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
Core 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.
Nele's expertise lies in coaching c-suite level executives and providing client organisations with strategic talent advice. She brings extensive international experience, having worked with Bain & Co and Heidrick & Struggles, both in London and Chicago. Nele loves connecting with people and businesses, enabling both to thrive - ready to connect with you.
Luc specializes in go to market strategy and product management and product marketing, and extensive experience in delivering AI/machine-learning solutions and customer experiences through data-driven insights. Luc previously was co-founder & CEO of pioneering Big Data /SaaS companies (Porthus – IPO and sold to NASDAQ listed Descartes Systems Group, NGDATA), boutique consulting firms (Innacco, Madison.Partners) as well as executive chairman of Piesync (sold to Hubspot). He served as a Member /Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ontoforce, House of HR, Spott, Radix and still holds an active Board seat with Solventure, Hannecard and Azumuta.
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.
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
The entrepreneurs in residence provide access to their network and expertise to specific portfolio companies.
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.
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.