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jan.vdvelpen

Belgium

About Candidate

I lead technology organizations through periods of transformation, integration and growth, aligning digital platforms, operations and governance with business objectives.Mid-to-large enterprises in regulated sectors often reach a point where IT is reactive, fragmented, and invisible to the business. I've built my career fixing exactly that - leading IT organizations through integrations, business alignment, ISO 27001/DORA rollouts, and cloud migrations across Europe and Asia, with teams up to 80 people and budgets up to €40M in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment. The measurable result: IT functions that the business actually trusts and builds strategy around.Where I add value: * IT organizational design, Agile transformations and stakeholder alignment to improve company culture * Infrastructure (IT/OT) and cloud (hybrid architecture), risk management and compliance (ISO 27001, DORA) * ERP, and business application landscapesWhere I am different: I speak the language of the server room and the boardroom - and I mean that literally. I led technology transformations across Europe, North America, South America and Asia in manufacturing, financial services and higher education environments. I am most effective in environments where technology, business priorities and organizational change need to move together. Colleagues describe me as someone who 'bridges business and IT in a way you rarely encounter' (quoted from public LinkedIn reference).

Skills

IT Security Governance (ISO27001, DORA)
80%
IT Infrastructure & Applications
100%
Cross-Functional Leadership
100%
Change Management
90%

Work & Experience

C
2023-10 - 2025-10 Chief Product Owner IT4IT
Full-time
P&V Group

Belgium

<span class="_951ed9ca _84b09c55 _69cc41be" data-testid="expandable-text-box">Owned a portfolio of platforms, infrastructure services, and technology foundations supporting the full IT organization driving stability, performance, and innovation. Led managers of teams of IT professionals and contractors, overseeing the annual budget. (internally referred to as CPO IT4IT)➡️ Established an Agile IT operating model, strengthening transversal cooperation across business. Result: multi-point positive impact on Barrett assessment (Cultural Value Assessment) in 12months. ➡️ Cloud transformation: Migrated legacy on-prem DevOps applications to AWS, improving scalability while shifting spend to variable OPEX aligned to demand (FinOps). ➡️ Extended data center lifecycle to sustain platform stability, improving resilience and cost efficiency. ➡️ Implemented remediation on DORA compliance gap for all critical systems.Led managers responsible for end-user services, platform engineering (DevSecOps), hybrid cloud infrastructure, connectivity, integration services and operations. Reported to: CIO / IT Director</span>

I
2016-11 - 2025-09 IT Director
Full-time
EKINOPS / ONEACCESS

Belgium

<span class="_951ed9ca _84b09c55 _69cc41be" data-testid="expandable-text-box">Promoted to this role after the acquisition of OneAccess by Ekinops. Set the global IT agenda the company, directly managing the budget while leading an international team of IT employees supporting the global organization from France, Belgium, India, Brazil, and the U.S.. The company has a strong, international focus on R&D (software and hardware), sales and manufacturing.➡️ Secured on-time ISO 27001 compliance across four continents by revising security policies and enforcing workplace IT standards, removing the primary barrier to a multi-year commercial agreement. ➡️ Unified post-merger, multi-site IT teams across four continents into a single shared service, standardizing platforms and ways of working to enable cross-location collaboration. Consolidated licenses to improve control posture and simplify financial follow-up. ➡️ Stabilized core IT services across global data centers and improved IT resilience to increase manufacturing efficiency and raise delivery reliability for hardware and software development.Reported to: COO</span>

H
2014-01 - 2016-10 Head of ICT
Full-time
KU LEUVEN / GROEP T

Belgium

Provided end-to-end support for server infrastructure and core server applications within an engineering-focused academic setting. Progressed into a change leadership role, guiding the team through integration activities, process alignment, and service continuity improvements.• Integrated an independent IT unit into KU Leuven, aligning infrastructure, standards, and support processes while maintaining uninterrupted service for engineering stakeholders. • Implemented Single Sign-On and Identity & Access Management to provide secure, user-friendly access, and upgraded network security and performance across the campus environment. • Modernized the technology landscape by introducing Linux alongside Windows, deploying AV systems in auditoria, and supporting high-visibility events. • Coordinated the annual China Project alongside core IT responsibilities.

Education

a
2012-10 - 2013-07 Associate
Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration
KU Leuven, Faculty of Economics and Business

Belgium

Fundamentals of Management)

m
1999-10 - 2005-07 Master
M.S., Electronics Engineering / Industrial Engineering (ICT)
KU Leuven – Group T Leuven Campus

Belgium

Thesis: “Authentication and Authorization Infrastructure – Shibboleth” (SAML / Single Sign-On)

Languages

Dutch
Native (C2)%
English
Fluent (C2)%
French
Fluent (C1)%
Chinese
Lower-Intermediate (B1)%
German
Elementary (A2)%

Certifications

Awards