Senior Independent AEP Advisor

Clarity.
Recovery.
Governance.

I step into stalled enterprise Adobe Experience Platform programmes to restore decision flow, reset governance, and get delivery moving. Then I step out.

Most of my work is on Adobe Experience Platform. The failure patterns are not Adobe-specific.

9+ years Adobe EMEA Vendor-neutral Recovery typically within days

Request an intake call View case studies

Former Adobe Consulting EMEA · Netherlands / Europe · LinkedIn ↗

Bas Bartholomeus — senior independent AEP advisor

Bas Bartholomeus · Leersum, Netherlands

9+ Years Adobe Experience Cloud (EMEA)

75% Platform overhead reduction (enterprise retail)

12+ Enterprise clients across finance, retail, telco & automotive

5 Adobe certifications including AEP & CJA

What I do

Three ways I create clarity

Each engagement is short, written, and designed to transfer ownership back to your team.

Recovery

When delivery stalls and alignment collapses, I stabilise the programme and restore momentum. Fast diagnosis, concrete decisions, clear ownership.

Outcome: programme unblocked within days

Independent audit

A fast, vendor-neutral reality check. Risks, root causes, and clear decision options, without vendors defending their own work.

Outcome: written findings + decision options in 2–5 days

Strategic oversight

Temporary senior authority across vendors and stakeholders: governance cadence, accountability, and quality gates, until your team holds it independently.

Outcome: durable governance, no dependency created

Background

Nine years inside complex enterprise programmes in EMEA

For nearly a decade I worked within Adobe Consulting EMEA as a senior consultant in analytics, CDP and activation architecture, across telecom, finance, media, retail, and regulated industries.

→ Led enterprise AEP programmes including RTCDP, CJA, and Destination SDK implementations
→ Programmes at tier-one European banks, a global automotive group, international retail and travel operators, and a regulated online gaming business. Named references shared in conversation.
→ Specialised in escalated programmes where governance had broken down
→ Trained over 200 professionals across Audience Manager and Adobe Experience Platform

230M → 60M

Daily server calls reduced

Enterprise retail programme. Restored client trust within weeks of engagement.

Trust restored

Stalled RTCDP programme

Conducted full review, resolved each use case. Opened path to license renewal and new consulting scope.

Zero to delivery

Compliant activation pipeline

Built custom Destination SDK connector for regulated online business. Consent-aware, end-to-end validated.

Do you recognise this?

If any of this sounds familiar

These patterns show up in stalled enterprise data programmes whatever the platform. Most of them are resolvable, and a short audit usually creates clarity within days.

AEP programme is "live" but activation and reporting don't behave as expected

Identity stitching or consent flows break downstream measurement and audiences

Multiple vendors deliver in parallel without architectural alignment

Governance exists on paper but decisions stall and accountability is unclear

Executives need clear options after significant platform investment without visible results

You've had two or more steering committee meetings without a clear decision

If this sounds like your situation, get in touch

The method

Short cycles. Written outputs. Clear ownership.

I reduce complexity until executives can decide.

Diagnose

A fast reality check of delivery, governance, and the few root causes that matter. Vendor-neutral. Written findings. No recommendations yet, just facts.

Decide

Clear options, trade-offs, and a plan that stakeholders can actually sign off. No ambiguity. No vendor agenda. Executive-ready within days.

Stabilise

Governance reset, quality gates, ownership transfer. I stay until your team holds it independently, then step out. No dependency by design.

Engagement options

Start small. Get clarity first.

Scale support only if it adds value. If your situation doesn't fit neatly, share context and I'll propose the simplest next step.

30–45 minutes

Short call

A focused conversation about your situation. Within 24–48 hours after the call I'll let you know whether there's a fit and what a sensible next step looks like.

Schedule a short call

2–5 days

Quick audit

Popular

Vendor-neutral review with concise written findings and decision options. Fast, independent, structured. You leave knowing what to do next.

From € 15,000 · fixed scope, fixed duration

Request a quick audit

Weekly cadence

Recovery & oversight

Senior oversight to restore governance, unblock decisions, and keep delivery accountable. Until the programme runs on its own.

Request support

2–3 days

Team enablement

Focused training for the team that has to run the platform after I leave. Built around your own implementation, not a generic curriculum. Governance, data model, activation and the failure modes specific to your setup.

Request a training outline

Case studies

Quiet proof. High-stakes delivery.

A selection of representative work. Specific client details shared under NDA where needed.

CJA Migration Enterprise organisation (EU)

Adobe Analytics → Customer Journey Analytics migration leadership

Governance-led migration that aligned stakeholders on measurement and data model, moving the programme from debate to delivery.

Outcome

Programme moved from months of debate to implementation-ready backlog in weeks. Measurement baseline validated. Identity and consent implications resolved.

→Decision cadence + target measurement model
→Baseline validation + identity/consent implications
→Implementation-ready backlog + quality gates

Read case study

Recovery Multi-vendor enterprise programme

Programme recovery & multi-vendor governance reset

Stabilised a high-risk programme by restoring decision clarity and governance, moving delivery from firefighting to predictable progress.

Outcome

Decision velocity restored within 2 weeks. Clear escalation paths and quality gates in place. Programme continued independently after handover.

→Rapid diagnosis across delivery + architecture risk
→Governance reset: sign-offs, escalation paths, quality gates
→Playbooks so progress continued without dependency

Read case study

AEP Regulated online business (EU)

Destination SDK integration for compliant activation & suppression

Built a custom Destination SDK connector for auditable activation and suppression, reducing compliance risk without slowing delivery.

Outcome

Compliance risk eliminated. Activation pipeline live. Governance checkpoints prevent configuration drift ongoing.

→Clear data contracts + operational monitoring
→Consent-aware delivery validated end-to-end
→Governance checkpoints to prevent drift

Read case study

Talk through your situation View all case studies

References

What the people involved say

Bas conducted a full review and successfully resolved each use case. This restored client trust in our solutions and significantly improved the adoption of Adobe Target. This increase in client satisfaction served as a gate opener for further license negotiations.

— Senior Manager, Marketing Technology · Enterprise client

Bas proved to be able to efficiently combine deep technical knowledge of Adobe Target with a keen understanding of client needs, providing tailored solutions that enhance digital optimization strategies. His ability to translate complex Adobe functionalities into actionable insights has been instrumental in driving measurable results.

— Technical Account Manager · Adobe EMEA

About Bas

Structure first, then build

I'm Bas Bartholomeus. For nearly a decade I worked within Adobe Consulting EMEA as a senior consultant in analytics, CDP and activation architecture. I left in early 2026 to work independently, stepping into enterprise programmes when delivery stalls, governance breaks down, or teams lose decision clarity.

My role is to restore ownership, reduce noise, and produce executive-ready options. Working style: calm, structured, direct. Short cycles, written outputs, clear ownership. I step out when programmes can run on their own.

I'm vendor-neutral by design. I have no quota to fill, no products to sell. My only obligation is to give you an accurate picture and clear options.

I also design and build furniture and integrated systems in my own workshop. Same rule in both places: understand the structure before you build anything, and stay accountable for the result long after delivery. Wood is less forgiving than software, which is a useful discipline to keep. Studio work →

Certifications

Adobe Certified Expert

Customer Journey Analytics Developer

Verify on Adobe →

Adobe Content Supply Chain Champion

Recognition for platform leadership and enterprise delivery

View on LinkedIn →

Adobe Qualified

Adobe Experience Platform

Verify on Credly →

2018 Adobe Accredited Digital Marketer Adobe

2015 Certified Digital Analytix Expert comScore

Writing

Field notes on Adobe Experience Platform

Governance, activation, and implementation — practical perspectives from advisory practice.

Adobe Experience Platform · Destination SDK · API testing · webhook integration · real-time data activation

End-to-end testing of Adobe Experience Platform Destination SDK

Master end-to-end testing of Adobe Experience Platform Destination SDK with practical insights, common pitfalls, and a free testing tool to validate your entire activation chain.

Read article →

AEP · Activation

Adobe Experience Platform Destination SDK helps marketers boost their reach

A practical perspective on Destination SDK and how teams can extend activation capabilities responsibly — including governance patterns for compliant activation in regulated industries.

Read on business.adobe.com ↗

In progress

CJA · Migration

CJA Derived Fields: designing for trust, not just functionality

How to design, validate and operationalise derived fields without breaking reporting trust downstream. The governance guardrails that keep them reliable as the data model evolves.

Coming soon — get notified below ↓

View all articles

Advisory intake

Describe your situation

I take on a limited number of engagements at a time. If your situation is a fit, I'll respond personally within 24 hours with a clear next step. No account manager. No sales process.

✉

info@bbartholomeus.com

☎

Phone

+31 6 4569 4465

linkedin.com/in/bas-bartholomeus