Nico was trained as a social demographer at Utrecht University. He worked at the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) for most of his career. Working on the interface of science and practice, his work focuses on the social impacts of demographic change and the dissemination of research. Nico has led many national and international research projects. His ambition is to bridge the gap between research and practice. He represented his country at the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the European Union. Currently he is Honorary Fellow at NIDI and Editor in chief of its main dissemination publication DEMOS. From its onset Nico has worked with the European Association for Population Studies (EAPS) in several roles, including Secretary-General and Vice-President and currently as Executive Director. Nico was IUSSP Secretary-General from 2005-2009. He co-organized multiple international population conferences. Nico happily combines his work in demography with being an involved grandfather.