Our Expert Team
The Miles Ahead team consists of a core team and operating partners. The core team is responsible for the daily development of the Deep Tech & AI startups. The team of operating partners offers additional expertise and network.
Join our team
Our Management Team
Miles Ahead is set up as a partnership to allow for flexibility in the staffing of the team
Previously active both in companies such as i2 Technologies as well as in research as the CEO of iMinds where he launched the iStart accelerator programme. Wim has extensive experience in coaching early stage ventures in the domains of AI and Data.
Maarten has spearheaded the technological organisation of a number of companies (CTO Showpad, Tech Lead In the Pocket) and joins as Product and Technology Strategy/Organisation Leader. His main goal in life is creating cool stuff with talented and/or ambitious people, pushing the envelope of what is possible while having fun. Passionate about physics and nature and he probably runs faster than you.
Luc specializes in providing exceptional customer experiences through data-driven insights and has extensive experience in delivering AI and machine-learning solutions. Luc previously was co-founder & CEO of pioneering Big Data /SaaS companies (Porthus, NGDATA) as well as boutique consulting firms (Innacco, Madison.Partners). He served as a Member /Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ontoforce and PieSync (sold to Hubspot) and still holds an active Board seat with House of HR, Solventure, Spott, Hannecard, Radix and Azumuta.
Frederik has worked in private equity (D'Ieteren, large-cap buy-out) and strategy consulting (Bain) but loves to identify and support promising new business models, both from a financing and strategy perspective. He's an entrepreneur himself and therefore associates himself with the dreams and struggles of founders. Frederik loves to connect with other cultures and speaks 7 languages, ready to start learning yours.
The advisory partners
As founder of Tele-Atlas and member of the management board to TomTom, Alain has first-hand experience in building a global data-based business and is ready to transfer that to a new generation of entrepreneurs.
With 20 years experience as co-founder and partner in machine learning and cloud application ventures, Christophe is passionate about creating and growing businesses by combining entrepreneurship, cutting-edge technology and finance. Besides that Christophe has worked with leading companies such as SAP and ING.
As co-founder of companies such as Porthus and NGDATA and CEO of TrustBuilder, Frank combines the entrepreneurial mindset with experience of scaling organizations towards a successful exit. Frank loves innovation, technology and data.
Frederic has (co)founded global companies(Real Impact Analytics, Dalberg Data Insights) active in data and technology,supporting leading players across the globe (the Gates Foundation, the UnitedNations, Facebook, Google). He is a “Digital Mind” for Belgium and is part ofthe “New Champions” of the World Economic Forum. He is always up for the nextcool thing in tech!
Niek has a passion for data analytics and strategy and put that into practice in a large bank environment but also in the start-ups he was more recently involved in.
The Entrepreneurs in residence
Stijn Christiaens is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Collibra, a data intelligence company. Christiaens has a background in data management and governance, having previously worked at Swift. He is widely recognized as an innovator in the field and has been named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Data Management and Governance by Dataversity.
Having worked as a turnaround management consultant before, Nicolas was the founder and CEO of Cashforce, a global FinTech company that provides financial forecasting solutions to midsize and large corporations around the world. After Cashforce's acquisition, he continued to share his expertise and insights as a Venture Advisor for several FinTech and Proptech funds. Although data-driven, he is equally passionate about creating a "dream team" within every venture.
Mattias was the co-founder and CTO of PieSync, a SaaS platform used by thousands of companies worldwide to keep customer data in sync across business apps. After the acquisition by HubSpot in 2019, he served in an engineering leadership role to integrate PieSync's technology as the foundation of HubSpot's new Operations Hub product. Mattias is passionate about building teams and products that solve hard problems in simple and creative ways.
Koen’s experience is centered around large IT enabled business transformation programs. His experience spans the full lifecycle from designing the transformation strategy, through architecting solutions and managing the transition & implementation. Across the last 10 years Koen acted as deal maker and sales leader for large B2B service deals. Koen worked with PwC Consulting, IBM, Accenture and Genpact and is currently supporting a range of start-ups.
Filip is a business and team builder with a predilection for innovation. He brings over 20 years of expertise in the SaaS industry. Filip was founder and CEO of Nomadesk, a SaaS company, and completed the acquisition by Unifiedpost Group in 2017. Filip was responsible for Corporate Development and M&A at Unifiedpost Group and Itineris.
Leen has worked with startups in online media (Netlog, Tech.eu) and SaaS online video (Kaltura, Saffron Digital) in Ghent, Brussels and London. After, she co-founded a deep tech startup in VR/AR, LucidWeb. She is a finalist of Inspiring Fifty Belgium, the 50 most inspiring women in Belgian tech. She is passionate about the future of AI, FemTech & the metaverse economy.
Our Stories
Read below to discover the Miles Ahead team & regular events we are organising. Find our who is who at Miles Ahead and what to expect when attending the already infamous Sessions.
Miles Ahead Sessions
A new series of free in real life networking nights.
We promise an exclusive evening filled with inspirational talks & high-quality networking.
Discover The Next Sessions