The future is AI | Business Connect

We've invited four expert business leaders from Google, Microsoft, DXC Technology and KPMG to discuss just that: How you, as a professional, can navigate AI and use new technologies to your advantage.

Join us on Thursday 22nd February for the first edition of our Business Connect, 'The Future is AI'. This event is co-hosted by Antwerp Management School, IMBIT and the Faculty of Business and Economics. All alumni, students, staff and interested professionals are welcome. Entrance is free but registration is required.

19:00 - 19:30 Welcome and registration

19:30 - 21:00 Panel discussion with

• Thierry Geerts (CEO Google Belgium & Luxembourg)
• Marijke Schroos (CEO Microsoft Belgium)
• Peter Van den Spiegel (Head of KPMG Lighthouse)
• Peter Van Tricht (CEO of DXC Belgium)

21:00 - 23:00 Network reception with drinks and small bites

Thierry Geerts, Google

Since 2011, Thierry Geerts has been heading Google in Belgium and Luxembourg, the company that has become much more than just a search engine. He graduated from the VUB as a Solvay Business Engineer and soon became general manager of an industrial laundry company. With the advent of the internet in the mid-1990s, he reoriented himself towards the media industry and held various management positions at VUM (now Mediahuis), publisher of newspapers such as De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad. His book Digitalis (2018), in which he describes the possibilities of the digital world, has meanwhile sold more than 25,000 copies. In 2021 he published his new book, Homo Digitalis, about the impact of the digital revolution on people and society.

Marijke Schroos, Microsoft

Marijke Schroos, the General Manager of Microsoft Belgium and Luxembourg, is a seasoned leader with a demonstrated history of working in the computer industry. She has a broad experience spanning from marketing, sales and partner management to communication, organizational agility and change management. She has a strong track record in business development and growth strategies, both in Commercial as in Public Sector environments, including EUi and NATO.

Marijke is passionate about empowering people to unlock their true potential by understanding their strengths and needs, which she supports through mentoring programs as well as by being the executive sponsor for Diversity and Inclusion at Microsoft BeLux.

Peter Van Tricht, DXC Technology

Peter Van Tricht is an alumnus from the economy faculty at Antwerp University. He has over 25 years of experience leveraging the strength of technology to improve operations within complex government and commercial organizations. Today he is the country director for DXC Technology, a Fortune 500 global IT services leader helping global companies run their mission-critical systems and operations while modernizing IT, optimizing data architectures and ensuring security and scalability across public, private and hybrid clouds. In Belgium, DXC serves customers such as Flemish Government, FOD Justice, Baloise, Bpost, Beaulieu and Umicore.

Peter Van den Spiegel, KPMG

Peter has over 12 years of experience in both audit and advisory assignments, with a focus on managing and leveraging data as a driving force to generate business value. He has been involved in various business and IT transformation projects and leads the Data & Analytics Competence Center at KPMG Belgium. In the context of large business transformation projects, Peter has successfully assisted clients in implementing recommended practices in business and IT, through standardization, the use of leading practices, optimization, and automation. In an international context, he has conducted numerous workshops to drive change in organizations.

The Business Connects are powered by both the Faculty of Business and Economics and the Antwerp Management School. By joining forces and co-hosting bi-annual alumni events, you'll benefit from our shared academic strengths and expand your professional network, times two.

This first edition was organised together with IMBIT, the student association linked to the Business Engineering programme. The association aims to bridge the gap between business management and information technology, and encourages students to showcase their entrepreneurial spirit. In addition to organizing student-related events, IMBIT hosts activities to support students in their career development.

The association played a key role in the organisation of this event, by connecting the academic theory with corporate practice. Want to be first to know about future events? Join the IMBIT alumni group.