Behind the scenes – Hendrik Ploom
Hendrik Ploom joined Civitta in 2020 as a Consultant and was recently promoted to Associate Partner. Hendrik focuses on management consulting, energy, and sustainability, supporting Estonian and Latvian teams. He became an expert in (renewable) energy, fuels, manufacturing, maritime, sustainability, and stood out with one of the most efficiently managed and profitable project portfolios in a turbulent market.
What key moments, challenges, or lessons have shaped your journey to becoming Associate Partner?
Looking back 6 years, I never thought I would work in sales as an Associate Partner or lead team in Civitta.
The biggest pivot came when we were building an energy project portfolio, and I developed a growing interest in sustainability and renewable energy topics. At that time, an opportunity opened up within the sustainability service line, and I was offered a chance to take on a broader role and step into sales-related responsibilities. The first year I was a Project Manager also working on sales, and this year it turned into a promotion.
A key takeaway from this journey is the process of changing perspective. When you start as a consultant, you need to understand how to do the work, and then gradually you move towards owning the outcome – taking full responsibility for the scope of the project, what the client actually wants, and how the client can benefit from it the most.
What do you enjoy most about working at Civitta, particularly in the sustainability and energy consulting space?
I really like seeing that the work we do has a tangible, physical outcome – not just a 100-page document that sits somewhere in a drawer, but something where clients actually take the takeaways into consideration in their strategy, new investors come in, companies receive funding.
A few examples over the years include helping manufacturing industry companies with projects that end up with an expansion – they actually open a new factory or a new expansion to their operations.
The level of complexity is also very engaging – it’s like a never-ending puzzle where you constantly assess feasibility, economic conditions, and regulatory demands to actually help clients finish their projects successfully.
From a sustainability perspective, it’s really eye-opening to see ambitious companies who have started this journey not only because of regulation, but because they are actually interested in doing it and seeing the value it brings to their business.
Could you tell more about your teams in Estonia and Latvia and what you believe drives its success?
I actually have two teams – one is the management consulting team in Estonia and Latvia, which is the team I’ve been in since I started, and the second is the sustainability team based in Estonia, Lithuania and Poland.
The cross-border synergy works very well. We don’t operate in silos – we use the best people across the region on specific projects, share knowledge, and expand the types of clients we work with.
Beyond the business side, the atmosphere in both teams is very warm and friendly. People are result-oriented, driven by growth, and ambitious. Everyone really wants to leave their mark on client activities.
How would you describe Civitta’s culture from your perspective?
I think it comes together with one of Civitta’s values – “explorers at heart”. There are really no limits on the types of projects that you can work with, as long as you are actually interested yourself. If you see that there is some opportunity to do something, the company really encourages you to chase it – and if it’s successful, it’s good for yourself and good for the company.
I also really like that we don’t have a strict hierarchical approach, but we are based on a meritocratic approach. If you are a young and ambitious person who wants to grow, the company really supports it.
People can grow quite fast, and it comes down to the fact that we want people to grow – not only just do the work because the work has to be done.
And then again, tied to the entrepreneurial mindset, there’s this challenger mindset – we really want to investigate new areas, maybe some more risky areas, to always keep the pulse a bit high and see what we can offer to the market.
What advice would you give to someone early in their career?
First – say yes to challenges, even in unfamiliar industries or methodologies. Project work is the core element where you gain experience and know-how. It’s very important to absorb a lot of information, like a sponge, so that as you grow you can start to reflect on the ways of working, the knowledge you gained and make connections between projects.
Second – always focus on the outcome. Don’t just present data – ask yourself what it means for the client and how it creates real value. Projects with a tangible outcome are the ones that truly matter.
Third – build both your internal and external network. If you work with many different clients, especially recurring ones, they will recall the good work and ask for you to be back on the next project – and that gives great personal appreciation. From an internal perspective, if you know many people across offices, you always know who to turn to when you need some expertise or even just a discussion point. Ultimately, consulting is a team sport, not an individual one.