Founder & Managing Partner
Mike Hes
HES Consultancy International · Amsterdam

Thirty years in EU enterprise technology. The consultant who tells you what you need to hear — not what you want to hear. Especially when the answer is no.

Mike Hes — HES Consultancy International
Mike Hes · Founder & Managing Partner
30
Years EU experience
Enterprise sales, business development and channel management across Western Europe.
8
Sectors with deep expertise
Healthcare, finance, government, software, logistics, manufacturing, telecom, education.
300+
C-level introductions
CIOs, CISOs, CFOs and board members across NL, DE, BE, FR and UK — built over three decades.
5
Countries as primary markets
Netherlands · Germany · Belgium · France · United Kingdom.

"I have walked away from engagements where I knew the product would not make it in Europe. That integrity is the only reason clients trust my introductions when I say yes."

Background

Always in service of someone else's agenda — until now.

Three decades at the intersection of technology and European enterprise. Citrix. Huawei. DXC Technology. Telindus. Always building market presence for other people's products in markets they didn't fully understand.

In January 2026, Mike Hes launched HES Consultancy International — the first time in his career that the agenda is entirely his own. The mission: bring the same depth of EU market knowledge that he deployed for global corporations to technology companies navigating European market entry for the first time.

The difference between HCI and a conventional sales agent or market entry consultant is in the first conversation. Where most advisors begin with enthusiasm and a proposal, Mike begins with an assessment. The honest kind — the kind that sometimes ends with "not yet" or "not this market" or "not in this form."

That approach is not cautious. It is commercial. A failed market entry wastes 18-36 months and €200K-€500K. An honest assessment upfront costs a fraction of that and protects both the client's investment and HCI's reputation.

Career

30 years. One consistent thread.

Enterprise technology. European markets. Building presence from zero.

2026 → Now
Founder & Managing Partner
HES Consultancy International · Amsterdam, NL
EU market entry advisory and execution for technology companies. Honest assessments. Real introductions. From strategy to first customer.
Enterprise
Senior Business Development & Partnerships
DXC Technology · Telindus
Enterprise IT services and infrastructure. Building strategic partnerships across Western Europe. Managing complex multi-year contracts with public and private sector clients.
Enterprise
Channel & Partner Management
Huawei Enterprise · European Markets
Building Huawei's enterprise channel in Western Europe. Navigating country-of-origin bias, regulatory concerns and competitive positioning against established EU and US vendors — in real time.
Enterprise
Sales & Business Development
Citrix Systems · European Markets
Virtualisation, remote access and enterprise software. Building relationships with CIOs and IT decision makers across the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
1994 →
Enterprise Technology Sales & BD
Multiple organisations · Western Europe
Three decades of building market presence, managing partner networks and closing enterprise deals across Western European markets.
Field Experience

What 30 years of honest advice actually looks like.

These are real situations. The names are not used — but the lessons are. Each one shaped how HCI operates today.

Product readiness
The product that wasn't ready for Western Europe
A Canadian EHR vendor wanted to enter Western Europe. Full assessment: product maturity was below the threshold of existing EU market leaders. Western Europe was not viable — the gap was too large.
"I told them: Eastern Europe first, via OEM partnerships. They saved two years and €300K. That is the value of honesty before the investment."
Country-of-origin bias
When the market rejects the geography, not the product
A software vendor from a country with documented bias in their target market. The product was good. The market wouldn't hear it. HCI confirmed the bias was real — not perceived — via direct network conversations.
"Repositioning via a neutral EU entity and targeting lower-sensitivity sectors first. The market can be entered — just not directly."
Regulatory reality
The AI platform that hit three EU walls at once
A smart city AI platform with strong US and APAC traction wanted the Dutch municipal market. Due diligence before the first meeting: EU AI Act (suspect detection = high-risk), GDPR (biometric data processing), and no EU reference customers.
"Three critical blockers identified before a single conversation happened. The client avoided a €400K+ failed pilot."
Value proposition
The US pitch that didn't translate to EU healthcare
An AI medical video platform built its entire value proposition around HCAHPS reimbursement scores — a US Medicare mechanism. That mechanism doesn't exist in Europe. Same product, completely broken pitch.
"The EU opportunity is real — but built around workforce shortage, WGBO compliance and health literacy. Completely different story. Completely different buyer."
Partner assessment
The NDA that protected nobody
A potential development partner sent an NDA governed entirely by Indian law with one-sided confidentiality obligations. Signing it would have provided zero protection under Dutch or EU law.
"Legal awareness is not optional in European partnerships. The NDA assessment prevented a relationship that would have been unenforceable from day one."
Market timing
The compliance crisis that created a market window
Zivver acquired by US company Kiteworks. Dutch parliament officially confirms CLOUD Act exposure. 40% of Dutch hospitals using Zivver. 3,500+ organisations suddenly in the market for a European alternative.
"The window between a market event and procurement response is 6-12 months. That is when the deal is won — not at the tender stage."
Methodology

How HCI works. Every time.

The methodology is consistent across every engagement, every sector, every client. Because the fundamentals of EU market entry don't change.

01
Honest Assessment First
Before any engagement, we assess real EU readiness across six dimensions: ICP clarity, product-market fit, regulatory compliance, GTM model, team readiness, financial runway. The score determines everything that follows.
02
Regulatory Mapping
Every product in every sector has a specific regulatory profile. We map it before the first customer conversation — not after the first failed pilot. NIS2, GDPR, AI Act, CRA, NEN 7510, DORA, WGBO.
03
EU Value Proposition
What works in the US doesn't work in Europe. EU buyers respond to compliance, sovereignty, workforce efficiency and regulatory risk reduction — not ROI timelines and HCAHPS scores. We rebuild the pitch for the actual market.
04
Warm Introductions
300+ C-level contacts built over 30 years. Warm introductions achieve 40-60% engagement. Cold email: 2-5%. We never burn an introduction on a product that isn't ready. That's why the introductions work when we make them.
05
MEDDIC+ Qualification
Every prospect in the pipeline is qualified against nine criteria including EU compliance match and decision-making authority mapping. We don't advance deals that can't close. Pipeline quality over volume.
06
Full Cycle Commitment
Not just strategy documents. HCI stays with the client from assessment through closed deal. The fee structure — retainer plus success commission — reflects that shared commitment to the outcome.
Principles

What HCI stands for. Non-negotiable.

01
Honesty before enthusiasm
We will not tell you your product is ready if it isn't. We will not promise five closed deals if the regulatory foundation isn't there. We would rather lose the engagement than deliver a failed market entry. The market knows the difference.
02
EU law is not optional
GDPR, NIS2, the EU AI Act, the Cyber Resilience Act, NEN 7510 — these are not compliance checkboxes. They are the commercial reality of the European market. We treat them as fundamental, not as obstacles to work around.
03
Introductions are not for sale
Thirty years of relationships cannot be rebuilt if they are burned on an unprepared vendor. Every introduction HCI makes is preceded by an honest assessment of whether the product is ready for that conversation. That protection keeps the network valuable.
04
Commission is earned on outcomes, not activity
HCI's fee structure includes a success component on closed deals. That alignment means we are focused on the same thing our clients are: revenue. Not reports, not meetings, not pipeline theatre. Closed deals.
05
European digital sovereignty matters
The CLOUD Act, FISA, and the documented exposure of US-owned tools in European markets are not hypothetical risks. HCI specifically works with companies that respect European data sovereignty — and uses that as a commercial differentiator, not just a principle.

The first conversation
costs nothing.

No pitch. No proposal. Just an honest conversation about where you are and whether HCI can help. That conversation is free. The wrong market entry isn't.

Book a call with Mike Or take the free EU Readiness Scan
mbhes@hes-consultancy-international.com
linkedin.com/in/mihes
Amsterdam, Netherlands