The Universal Service Desk (USD)

Johnson Brian :

Brian Johnson has held a number of key leadership and strategic roles in government and private companies. He was a part of the UK government team that created the ITIL^® approach. He has written a number of books on ITIL^®, the software life cycle and the role of IT in business. When he isn’t working or writing, Brian’s passion is playing football.

de Rouw Léon-Paul :

Léon-Paul de Rouw studied technical management and organisation sociology. He worked for several years as a consultant and researcher in the private sector. Since 2003, he has been a programme manager with the central government in the Netherlands. He is responsible for all types of projects and programmes that focus on IT and business (outsourcing, implementation and change).

Currently, he is the project manager for a multi-million euro project on the nationwide implementation of IT-driven business services.

In general, his interests include policy development, innovation, design and implementation, and management, mostly in the field of IT. Because of this, in addition to his professional career, he also writes, teaches, consults and delivers workshops and masterclasses.

Léon-Paul’s previous books were primarily written for professionals in their field, including IT demand-supply and facilities management. The books have since been used by a number of institutions as guides and textbooks and have also been incorporated into postgraduate courses.

Brian Johnson has published over a dozen official titles in the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL®) and a total of more than 30 books. He is the author of many books about best practices in business and IT. He designed and led the programme for ITIL version 2, which is widely used in the Netherlands and throughout the world.

Brian has inhabited many roles during his career, including vice president, lead architect, director and consultant.

One of his current roles is as chief architect at the ASL BISL Foundation. The Utrecht-based Foundation provides guidance on business information management to a wide range of public- and private-sector businesses in the Benelux region. It publishes best-practice guidance and, together with certification bodies, provides education and examinations. Brian is chief architect for the redesign of all guidance and will be the author of new strategic publications.

Léon-Paul de Rouw studied technical management and organisation sociology. He worked for several years as a consultant and researcher in the private sector. Since 2003, he has been a programme manager with the central government in the Netherlands. He is responsible for all types of projects and programmes that focus on IT and business (outsourcing, implementation and change).

In general, his interests include policy development, innovation, design and implementation, and management, mostly in the field of IT. Because of this, in addition to his professional career, he also writes, teaches, consults and delivers workshops and masterclasses.

Léon-Paul’s previous books were primarily written for professionals in their field, including IT demand-supply and facilities management. The books have since been used by a number of institutions as guides and textbooks and have also been incorporated into postgraduate courses.