Professor Nijssen, founder of PNA and creator of NIAM

In the 1970s, Professor Sjir Nijssen discovered how knowledge can be identified, analysed and structured in such a way that it can be used for calculations.

Scientific foundation

Professor Sjir Nijssen, our founder, has been working for more than fifty years to teach people how to deal with knowledge more efficiently. In the 1970s, he discovered how you could identify, analyse and structure knowledge in such a way that you could calculate with it. As a result, specific knowledge can be made accessible to a larger group of people in understandable language. This can prevent waste and enable companies to flourish in their entrepreneurship.
His insight was the main driving force behind the development of the current cogNIAM® method. A scientific method that is central to PNA's approach. A method that enables organisations - on the basis of current world standards in the field of knowledge management - to deal sustainably with knowledge in practice.
Read more on Sjir Nijssen's Wikipedia page.

No frivolous theories

Our work is inspired by an idealistic idea. The idea that an exact approach to knowledge can prevent wastage of knowledge, time and money worldwide. Call us idealists. Call us do-gooders. But we believe in this approach. And we have been proving it for a long time.

Room to innovate

With the accession of Maurice Nijssen - son of - as Managing Director, PNA has undergone a new substantial development. He is continually engaged in making the knowledge capital of organisations more widely applicable.
This extends from the operational management of organisations to cooperation in the chain. Not only for commercial parties, but also - on the basis of partnerships - to develop innovative solutions for social issues. So we look beyond the obvious. We do not stick to frivolous theories, but create, from a solid foundation, a grip on knowledge capital and therefore opportunities for growth.

Eye on the future

Since January 2018, Frank Harmsen has been strengthening PNA as director/shareholder. Prior to his move, Frank was a partner at EY Advisory, where he was responsible for transformation and digitalisation projects. In addition, Frank is active as an extraordinary professor of knowledge and information management at Maastricht University. Maurice is delighted with the arrival of Frank. "We complement each other. With his background, Frank fits in perfectly with PNA. His broad practical experience as an organisation advisor to leading organisations is very valuable to us. With his experience at board level we can have even more impact."
For Frank, the move from a large party like EY to PNA is logical. "After having worked for almost 25 years for larger companies such as Capgemini and EY, entrepreneurship attracted me. A company of my own seemed an interesting challenge, but what could be better than to continue together with like-minded people? PNA fits me perfectly, both in terms of content and culture. I want to use my experience to help PNA take the next step.
With this expansion, PNA is now even more capable of carrying out complete renewal and transformation projects for its clients, including the strategic and change management side of it.