. Throughout the time of his captainship he had to coop with challenges like, going “digital”, change management and re-defining critical operational success factors for the family business.
Early 2018, Rustan decided voluntarily to say goodbye to the financial industry and to fully focus on solving the structural shortage of skilled people in the construction industry with his new venture Akodomus B.V.
Rustan obtained his Master in Economics at the Erasmus University in the Netherlands. During his free time you can find him racing on his mountain bike thru the Utrechtse Heuvelrug trails or supporting his local rugby club as an active board member. He lives happily with his wife, two daughters and son in the afforested village of Bilthoven.
igor pakan
Managing Director and co-owner
Born in Myjava, former Czechoslovakia, Igor was raised in a bilingual household environment where family ties, sport and discipline were central. During his adolescent years he discovered his love for the guitar, became an avid tennis & golf player and groomed his entrepreneurial skills by establishing his own trading company. Additionally he fuelled his passion for drawing and creativity by designing custom apparel for college and university students.
After his studies, Igor decided to conquer the world and head to Prague, in the early '90s, with the intention to work for the advertising company BBDO as junior account manager. However, like so many times in life’s unexpected adventures, he was asked by sheer coincidence by the management of the Dutch ABN Amro Bank if he would be interested in helping to establish a full subsidiary in Prague. The rest is history.
Between 1993 and 2016, Igor transformed from a “corporate expat” to an independent financial senior executive, coach and cosmopolite. He was appointed as member of the executive board of 3 banks in 3 different countries, two times as Chief Executive Officer and once as Chief Commercial Officer. He established himself as a specialist in change & crisis management and knows how to lead across cultures.
Igor is also a creative and selective autodidact and perfectionist. Whether making laborious ink-drawings, redefining and executing companies strategies, tweaking his studio strobes to perfect his lightening, or painstakingly rehearse his guitar licks, Igor’s passion, patience and tenacity ensure excellent results.
Late 2016, Igor revitalised his “handyman” skills and decided to reconstruct his house completely by himself instead of hiring a contractor. During this “personal” project he rediscovered the appreciation and his deep affinity with craftsmanship and manual skilled work like carpentry, painting and decorative plastering.
The following year, Igor went back to memory lane and tapped into his creative roots and decided to follow his inner voice and his true passions: creativity, entrepreneurship, technology, photography and inspiring people and to be inspired by them. Energised by his new life’s true calling, he founded in 2017 his own business in digital visualisation and production: Lux Plus Ultra Studios.
With still the refreshing “construction” experience in the back of his mind, Igor did not hesitate when he was approached in 2018 to become the co-founder and Managing Director of the Akodomus venture.
Igor obtained his BA in Marketing & Economy in the Netherlands and his MBA from The Simon Business School of the University of Rochester in the United States of America. He speaks fluently six languages and is happily married and a proud father of two sons.