The Story of Tomorrow

Creating the future together

Trust. Equality. Inclusiveness. Technology. Sustainable progress. These themes have marked the past year and are therefore central to our work at PwC. Each day we do everything possible to contribute to trust within society and help solve major problems. This is at the heart of the work all PwC colleagues do together. What drives us? Who or what inspires us? And how does it help our clients make progress? ‘The Story of Tomorrow’ answers these questions in five personally chosen pictures.

View the five stories

Five themes, five pictures, five stories

Everybody has a story to tell – stories that inspire and motivate us, stir our emotions and prompt reflection. That’s why, with the help of five photos, we are sharing the personal and professional stories of five of our colleagues.

Watch and listen to their stories in the videos on this page and see the pictures on the exhibition wall in the central hall of PwC's head office in Amsterdam. By inspiring one another, together we create the story of tomorrow.

Selwyn Moons on trust

‘Trust is the foundation of society’

Selwyn Moons thinks almost day and night about how society functions, advises the public sector and led the PwC investigation into the ‘Fraude Signaleringsvoorziening’ of the Tax Administration.

'Trust is fundamental to society. I'm working on it day and night myself and attach great importance to a society that functions and in which harmony has a place. Both in society and in one's own environment. This picture reflects a question you hope people don't have to ask. The picture also makes it clear that trust is an important issue and I hope it encourages people to think. How do we make the Netherlands a little fairer? is a question we all get to think about.’

Marcel Jakobsen on technology

‘Will humans ever be replaced by computers?’

Marcel Jakobsen loves all kinds of gadgets and is responsible for technology and transformation within the Tax Board

'Technology is not fun for everyone. Technology also means a huge change for many people, for example in the workplace. That's why you have to think ahead to really make technology a success. And that's like playing chess. This image is about some whizzkids putting together chess computers to play the World Championship between chess computers with each other. We see here the beginning of the quest "how does the computer beat the human?" and the computer has had to make huge strides to beat the human. It has partially succeeded. I give guest lectures to students and they sometimes ask me: won't we ever be replaced by computers when you see how fast technological developments are going? I don't believe we will be taken over by computers, I believe in the power of the combination.’

Krista Koeleman on inclusion

‘It’s about trust and believing in yourself’

Krista Koeleman believes in the value of cocreation when all perspectives are at the table and helps companies with their transformation

‘To me, inclusion is about believing in yourself. But, it is of course a trade-off. You can still believe in yourself so much and still feel excluded. At school, at work or in society. I have three daughters and I want them to grow up in a world where equality is an important value. I try to do everything about that, every day. Even within my work, I am committed to that. I truly believe that we can only solve today's complex problems by bringing all perspectives together. Inclusivity has so many facets and it is impossible to choose a photo that represents all of them. I chose this photo because the lines and colours fascinate me, but also the contrast of the big letters and the little child standing all alone in front of that big yellow wall. “Believe in yourself” is a huge task for this little child to achieve.’

Nynke Vries on sustainable progress

‘Without realising it, there is value in everything’

Nynke Vries is a lover of ants and biodiversity specialist at PwC

'On Sunday afternoons most people find nature very nice and beautiful, but on a random Tuesday morning in a boardroom the relationship between humans and nature is more distant. For me, sustainable progress is about having choices, now and later. And we need to work together to make sure we have those choices. Nor is there one approach or one definition of sustainable progress, and I'm glad of that, because I like that I don't understand and know everything. I look at this picture and think I understand what is going on, but it turns out to be a lot more constructive than I thought. This turns out to be a form of livestock farming, where the ant is the livestock farmer and the aphids are the livestock. This image works for me as intriguing and inspiring, because it makes it clear that so many collaborations are still possible and, without you immediately realising it, there is value in everything.’

Fayaaz Adalat on equality

‘We should always focus on the next generation’

Fayaaz Adalat advises banks on regulatory issues and advocates for more equality both inside and outside PwC.

‘I was born and raised in Amsterdam. What you see here is the Bijlmer. My old home, where I actually learned everything. From a simple kickball to my homework. They are immense flats, lots of people, with a story behind every front door. The old Bijlmer was built from the idea of equality. Because everyone lives in the same environment and in the same kind of apartment, that would bring about equality. But, it is not that simple. Right now, there are still a lot of children who grow up in some form of survival mode and don't have the opportunity or the environment to come to their senses in peace. Equality and equal opportunities are not a given and I want, from all that I have experienced and learned, to take the next generation a step further. That is my mission. And together we can achieve a lot in that.'