When Kurt Dillen made an announcement over 3 months ago, stating he had been appointed VP & GM, Commercial, EMEA & SAIL (South Asia, India and Latam) Regions for Dover Fueling Solutions® (DFS), 150 likes were attached to his LinkedIn update within a matter of hours.
Amazing maybe, but not unexpected if you happen to know him like I do. In fact, I've known Kurt for almost 32 years, and this appointment is nothing less than he deserves, having worked tirelessly for over three decades to achieve what is a much-heralded and key position in the industry.
In his Tokheim days, whilst notable others may have focused on fuel dispenser markets, Kurt managed the systems side of the business, which in some ways always seemed to play a supporting role to the starring performers – the pumps, but so much has changed since then.
In the early days, everyone seemed to be only interested in what happened below the ground on a fuel forecourt. Now, the situation for the most part is only about what happens above ground, and as a consequence, this throws everything into Kurt's direction. Payment solutions, customer loyalty, artificial intelligence, autonomous stores, multi-fuel payment applications and more.
When I went to see Kurt recently at his office in the Belgium town of Turnhout,, he seemed to be taking everything in his stride. I asked him about his new role.. He told me "These regions were previously run by a single individual; however, it was too much for one person and as such there was a need to split responsibilities between two people. I'm now VP and Managing Director and Juan Greene, my counterpart, with whom I work very closely, is VP Operations Excellence.
Kurt talked to me about his extensive industry experience, prior to landing this key role in DFS. "I originally studied engineering, microprocessors and telecommunications in Antwerp and after my education was completed, I joined SATAM Systems / Sofitam Belgiumas as a software engineer. I was quickly moved to field installations, then technical support and then onwards upwards from local to larger regional territories covering EMEA and Asia. I eventually ended up in Product Management and Product Marketing where I first learned about Point Of Sale"
"In 2001, I was promoted to VP, Systems Business Unit Global by Tokheim, USA. and in 2003 I was part of the MBO of Tokheim. This was a critical move for me professionally as I became a Managing Partner of the Tokheim brand we all know and love today. In 2015, Tokheim was purchased by Dover and I oversaw all products for one year, before being appointed VP Solutions in 2016. In 2020, I became VP business development, looking after strategic partnerships and M&A. In January 2023, I was made up to VP in Marketing & Key Accounts, before taking up my new role in March."
I asked Kurt specifically about the recent acquisitions DFS have made, namely LIQAL, Bulloch and also the partnerships they have entered into with Click and Find and Bottomline. All these companies appear to fit into a picture, which DFS is carefully drawing about fueling innovation and I asked him to talk about how he sees things unfolding.
He told me "In the ever-evolving landscape of fueling expectations, technology holds the key to staying ahead of the competition and by harnessing the technology we need to meet and exceed customer demands for a seamless, frictionless and expedited fueling experience, we must embrace those companies out there which are already doing great things and work with them if the opportunity presents itself"
Its fair to say that Kurt has been responsible for some heady industry achievements in his time, with his biggest milestone being back in 1998 when he was personally responsible for condensing 58 different dispenser families, and 20 point-of-sale systems, into one. He was the youngest of 10 managers in the management buyout of 2003, which he says opened several doors to him both professionally and personally, leading to the Dover acquisition nearly 10 years ago
Interestingly, at UNITI expo 2024, held recently in Germany, DFS launched two new products; RDM by DFS and the DFS Order Kiosk, powered by FLYX. It also showcased its Clean Energy offering with the DFS Hydrogen Dispenser and LIQAL LNG turnkey station model, together with a selection of conventional fuel dispensers and an array of cloud, payment, and loyalty solutions.
Kurt added, "The buzz at this year's show was incredible and it felt busier than ever before. I met with many customers from the EMEA and SAIL regions and it was notable how diverse their requirements are from location to location. It reinforced to me, why it is important to offer a wide portfolio of products and solutions to meet their differing needs. Furthermore, I was proud of the DFS team, who came together to create a strong presence for DFS that stood out and represented our customer centric values perfectly."
Finally, looking at some of Kurt's posts, he has recently highlighted several articles I would like to share with you, collectively telling a story, which we are all having to become far more familiar with in recent times, and clickable through the following links.
Orkan installs DX Power™ and Prizma in Iceland | DoverFuelingSolution (doverfuelingsolutions.com)
Dover Fueling Solutions® Collaborates with Click & Find in EMEA Region
Future of Fueling Report: Innovation at the Pump (doverfuelingsolutions.com)
2023: A Year of Fueling Innovation | DoverFuelingSolution (doverfuelingsolutions.com)
Kurt is a well-known and highly sought-after industry speaker and has presented to thousands of conference attendees on digital transformation and IoT (internet of things) technology. He continues to share his expertise and knowledge of technology-enablement with others, focusing on advanced services and solutions in the fuel and convenience retail industry.
I personally wish Kurt loads of success in his new position and I'm sure many people in the industry are of a similar mind. For more acquisitions – watch this space. For more details on Dover Fueling Solutions visit www.doverfuelingsolutions.com
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