Carol Devos

Carol Devos – Director

Shortly after I graduated in Slavonic philology my father purchased the license of the TerraCottem soil conditioner from the University of Ghent, Belgium. It very quickly became his new passion.

I took an internship in this new vibrant company. I was then applying for a job in editing. As an intern I did admin stuff at TerraCottem. I thoroughly enjoyed using my language skills as the company traded internationally very early onwards. I decided to stay.

When the Managing Director moved the international sales department to London, I seized the opportunity and went along. My job involved a lot of travelling around the world.

Eight years later my next hub became the South of Spain where we moved the international sales office to from London. At that time, we had a lot of business coming from Spain. Various golf courses were being built as well as large scale landscaping projects.

In 2016 I also took on the management of the manufacturing company in Vichte, Belgium. Three years later we moved the factory to bigger premises. We are proud to continue on manufacturing in Belgium.

"All I know businesswise I learned from working at TerraCottem, from trial and error and above all from the people in the company, our clients and suppliers."

With the COVID-19 pandemic, outdoor spaces are gaining importance. They are an essential part of our wellbeing. Demand for more and better parks and the embellishment of gardens increases. As well as tools and technologies to help establish plants and obtain good plant growth despite the effects of climate change.

I am fortunate to work in our industry and to do the job I do.

What do you do in the garden to save water?

"Living in a warm climate we only planted drought resistant plants in the garden and used TerraCottem everywhere. Whenever we plant something new, we apply these two rules: drought resistant plants and TerraCottem."

If you can travel in time, what year are you going and why?

"The Summer of 1991. 3 months of holidays. No worries. No responsibilities. The unbearable lightness of being."

How did you get into your job at TerraCottem?

"Just after graduating from university. I wanted to get some work experience before taking a final decision on what I wanted to do. My ambition then was to go into editing. A couple of weeks into working at TerraCottem I changed my mind."

What is the best professional advice you’ve ever received?

"Information and anticipation."

Favourite aspect of your work?

"I like diversity. As the manager my job is very diverse. If I have to pick out one favourite aspect it is the direct contact with clients. Socialising with them. There is no substitute for a face to face meeting. COVID-19 made me realise how much I miss this."

Best advice you have received?

"I didn’t receive it but read it in a book about the virtues of failure. It’s a quote from Marcus Aurelius: “God give me patience, to reconcile with what I am not able to change. Give me strength to change what I can. And give me wisdom to distinguish one from another.”

Your hero and why?