For this episode, we sat down with Paul Heiden, CEO of Optics11.

Optics11 builds fibre optic sensing technology for early warning systems. The company operates out of the Netherlands, and its mission is to protect sea lanes, offshore infrastructure, and energy supply from disruption before it happens.

Paul was Chief Product Officer at Bynder, later acquired by THL, and held the same role at Ultimaker, where he helped the company become a leader in 3D printing. Before that, he founded BHOLD and sold it to Microsoft. He also spent 30+ years as a Captain in the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps, including multiple deployments to the Arctic Circle to guard the northern seaways. In 2024, we partnered with Optics11 to place him as CEO.

That background shapes how he talks about Optics11’s mission. The pitch is about winning the high ground and knowing about a threat before anyone else does, because Optics11’s sensors pick up signals long before a problem becomes visible. The company works across two markets. Underwater, where Paul describes the entire space as a black hole and where Optics11 is the only company shedding any light on it. And energy, where the goal is to make our energy provision more reliable.

Throughout the interview, we talked about Optics11's talent culture and where the company is headed next. Paul also walked us through how his time in the Marine Corps and years in DeepTech now shape his vision of talent.

The Big Search conducted the interview: https://www.thebigsearch.com/Research powered by Topliner, our talent intelligence platform: https://topliner.app/