Team size: 8

What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past 12 months?

Over the past twelve months, several key projects have marked our activity. Among them, the successful onboarding of WorxInvest as the new reference shareholder of Gimv stands out, following the acquisition of the previous reference shareholder’s stake in a €375m transaction, which included EU merger clearance and foreign direct investment clearance in five countries, completed in May 2024. In February 2025, we successfully completed a capital markets transaction consisting of a €250m rights issue.

Another important milestone was the introduction of a new remuneration policy in June 2025, which achieved a very high acceptance rate among shareholders, including proxy advisers, despite its many changes and considerable complexity. During the same period, we also designed and implemented a new long-term incentive plan, supported by tax rulings in four countries. Additionally, we launched a series of in-house produced compliance training videos, further strengthening our culture of governance and accountability across the organisation.

What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

A modern in-house counsel should possess a balanced blend of strategic, interpersonal, and technical skills. In my view, the most important attributes include strategic business acumen — a deep understanding of the company’s operations, financial position, and market dynamics, combined with the ability to align legal and commercial objectives. Equally essential is impactful communication: the capacity to translate complex legal concepts into clear, accessible advice tailored to different stakeholders and to influence key decisions effectively.

Leadership and team collaboration also play a crucial role, encompassing emotional intelligence, mentoring ability, and a cooperative mindset that fosters trust and shared purpose. Agility is increasingly vital, allowing counsel to navigate ambiguity and adapt to a volatile and uncertain business environment. A strong ethical compass remains fundamental, underpinning transparency, corporate integrity, and sound governance. Finally, familiarity with AI and legal technology — and the ability to integrate these tools effectively into legal processes — is becoming an indispensable part of modern in-house practice.

What strategies do you employ to ensure the successful digital transformation of a legal department while maintaining compliance with your country’s data protection laws?

Given our relatively small size of 95 full-time employees, we place significant reliance on external expertise. Since 2022, we have partnered with AskQ to support the digital transformation of our legal department and to ensure we remain at the forefront of legal technology developments that are relevant and practical for our organisation.

At the outset, through a series of collaborative workshops, we established a clear vision and roadmap for transformation — embedding data protection by design — and identified the key tools required to realise this vision. We then created dedicated working groups to drive implementation. Following the successful completion of this digital transformation, our collaboration with AskQ has evolved into a proactive partnership aimed at continuously monitoring the market for innovative legal tech solutions that could enhance our operations.

To assess these tools effectively, we introduced trial licences and formed an in-house evaluation team responsible for testing and reviewing their performance. The findings are subsequently presented and discussed within the legal team, enabling collective decision-making on whether and how to proceed with full implementation.

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive work environment?

Our team is composed of two distinct groups: an M&A team, which includes two women (one legal director and one legal counsel) and two men (one legal director and one legal counsel), and a compliance and support team consisting of three women. This composition underscores our commitment to gender diversity.

At my initiative, we have implemented two company-wide policies: a ‘flex leave’ policy and a telework policy. The ‘flex leave’ policy encompasses parental leave (six months’ fully paid leave for primary caregivers and six weeks’ fully paid leave for secondary caregivers), bespoke solutions for personal situations such as family illness, and sabbatical leave (six weeks’ fully paid leave after ten years of employment). The telework policy allows employees to work from home two days per week.

These policies, combined with the full autonomy granted to team members to organise their work, foster an environment where diverse talent can thrive and effectively balance all aspects of their lives.

As a company, we place significant importance on mentoring programmes such as those offered by Level20 (including the Belgian Chapter established by Gimv) and the Female Booster Programme, as well as initiatives aimed at attracting women to private equity. Recently, I launched an initiative to review our recruitment processes across all the countries in which we operate, with the aim of further raising awareness and strengthening our diversity and inclusion efforts.