Six years on the Group Management Board of two systemically critical transmission system operators.
Context
The Elia Group, through Elia Transmission Belgium and 50Hertz Transmission (Germany), owns and operates two of the most systemically critical transmission grids in Europe, and is at the same time the corporate roof for a portfolio of non-regulated activities: Elia Grid International exports the group’s TSO know-how as a consulting and engineering business to grid operators worldwide; WindGrid develops international offshore wind transmission infrastructure; re.alto runs a data- and energy-API marketplace; alongside joint ventures including Nemo Link (Belgium–UK interconnector), Coreso, and JAO. All of this during a phase in which the energy transition shifted from a long-term restructuring agenda to a daily operational requirement.
On joining the executive board: group-wide responsibility for IT, digitalisation, data, AI, and innovation across the entire group — covering all regulated and non-regulated group entities, with around 1,400 employees and a budget of more than 500 million euros.
Contribution
Definition and execution of the group-wide digital and AI strategy, focused on a cloud-native, data-centric, and digitally sovereign operating model for critical infrastructure. Building and scaling a cross-border digital organisation across Belgium and Germany, with more than 50 cross-functional product teams.
Two flagship programmes shape the period: the Elia Digital Platform (EDP) as the group’s cloud-native stack on which the product teams build, and the Modular Control Center System (MCCS) as the first major product on that platform — the next generation of control-room architecture. Further EDP-based products are already in operational use in Belgium.
In parallel, as CDIO of the German subsidiary 50Hertz, responsible for all digital, IT, and telecommunications operations under critical-infrastructure regulation, with a focus on grid integration of renewables. From 2025 additionally Chief AI Officer, responsible for the group-wide AI strategy — focused on operational, not experimental, deployment.
Alongside the executive-board role in Brussels and the CDIO mandate at 50Hertz, additional board member of re.alto GmbH — an Elia Group company operating as a data and energy-API marketplace, extending the ecosystem around the regulated grid business. Six-year mandate, regularly concluded in December 2025.