Dirk DeWilde Profile
Dirk in his home town of Cartagena
If you’ve had the opportunity to meet Dirk DeWilde you will know he is very personable and loves the opportunity to meet new people, embrace cultures and build relationships. Whether you are a friend, supplier or customer he welcomes you into his personal circle and goes out of his way to create and foster enduring relationships. Dirk is the Sales Coordinator in Latin America and globally for TexSquare and has been in the textile industry for about 35 years.
Dirk started in this industry in 1993 always wanting to work in international business having the travel bug from a young age travelling with family. It was a no brainer as he was trained as a commercial engineer, majoring in international business in Belgium, initially working for a transport company and eventually coming into the textile industry after a few different roles, textiles was an international export sector of Belgium where he was based at the time.
Born and grew up in Belgium and now living in Cartagena Colombia, when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, Dirk said “I told everybody I was going to be a diplomat. I saw myself working for a foreign mission, at an embassy, you know, connecting with people in far away countries and negotiating somehow, like world peace or whatever treaty was going on. That's what I thought I was going to do. Which kind of connects with what I'm doing now.”
It’s always interesting to reflect upon where you end up in your working career in comparison to your 10 year old self aspirations. Often we don’t give that younger version the credit that it deserves to know who we are and what we want to be as adults. Diplomatic Dirk even has a ring to it! Having the opportunity to travel the world with the textile industry attending trade shows and connecting people from all over the world.
When asked what he looks for in suppliers he explains, “I look for suppliers and clients that are sociable, trustworthy, professional people, you know people you can actually talk with and build long term relationships with. Apart from all the other stuff like having a good product, price sensitive, good service and long term quality.”
Ultimately he sees TexSquare’s role as one of building partnerships where each party has the freedom to embrace what they are good at. Supplier’s enjoy making fabric and TexsQuare agents play their role in getting their product out there and connecting them to their clients. Dirk perceives that the world is small and we need to make our hobby work and our work our hobby, trying to have as enjoyable a job is possible for all. Having a nice friendly relationship with clients and suppliers and their communication with one another having that same vibe, very diplomatic hey!
Dirk and Johnny Keeton met through going to industry fairs and bumping into each other at different events and dinners with suppliers. Dirk recalls meeting Johnny and instantly connecting, as Johnny's not your typical American. They met at the Shanghai fair which was held in August every year pre pandemic. After connecting for some time and working in different regions of the world it was a no brainer to get different lines out to further reaches of the world. Since then they have been adding different lines to their range.
What Dirk loves about the textile industry is meeting interesting people from different parts of the world and making friends along the way. “The textile industry takes you into the world of fashion, interiors and architecture where you are exposed to international styles and cultures from different parts of the world. What is beautiful in South African interior design is different from what's beautiful in Australia or Bolivia, culture for their natural vernacular, with cultural backgrounds or architecture they’re used to. So textiles are woven into our lives and experiences….and I love connecting all the dots.”