Ann Caluwaerts has over 35 years of experience in the international and Belgian telecom, technology, and media industries. She started her career as a software engineer in a start-up, and went on to hold executive leadership roles at BT and Telenet, where she gained deep expertise in strategy, change management, digital transformation, HR, marketing, and communication. Today, Ann applies her knowledge and experience as a board member at Imec, Cofinimmo, ECS, and Bpost. She was also appointed by the Flemish Government as Chair of the STEM Platform and serves as a member of VARIO, the advisory council on innovation and entrepreneurship. She holds a master’s degree in electronic engineering from KU Leuven, and furthered her education at INSEAD, Columbia University, and the London Business School. Ann is recognized as a value-driven leader who inspires others with her experience and stories. She speaks regularly at conferences on leadership, innovation, culture, and transformation, with a particular passion for encouraging young people to embrace STEM. She is an Honorary Fellow at VUB, winner of the 2022 KU Leuven Faculty of Engineering Alumni Award, member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts, and a supporter of Belgium’s 40under40.

Françoise Chombar is Chairwoman and co-founder of Melexis. She served as the CEO of Melexis for 18 years (from 2003 to 2021). She is currently a member of the Board of Umicore, Soitec, Smart Photonics, Antwerp Management School and Mediafin and as investor in some start-ups / scale-ups. She has served as president of the STEM-platform for a decade (until September 2025) and continues to be an active member. The STEM-platform, an advisory board to the Flemish government, aims to encourage young people to pursue a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics education and to promote STEM to the broader public as a conduit towards more prosperity and well-being. Françoise Chombar’s long-term commitment to actively advocating more STEM and diversity and inclusion is driven by her profound belief in their positive societal impact. Ms. Chombar holds a Master’s Degree Applied Languages (Dutch, English, and Spanish) from Ghent University.

Geertrui Mieke De Ketelaere is Adjunct Professor at Vlerick Business School. She holds a master degree in civil and industrial engineering and specialised in robotics and artificial intelligence during her studies. Over the last 30 years, she has worked for several multinationals on all aspects of data and analytics (IBM, Microsoft, SAP, SAS, etc). From a business consulting point of view, she is specialised in defining the AI business canvas, from potential value to predefined risks. With her understanding of the hindsight, insight and foresight of AI technologies, she also frequently acts as an expert and coach behind the scenes. In her public presentations and recent book, Mieke puts the focus on the demystification of the hype around AI. The State Secretary of Digitalisation, Mathieu Michel, appointed Mieke as "Digital Mind" in 2020. In 2024, Mieke was appointed "IT Person of 2024" in Belgium. Today, Mieke continues to share her vision on the future of AI as speaker on international radio, television and conferences.

Heidi Van Dyck is the co-founder and CEO of athena studio, a Luxembourg-based tech start-up building the first AI-native operating system for creative product development teams. Athena helps global fashion and lifestyle brands unify scattered product data, transforming fragmented design workflows into one intelligent source of truth. Before founding athena studio, Heidi worked at McKinsey & Company in their Apparel, Fashion & Luxury practice, where she led digital transformation programs for global fashion companies. Heidi holds a Master’s Degree in Business Engineering from Solvay Business School. During her studies, she worked with several technology startups, including Rocket Internet and Vente Exclusive, which sparked her early passion for entrepreneurship and digital innovation.

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