Christophe Braun
Investment Director
Capital Group
Christophe P. Braun is an investment director at Capital Group with responsibility for covering equities. He has 16 years of investment industry experience and has been with Capital Group for 10 years. Prior to joining Capital, Christophe worked at CBP Quilvest S.A. as a portfolio manager and investment advisor. Before that, he was an investment representative at TD Direct Investing International. He holds a master's degree in financial and industrial economics from Royal Holloway University of London and a diploma of science in business management and economics from University Leopold Franzens in Austria. Christophe is based in Luxembourg.

Mike Chen
Head of the Next Gen Research
Robeco
Mike Chen is Head of the Next Gen Research team. He joined Robeco in 2022. In the period 2016-2022, he worked at PanAgora where he was Head of Sustainable Investments. He was also responsible for model research and development in the Equity Division while managing quantitative portfolios. Prior to joining PanAgora, Mike was a Quant Portfolio Manager at BlackRock’s Systematic Active Equity (SAE) team, where his responsibilities included portfolio management and research into alpha insights for use across the entire SAE platform. Before BlackRock, Mike was a Senior Capital Market Analyst at Google. Mike started his career in the industry in 2005 as an Interest Rates Derivatives Trader at Morgan Stanley.

Hanne Decoutere
Journalist and newsreader
VRT
Hanne Decoutere is a journalist and newsreader at VRT. After studying law at KU Leuven and the Sorbonne in Paris, she joined VRT. In 2012, she became the news anchor for the daily news programme ‘Het Journaal’. In addition to her work for the VRT news desk, Hanne is an experienced and passionate moderator and presenter. With over 10 years’ experience, she hosts debates, ceremonies and meetings for businesses and government bodies.

Stephan Desplancke
Founder
Toward Wealth Management
Stephan Desplancke has been active in asset management since 2001 and has held commercial and leadership roles at firms including Schroders and BlackRock. At BlackRock, he was responsible for the distribution of active funds, ETFs, alternative strategies and private markets solutions across the BeLux region. In 2022, he founded Toward Wealth Management, which manages discretionary portfolios for private clients and insurance brokers. Since then, the firm has expanded with the addition of two former BlackRock colleagues and the integration of insurance activities following the acquisition of Verzekeringen Vanlanduyt.

Cind Du Bois
Royal Military Academy
Cind Du Bois is a full professor at the Royal Military Academy (Belgium) and Sciences Po (Paris). She holds a PhD in Economics and a Master’s degree in Political Science. Her academic work bridges both disciplines, with a focus on defence economics and economic security. She leads several interdisciplinary research projects and is an affiliated expert at the Hybrid Centre of Excellence. Prof. Dr. Du Bois is an active contributor to international academic discourse and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Defence and Peace Economics. She regularly publishes on topics related to security, strategy, and economic resilience. Her expertise is sought in both academic and policy-making circles. Recently, she joined the cabinet of the Minister of Defense as Director for Industry and Economic Security. Her work supports strategic thinking at the intersection of economics, security, and defence policy.

Christel Dumas
ICHEC Brussels Management School
Christel Dumas teaches sustainable finance at ICHEC Brussels Management School and serves as chair of the board of the Towards Sustainability label. She earned a PhD in Applied Economics from Ghent University. Her research focuses on sustainable finance, impact investing and the integration of ESG considerations into the investment practices of institutional investors. Dumas currently sits on the advisory boards of several financial institutions and is also a member of the supervisory board of Impact Finance Belgium.

Philippe Gijsels
Chief Strategy Officer
BNP Paribas Fortis
Philippe Gijsels is Chief Strategy Officer at BNP Paribas Fortis. He holds a degree in Commercial Engineering, an MBA in Quantitative Business Administration, and is a CFA charterholder. Gijsels has built a career spanning more than thirty years in banking, working for institutions including Generale Bank, Fortis and BNP Paribas Fortis. After holding analysis and strategy roles across nearly all asset classes, he spent 25 years on the trading floor. For twelve years, he served as the bank’s Chief Strategist and led its specialist teams. He is also a frequent commentator for both national and international media, with more than 150 press interactions each year. In addition, he co-authored The New World Economy in 5 Trends, which was included in the Financial Times Summer Reading List in 2024.

Erik Joly
Director
ABN AMRO
Erik Joly is Director of the Investment Office and a member of the CEO Office at ABN AMRO MeesPierson Private Banking. As Chief Investment Officer, he is a frequent commentator in the financial media and a regular in-house analyst for business news channels Trends Z (Dutch and French) and LN24. He also appears regularly on Belgium’s public broadcaster VRT and is frequently featured in the written press. Joly has more than 35 years of experience in private banking in both Belgium and Luxembourg. Before joining ABN AMRO MeesPierson eleven years ago, he held senior leadership positions at firms including Van Lanschot and Bank Degroof. He holds degrees in Commercial Engineering as well as Commercial and Financial Sciences, earned the European Financial Analyst diploma, and also holds an MBA.

Aude Martin
Head of Pooled Index Investment Specialists
L&G
Aude joined L&G’s Asset Management division in July 2019 as a cross-asset ETF Investment Specialist. Prior to that, Aude worked as a delta one trader at Goldman Sachs and within the structured products sales teams at HSBC and Credit Agricole CIB. As an investment specialist, she contributes towards the design of investment strategies and actively supports the ETF distribution and marketing efforts. She graduated from EDHEC Business School in 2016 with an MSc in financial markets and a Masters in Management.

Hamish Maxwell
Investment Specialist
Baillie Gifford
Hamish is an investment specialist in the Scottish Mortgage Team. In his role, he works closely with the managers, meets with portfolio companies and conducts in-depth portfolio discussions with shareholders. Alongside this, he creates engaging content which makes the Scottish Mortgage portfolio accessible to all its shareholders. Prior to joining the team in 2024, Hamish worked on Baillie Gifford's international equities strategies alongside Lawrence Burns. Before joining the firm in 2017, he served in the Royal Navy as a Commissioned Officer, including time as a leader in aircraft carriers, mine-hunters, and nuclear submarines. During training, he was awarded top-of-class by HRH Prince Edward. Hamish is a CFA Charterholder, and he achieved an MBA from City, University of London where he received the EU Award

Maud Reinalter
Chief Investment Officer
Maud Reinalter, CFA, joined Belfius Asset Management six years ago as Senior Portfolio Manager and currently serves as Chief Investment Officer, overseeing both collective and private portfolio management activities. She brings over two decades of multi‑asset fund management experience across equities, fixed‑income, and balanced strategies, built through key roles within the FR‑BELUX financial sector (Société Générale, ING, Quintet, Crédit Mutuel). Prior to joining Belfius Asset Management, she led the investment function of the Degroof Petercam Family Office as Head of Investments. Maud holds a DESS in International Business Management from Strasbourg University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.

Pieter Slegers
Founder
Compound Quality
Pieter Slegers is the founder of Compounding Quality, an investment platform that reaches more than 1.5 million readers worldwide, including Jeff Bezos, LeBron James and Bill Ackman. He graduated summa cum laude in Financial Management from KU Leuven and spent three years at a Belgian asset manager before focusing full-time on Compounding Quality in August 2023. Slegers is a personal finance contributor to the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws and has appeared on CNBC, CCTV (China), VTM and Canvas, among others. In 2024, he co-authored The Art of Quality Investing and De Kunst van het Kwaliteitsbeleggen with Luc Kroeze. In 2026, he published his first solo book, De Kwaliteitsbelegger.

Johan Van Geeteruyen
Head of Institutional Portfolio Management
DPAM
Johan Van Geeteruyen is the Head of Institutional Portfolio Management at DPAM, bringing nearly four decades of experience in asset management. He has held several leadership roles at DPAM, including CIO Fundamental Equity and Head of Conviction & Global Balanced, and served as a member of the Management Board. Johan began his career at AXA Bank as Teamleader Asset Management and holds a Master in Commercial & Financial Sciences from VLEKHO Business School, Brussels, as well as certification from the Belgian Association of Financial Analysts (ABAF|BVFA).

Ilya Vercammen
Chief Strategist
Puilaetco
Ilya Vercammen became Chief Strategist at private bank Puilaetco in March 2025. Prior to joining Puilaetco, he was Investor Relations Manager at KBC, overseeing relations with the investor community. Vercammen began his career on ING’s trading floor, specializing in debt markets. He later moved to London, where he worked in structured derivatives at Credit Suisse and TD Securities, before being appointed Head of Northern Europe at ABN Amro. In 2008, he returned to Belgium to join ING as Head of Fixed Income & Derivatives, Equity Derivatives & Structured Products.

Riet Vijgen
Portfolio Manager
Leo Stevens Private Banking
Riet Vijgen has been a portfolio manager at Leo Stevens & Cie for more than fifteen years and currently leads the Portfolio Management and Analysis team at the Antwerp-based wealth manager. Her work focuses primarily on discretionary portfolio management and the selection of external funds. Earlier in her career, Vijgen worked at Puilaetco Dewaay Private Bankers — now part of Quintet Private Bank — first as a financial analyst and later as a portfolio manager.