The 50 most inspiring Belgian women in tech 2022

Brussels, October 6, 2022 - InspiringFifty Belgium, the non-profit organization aiming to increase the number of women in leadership positions in the technology sector, today announces the 50 Belgian women leaders in the field. The jury team chose from no less than 173 nominations. ​

Elke Kraemer, founder of InspiringFifty Belgium: "Mentalities are gradually changing, we see more and more women in leadership positions in tech. This is a good thing because there are so many ways to succeed. THese 50 women leaders prove it: they don't all have STEM training and are active in a wide range of sectors: from banking and marketing to the public sector and education. Technology is everywhere today!"

Here are the InspiringFifty Belgium 2022

Rachel Alexander, Founder & CEO (Omina Technologies) - Jenny Ambukiyenyi Onya, Managing Partner (Fit-For-Purpose Technologies) - Ann Belien, Founder & CEO (Rejuvenate Biomed) - Magali Bodeux, Data Factory Director (IBA) - Myriam Broeders, CTO (Microsoft) - Aurélie Carlier, Assistant Professor (Maastricht University) - Liesbeth Ceelen, CEO (BioLizard) - Lien Ceulemans, Country Leader Belgium & Luxembourg (Salesforce) - Elisabeth De Dobbeleer, EMEA partner Leader at Cisco - Nancy de Fays, Co-founder (LINEDOCK) - Beatrice de Mahieu, CEO (BeCode.org) - Evelien De Wilde, Operations Manager Lead Refinery (Umicore) - Mieke (Marylène) De Winter, Global Automation Director (Pfizer) - Gertie Delande, CEO (nexuzhealth) - Anneleen Demasure, CEO (Dropsolid) - Jolyce Demely, Algemeen Directeur (Agoria) - Kristel Demotte, Vice President Data Solutions (Cegeka) - Liesbet Geris, Professor Biomechanics (Univeristy of Liège, KU Leuven & VPH Institute) - Gaelle Helsmoortel, CEO (dgenious) - Caroline Heylen, Operations Manager (GIM) - Marijke Huysmans, Professor Hydrology & Hydraulic Engineering (VUB) - Alexa Joyce, Future Skills Director (Microsoft) - Rosanna Kurrer, Co-founder & Managing Director (CyberWayFinder) - Mary-Odile Lognard, General Director (i-CITY) - Miet Loix, Owner (Entelec Control Systems) - Veerle Lozie, COO & CIO (Melexis) - Leïla Maidane, Founder & CEO (BeGreator) - Antonietta Mastroianni, Chief Digital & IT Officer (Proximus) - Sara Mathijs, Co-founder & CEO (Upeo) - Isabel Michiels, Senior Expert Digital Innovation (Agoria) - Aline Muylaert, Co-founder & COO (Citizenlab) - Stéphanie Ouachan, CEO (Striktly Business Software) - Jasna Rokegem, Founder & CEO (Jasna Rok Lab) - Avanti Sharma, Technology Specialist (Workshop4Me) - Madhumalti Sharma, Founder & President (Workshop4Me) - Inge Smidts, CEO Cable&Wireless (Liberty Latin America) - Cindy Smits, General Manager (Digitale Wolven & CoderDojo) - An Swalens, CIO (National Bank of Belgium) - Valerie Tanghe, Managing Director (Accenture) - Rebekka Van Acker, Co-founder & Managing Partner OQuila - Hilde Van Brempt, Co-founder (iDalko) - Veronique Van de Kerckhove, Managing Director (VeroTech) - Sofie Van Hoecke, Professor Hybrid AI for predictive maintenance and healthcare (UGent) - Tineke Van Hooland, Founder & CEO (Epic 10) - Angelique Van Ombergen, Discipline Lead for Life Sciences (European Space Agency) - Véronique Van Vlasselaer, Analytics & AI Lead South West & East Europe (SAS) - Annie Vereecken, Managing Director (Opdorp Finance) - Britta Verhelst, Global Operations & Supply Chain PMO Lead (Barry Callebaut) - Rita Verreydt, CEO (Uptime Group) - Laura Warnier, Chief Growth Officer (GoStudent) 

Saskia Van Uffelen, Digital Champion Belgium and chair of the jury: "Attracting female talent is a challenge, but retaining them is just as challenging. Half of the women who start working in the technology sector leave before the age of 35. A company culture in which women also feel comfortable is therefore important, and role models can make a difference here, too. InspiringFifty Belgium especially wants to continue to focus on these."

Loubna Azghoud, Women In Tech Activist: “The challenge of more women in the technology sector is a collective responsibility, we need to change the culture around the sector and IF is a great initiative to give the visibility to many role models and inspire the next generation.”

Saskia Van Uffelen, Digital Champion Belgium and chair of the juryLoubna Azghoud, Women In Tech Activist

In 2019, Elke Kraemer and Joëlle Frijters launched InspiringFifty Belgium. They were inspired by the eponymous program that originated in 2013 and has been launched in a dozen countries around the world. InspiringFifty is part of the EQL:HER organization, which aims to improve diversity in the tech industry by highlighting women leaders in tech.

About InspiringFifty Belgium
​​​​​​​InspiringFifty Belgium aims to increase visibility and recognition of inspiring women in the Belgian tech industry. Announcing a list of the 50 most inspiring Belgian tech women of the moment every two years is one of the organisation’s major achievements. InspiringFifty also offers women a network of like-minded people, organises training courses and takes initiatives to increase the number of women in tech. To this end, the organisation works with Agoria, VUB and ULB, among others. It is the go-to organisation for companies seeking advice in how to attract suitable female candidates for C-level positions. The network was established in 2019 from an existing model by Elke Kraemer, founder of Clusity within The Cronos Group, and tech entrepreneur and investor Joëlle Frijters. InspiringFifty is part of the EQL:HER network, which brings together entrepreneurs, CEOs and thought leaders worldwide to spark discussion and collaboration.