Leo Waaijers (1938) studied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics in Leiden. In 1964 an almost lifelong career followed at TU Delft where he started as a scientist, including a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1968. In 1977 he switched to management, at first as the personel manager of his department, to become member of the University Executive Board from 1984 to 1988. Following discontinuation of this position he was appointed University Librarian. In this function he realized a.o. the new library building for TU Delft, the merger with the Delft University Press and the transfer to the new library system Aleph. In 2001 he accepted a corresponding post at Wageningen University & Research Centre. From 2004 to 2008 he has been manager of the SURF Platform ICT and Research where he managed the national DARE programme. In April 2008 he has won the 2008 SPARC Europe Award for Outstanding Achievements in Scholarly Communications. Currently he is an independent consultant and member of the Advisory Board of the European DRIVER project.