Seven questions for Dennis de Vries

31 March 2023

Zaheer Sacranie - CTO

He was born in Malawi, Africa and studied in England. Zaheer Sacranie, responsible for IT at XXImo, has always travelled a lot for his work, and has now been completely at home at XXImo for five years. “The system is running stably, and we are doing very nice projects. It’s my job to make sure all customers - internally and externally, are happy.”

1 You have been working as CTO at XXImo since 2017. Tell us something about yourself?

I was born and raised in Malawi, in Africa, and studied Computer Science in England. After my studies, I set up a clothing factory in Africa with my brother, but that was not my ambition. In 1998, I went to the Netherlands for a nice job in IT. Although my goal was to go to the US after two years in the Netherlands, I decided to stay. I then met my wife and together we now have three children. I have travelled all over the world for my work, always working in IT and transaction processing.

2 You are responsible for the XXImo platform and the Milo app?

Yes, that’s right. I see my department as a facility company, a supplier for many different parties. Everyone uses our system, and it’s my job is to make sure everybody is happy. The system has to be good, secure, reliable and scalable. The convenience of the system, which we have been developing for years, is seen and experienced by more and more employers. That's great. Employers want flexibility, they no longer need to be convinced about our solution.

3 How do you look back on 2022? What are you proud of?

The system is stable, we are in control. The changes and innovations we implement ensure that we can meet customer needs and continue to deliver quality. I’m proud of that. In 2022, we worked on a strategy approved by the parent company. The course is known, the budgets are available, now we can now accelerate and grow. We are going to succeed, because we have a good team in place! We have done a great deal this year and achieved a great deal. All the XXImo employees contributed to this, with no exceptions.

4 What developments do you expect for 2023?

I’m really looking forward to 2023. We have major international plans. We will continue to integrate with (public transport) companies in Europe and the open loop technology will ensure that we are ready for this.

We will continue to develop by focusing on the themes of sustainability and ease of use. Fully integrated CO2 reporting makes it possible to record, monitor and report the CO2 emissions from mobility. The measurement and reporting requirements will take effect mid-2023 in the Netherlands and I expect from 2024 onwards in other countries. Our customers will be well prepared for this with XXImo.

5 Taking a leap in time, where will XXImo be in five years?

Then we will be among the top three in Europe. That's in our plans and we're going for!

6 You have a full agenda. What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like my job and work a lot. I like to spend my free time with my family. Eating together or playing games. That’s quality time for me. I also like reading and riding my motorbike. My bike is now stationary until spring, because I don’t like the cold at all.

7 How will you be celebrating Christmas this year?

Then I will be at home with my family. The end of the year is always a busy period for IT, which means I’m on standby for the team. And nice to tell, my daughter plays badminton at a high level, with the Dutch Federation. She has a tournament at the end of the year, so, of course, I will be there.