After graduating from Queen Mary and Westfield College (University of London) with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, Joep continued his studies at Cranfield University (UK) where he completed a Master’s degree in Aerospace Vehicle Design in 1993.

He joined Airbus for a six-month internship in 1994, working in the Future Projects Department analysing emergency evacuation aspects of the then A3XX, the precursor to today’s A380. He then began his career at Airbus in the Marketing Department, initially in the A330 / A340 Product Marketing Group.

After three years, Joep transferred to Airline Marketing where over the years he has held a variety of positions and geographical responsibility. In July 2008 he took over responsibility for leading Airbus’s marketing activity in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2020 this responsibility was expanded to include the entire African continent.