Jochem Verheul

I have been building software companies for twenty years, from early stage startups to Fortune 500 work. In 2009 I founded Itsavirus and ran it across the Netherlands, Singapore and Indonesia. Now I am taking it through its AI transformation, building Runbaze along the way, and writing down what I learn while it happens.

Writing

all writing → · new essays land on substack first

About

My background is in organisational sociology and entrepreneurship, with peer reviewed research on how technological and economic change reshapes the way companies are run. I have built and led teams across AI, mobility, logistics, smart cities, online commerce and web3.

These days I help organisations of 50 to 500 people put AI to work and prove it is under control: see where AI is already being used with nobody answering for it, install the specification and the record that make it safe to rely on, then put agents on the volume. That method is becoming Runbaze.

Elsewhere

personalLinkedIn · Substack
runbazerunbaze.com · LinkedIn · Substack · YouTube · Instagram
itsavirusitsavirus.com

Publications

Verheul, J. (2026). The Principal Firm. SSRN, working paper.
Heilbron, J., Verheul, J. & Quak, S. (2014). The origins and early diffusion of "shareholder value" in the United States. Theory & Society.
Heilbron, J., Verheul, J. & Quak, S. (2011). Aandeelhouders eerst! De opkomst van aandeelhouderswaarde in de Verenigde Staten. Sociologie.
Van Doorn, S. & Verheul, J. (2011). Agony of choice? The social embeddedness of consumer decisions. In Paradoxes of Individualization. Ashgate.
Van Doorn, S., De Koster, W. & Verheul, J. (2008). Keuzestress!? Sociologie.

Contact

If you want to work with me, talk about your own transformation, or book a talk: verheuljochem@gmail.com. I read everything.