Menu
This week, we’re delighted to sit down with Ilja Sterk and Rhys Jopson, two of our project management maestros here at Creditsafe.
Get to know them, what their role is like, what they love about working at Creditsafe, and one of their project management hacks!
Hi, I’m Ilja Sterk, Programme Manager in the PMO team at Creditsafe.
I joined Creditsafe through the merger with Graydon over 3 years ago and currently lead several migration programs — most notably Canal II, the programme to transition Graydon NL customers to the Creditsafe platform earlier in 2025. I’m now focused on the migration programs of legacy Graydon in CSBE and Editus data and customers in Luxembourg.
Alongside this, I act as Tech Liaison out of he Netherlands, working with a hybrid team of developers and a project manager.
💡 My favourite project management hack?
At the start of using Copilot to record meetings and generate high-quality summaries—it was a game changer for saving time and staying aligned. Now we are almost at the point to fully automate our Project Update reports with AI solutions, things change fast.
🎯 What I love about working at Creditsafe
Working with the PMO team of course and CS is a company where you can truly create opportunities. There’s a strong focus on personal development and inclusiveness, and we’re encouraged to explore new efficient ways of working and are improving with that. And of course, the fun factor—we work hard, but we definitely play hard too!
I’m a Technical Programme Manager at Creditsafe, and I’ve been here since November 2019. I originally joined to bring more structure to how we deliver programmes and projects within Technology – essentially, to stop things falling through the cracks and ensure we weren’t relying on to-do lists and good intentions.
Since then, I’ve helped expand the PMO’s reach across the business, supporting teams in Sales & Marketing, Analytics, HR, Product, and our international offices.
My work covers a wide mix, from product upgrades and system migrations to office relocations, AI governance, tooling improvements, and cross-functional process enhancements. I work closely with internal teams and external partners to make sure we truly deliver value to the business – whether that’s coordinating a multi-site office move, rolling out new reporting tools, or shaping our new Product AI initiative tracker. No two days are the same.
One of my favourite project management hacks?
Automate repetitive tasks wherever possible. I use tools like Power Automate, Microsoft Copilot, and Perplexity to make reporting and task tracking smoother, connecting Smartsheets, Teams, and Power BI. I also combine our PMO structured templates with AI-generated outputs to speed up planning & keep things consistent. The goal is to reduce manual work so I can focus on strategy and delivering real results. The goal is to reduce manual work so I can focus on strategy and delivering real results.
How do you find working at Creditsafe? What’s a highlight for you?
Working at Creditsafe is genuinely rewarding. The culture encourages ownership and innovation, and I’ve had the chance to lead programmes and projects that make a real difference, alongside some incredibly talented colleagues. What stands out most is the collaborative spirit, trust and autonomy – being able to make decisions and drive change!
Our world takes a mix of ambition and innovation to tackle the complex challenges today and for any business, to stand out from the crowd! Rhys and Ilja both play a pivotal role here at Creditsafe in making this possible, so here’s to them!
We hope you enjoyed getting to know more of the people who make up team creditsafe; you could be one of them! If you’re interested, take a look at our vacancies and give our LinkedIn account a follow to keep up with the latest vacancies and news from us.