Theme: Mastering the maze

he 21st century is an uncertain time. Our world is being steered towards a variety of megatrends with no clear path. Technology has changed the way we interact with each other and our environment. However, nothing is predictable and we cannot know with certainty whether the evolution we are living nowadays will be prominent in the near future. Within this context, the fifth edition of TEDxULB will provide insights from inspiring people who have found purpose in the 21st century maze. We will invite speakers from different backgrounds to reflect upon the topic and share their experiences.
Our goal is to gather ideas, thoughts and insights so we reflect and inspire Generation Y.

Flagey Building
Place Sainte-Croix
Brussels, Bruxelles-Capitale, Région de (fr), Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest (nl), 1050
Belgium

Antoine Geerinckx

Founder of CO2logic

Antoine Geerinckx is the founder of CO2logic, the Belgian pioneer in local & global climate action. The CO2logic team advises small & big organisations on how to reduce their climate impact & reap the benefits of credible climate action. One of their main passion is the development of meaningful climate projects in Africa’s least developed countries. “In a global economy, we have a global responsibility!” The relentless quest to “have a positive impact on society” shapes his entrepreneurial life and gave birth to other environmental ventures such as Naturalogic.org, Greentripper.org and Airscan.org. When he’s not with his colleagues you can find him with his family and friends surfing waves and staying close to nature.

Jennifer Gobiet

Head of Business Development consultant

Jennifer has always been mesmerized by innovation. Her curiosity, willingness to learn and disrupt are some of her principal motivations. After professional experiences in project management at SWIFT, finance and DJying, she discovered the blockchain and cryptospace industry. She is currently working as a freelance Head of Business Development specialized in blockchain, cryptocurrencies and ICOs. Her goal is to become one of the global leading female experts in the cryptospace.

Kosta Peric

Deputy Director, Financial Services for the Poor, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Kosta Peric is a technologist, and his interests lie at the point of fusion between technology, finance and innovation. He is deputy director for the Financial Services for the Poor initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in charge of payments. Previously he was the chief architect of SWIFTNet, SWIFT’s global secure network connecting 10,000 financial institutions and corporates in the world, and co-founder of Innotribe, SWIFT’s initiative to enable collaborative innovation in financial services. He is the author of The Castle And The Sandbox, a book on how to innovate in conservative companies using open innovation.

Kristien Vermoesen

Communication expert, entrepreneur

Kristien has always been fascinated by how influence works and how ideas impact on society, business and politics. She founded communication agency FINN in 2006 after a career in communication and journalism to assist organisations in navigating the communication challenges of a changing world. She also co-founded Mustr, a stakeholder management tool. At FINN, she advises companies, political parties and organisations on their communication strategy and CEO branding, including Deloitte, Pfizer and Atlas Copco. She is regularly solicited as an expert on corporate communication by the media and for conferences. She was asked to be Belgian ambassador for the European Network of Female Entrepreneurship under the auspices of EU Commissioner Antonio Tajani and was mentioned by Trends in their selection ’40 managers under 40’. She serves on the board of directors at Odisee (KU Leuven Association) and theatre company Het Nieuwstedelijk.

Luc Steels

Professor Emeritus, AI @VUB

Luc Steels studied linguistics at the University of Antwerp (Belgium) and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA). His main research field is Artificial Intelligence covering a wide range of intelligent abilities, including vision, robotic behavior, conceptual representations and language. In 1983 he became a professor of computer science at the University of Brussels (VUB). He has been co-founder and chairman (from 1990 until 1995) of the VUB Computer Science Department (Faculty of Sciences).

Murielle Machiels

Authentic leadership expert

Murielle Machiels is an expert in digital leadership and organizational transformation. Until recently, she was the CEO of an educational publishing company. By combining ontological coaching principles (Mind, body & emotion) with business techniques, she led her company successfully through the digital transformation with great financial results and increased happiness of her employees.Today, she supports other leaders and organizations through their transformation and has developed an online course “Leading authentically in digital times” for Solvay Executive Education.

Philippe Boulanger

International keynote speaker,Innovator, Futurologist

Philippe Boulanger, PhD, starts his professional journey as an entrepreneur, while he is a PhD student at IBM, becoming the CEO of a group funded by VCs. After a period as a Business Unit Director for Sagem, Philippe is hired by Apple to take over the « Communication Products and Technologies » team in Cupertino, and to supervise the European R&D Centre, at the time of Steve Jobs return to the company. Headhunted by Sony, Philippe comes back to Europe to launch Vaio PCs, direct sales (Sony Style), Aibo the robot dog, and start new activities. In his latest mission, Philippe becomes the Chief Technical Officer of Neopost Group and launches Neopost Labs. Philippe is a mentor to few carefully selected startups and partner in the Senseii Ventures fund. His trade mark: experiential and inspirational keynotes related to innovation. Philippe is a labeled speaker (the highest rank) from the French Professional Speakers Association (AFCP) and member of the Global Speaker Federation.

Steven Van Belleghem

Author, speaker, entrepreneur.

Steven is the author of four bestselling books. He became known for his first book, The Conversation Manager, which won the award for most innovative marketing book of 2010. Steven also wrote The Conversation Company, When Digital Becomes Human (best marketing book of 2015) and his most recent book, Customers The Day After Tomorrow. Over 100,000 copies of his books were sold and they are published in 7 languages. Customers the day after tomorrow is nominated for the award of best international business book. Steven is also an entrepreneur. He is a co-founder of consultancy firm Nexxworks and the co-founder of content creation company Snackbytes. He spent the first 12 years of his career as a consultant and managing partner of the innovative market research company InSites Consulting. During that time, the company grew from 8 to 130 staff with offices in 5 countries. Steven is also a part-time marketing professor at Vlerick Business School.