Theme: Beneath the Surface

Human adaptability, perspective, and innovation have always been a common priority. As the world changes around us, these priorities have become our necessities. We find that it is often not the obvious, not what is expected, and not what is already accepted that define our future. That is why we must look for those ideas and possibilities for which we can not see nor easily predict. To look beneath. To dive Beneath the Surface.

Maison de la Poste (Tour & Taxis)
Rue Picard 5/7, 1000 Bruxelles
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Brussels, Bruxelles-Capitale, Région de (fr), Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest (nl), 1000
Belgium

Alex Si

Magician

Alex Si is an enthusiastic magician-mentalist, corporate speaker, emcee of professional events, and ambassador for the McBride Magic & Mystery School in Las Vegas. Leveraging his 15 years of experience as an IT engineer combined with his unique decade long training in magic and mentalism, Alex inspires his audience to overcome the illusive traps that are frequently created by the human brain. His techniques are a clever blend of art and science that spur skill development, strong decision making, and an enhanced team work ability. His latest creations include his up-close magic show ‘The Secret Room’, his video series ‘de-SI-sive, Illusion and Decision’ where he extensively explores the various pitfalls of our mental decision-making.

Gerry Murray

Podcast Host

Gerry Murray is a digital-savvy trusted advisor to organisations and senior management. As the CEO of Wide Circle, a boutique HR consultancy, and the current managing partner for Harrison Assessments Talent Solutions in EMEA, he offers strategic HR advice on all aspects of the Talent Life Cycle. Since 2014, Gerry developed particular expertise in predictive talent analytics to enable organisations to improve their people-decision making. In turn, providing his clients with a clearer ROI on talent investments. Before founding Wide Circle in 2003, Gerry’s early career was spent in a variety of management roles in sales, finance, marketing, operations, strategic planning and professional communications. His diverse background makes him exceptionally effective in environments that require fresh insights and perspectives. In his TEDx talk, Gerry will detail how a strong adaptive capacity is often the answer to daily obstacles and dilemmas.

Gregory Caremans

Founder Brain Academy

Gregory Caremans is the founder of the award-winning Brain Academy. A psychologist with a Masters in Communication and former Director of the Institute of Neurocognitivism Brussels, he has established himself as an expert and teacher of the human brain, the intricate organic machinery that governs our thoughts and forms our personalities. Creating the Brain Academy in 2014, Gregory maintains a unique mission helping people reach their full potential by optimizing both their understanding and functioning of their brain. To date, the academy has reached and inspired over 400.000 people on Udemy alone. You can also find him featured in the Economist, Entrepreneur, Mashable, CNN, and much more.

Kait Bolongaro

Politics Journalist

Kait Bolongaro is an internationally-recognized political journalist covering topics ranging from politics and terrorism to science and business on five different continents. She previously spent two years as Bloomberg’s Canadian politics reporter in Ottawa and three years as a Reporter at Politico Europe. She continues her brilliant work as a frequent TV commentator on politics, policy and current affairs. In Brussels, she currently pursues a PhD in media and politics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Her dedication for quality journalistic work has awarded her with three distinguished awards, including a silver medal for climate change coverage from the United Nations Correspondents Association.

Madeleine De Hauke

Executive Leadership Coach and Trainer

Dr. Madeleine de Hauke is the CEO of the conscious leadership consultancy Business4Good. Often known as the “Elevator”, Madeleine uses a holistic combination of professional development and personal growth to raise leaders and teams to their highest potential. By offering a unique mix of powerful assessments, neuroscience, cognitive science, and team dynamics, she disrupts ‘business-as-usual’ and accelerates organizational innovation, agility, and impact. Having earned her medical degree from Imperial College London, Madeleine devoted over two decades to the Life Sciences industry across several disciplines and spanning three continents. She is currently a certified Neuroscience of Change Practitioner, an accredited Executive and Life Coach, a Collective Intelligence Facilitator, and a Kolbe certified coach.

Phillipe Chapel

Entrepreneur and Author

Philippe Chapel is a pragmatic entrepreneur, business owner, author, and executive coach. Founder of the Blue Lane Factory, an organization driven by consistent client success, he empowers business leaders based on simplicity, team development, and transformational leadership. Author of the book ‘North Star Leadership’, Philippe provides practical and philosophical guidance on sustainable and adaptable organization growth for business leaders. A former COO on oceanographic research vessels based in the Arctic and Antarctic circles and passionate about sports and quantum mechanics, he relates his unique experiences in his book, organization, and TEDx talk. As an educator, Philippe lectures ‘Leading Beyond Pandemic’ at the Carson College of Business at the Washington State University.

Stephanie Gasser

Image Consultant

Stephanie Gasser is a dedicated and passionate image consultant who founded the image and style consulting agency blue-m. Educated in styling studies at the Ecole Supérieure de Relooking (Paris) and trained as a make-up artist at the Make Up Forever Academy (Brussels), she brings out the authenticity in people to make outfit and image choices that are both individual and unique. Inspired by icons such as Coco Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Grace Jones, Stephanie leverages her experiences both professionally and as a mother of three boys to always ask the right questions and develop the appropriate image choices for her clients. “At the end of the day, we all have to get dressed and first impressions are visual - I help you make this impression unique.”

Yves Van Vaerenbergh

Professor

Yves Van Vaerenbergh is an innovative professor of Customer Experience Management at KU Leuven and a keynote speaker at global conferences. Designing one of the first courses on customer experience in Europe at KU Leuven, he is also a frequent guest lecturer at universities and business schools around the world. He has published over 30 academic papers in leading scientific journals and seeks to better understand customer journey innovations, customer loyalty drivers, customer experience measurement, the role of employees, and customer dissatisfaction management, among others. As the co-founder of the Kalepa Group, a KU Leuven spin-off company, Yves inspires and assists organizations in attaining customer engagement leadership through designing and implementing successful customer experience strategies using evidence-based insights and approaches. Moreover, he has served as the Department Chair of Marketing at KU Leuven and a board member of the Faculty of Economics and Business.