In our series 'Pauwels people' we talk with our consultants about life as a consultant, working for Pauwels Consulting and our clients. Today, we give the word to Pascal Verbaere, IT Support & Helpdesk Officer.
In which IT domain do you work?
I work as an IT support & helpdesk Officer and I handle multilingual incoming IT request about issues.
How long have you been working for Pauwels Consulting?
I started working for Pauwels Consulting in 2012. I liked the Pauwels vibe and I applied for a vacancy at Wincor/Nixdorf in Zaventem which is close to where I live (Brussels). In the first period at Wincor/Nixdorf, I did remote support for banks with regard to ATM money machines.
Tell us a bit more about your projects
I’m just in between projects right now. My last project was at Delhaize, for Diebold/Nixdorf. We offered remote support for all Delhaize shops in Belgium, mostly related to the cashier systems but also pc and server issues. In a few days, I will start working for Capgemini as a user support officer for software, hardware and other computer systems.
How do you look back on your IT career? Which project did you find most interesting, which company did you like most?
Before I started at Pauwels Consulting, I worked a while for Sibelga in Brussels, as a 1st & 2nd line support agent and I liked it a lot, because it was a job with lots of variation and movement, I did not only offer remote support but I also went on location every now and then. During my last project at Delhaize, I very much appreciated the pleasant team atmosphere and the good team leader. What are your favourite IT tools/sources/…?
There is no specific tool that I am particularly fond of, my greatest satisfaction is to be able to solve any IT issue right away and thus help people in need.
Do you have some good advice for young IT professionals?
I would advise young people who are at the start of their career to be patient and not to give up too easily. I have worked with many young people and I’ve noticed that they tend to switch jobs/companies very easily because they strive for a perfect picture. However, nothing is perfect, and job satisfaction depends on a variety of factors, so it is important to view the complete picture. What are your hobbies & interests?
I like doing sports in my spare time, preferably outdoor sports like running, biking and hiking. I love being outside and getting a breath of fresh air after work. I have participated in several sports events organised by Pauwels Consulting, such as the Zermatt Marathon in Switzerland in 2014 and the biking tour in Temse a couple of years ago.
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In our series 'Pauwels people' we talk with our people about life as a consultant, their projects and working for Pauwels Consulting & our clients. Today, we're meeting Sam Apostel, Full Stack Developer at Pauwels Consulting & Cock's Vleeswaren. Sam loves extreme sports en would like to start his own business one day!
How long have you been working for Pauwels Consulting?
I just joined Pauwels as a Full Stack Developer about two months ago, my first day was on February 5th.
Why did you choose to work for Pauwels Consulting?
I had several job offers I could choose from and I found the Pauwels offer the most attractive. Both the job content and the team at Cock’s Vleeswaren were appealing to me. I had smooth and pleasant contact with Inez and Bram and thanks to their fast action, I was able to sign my contract 4 days after my first phone call with Inez. Since both my parents have experience in consultancy, I was already familiar with the consultancy concept and taking on a consultancy job myself was quite a logical step.
In which IT domain do you work?
Full-stack development.
On what project are you currently working?
I am developing both for front end (React) & back end (PHP). We are building a portal for clients and suppliers of Cock’s Vleeswaren, a meat processing company in Sint-Niklaas. The functionalities we are working on are e.g. showing fact sheets, sending invoices, launching campaigns, registering orders.
What kind of projects would you like to do in the future, where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
I want to develop myself further in the domain of IT development, preferably within the context of a start-ups or scale-up. I’m also thinking about setting up a small company in brand development, as a secondary occupation.
What are your favourite IT tools/sources/…?
Dribbble.com, a website for designers of user interfaces
Meetups, in particular, those of the Full Stack Antwerp group
self-built frameworks
What are your hobbies & interests?
I’m very fond of all kinds of (extreme) sports: climbing, sailing, skiing, biking. When biking, also to get to work, I usually listen to podcasts. I am a fan of the podcasts from Universiteit Vlaanderen and Nerdland (Lieven Scheire).
What is your favourite quote or dish or film or…?
I am a big fan of Marvel movies!
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In our series ‘Pauwels people’, our colleagues introduce themselves and talk about how they experience working at Pauwels Consulting and with our clients. Today, we are going to get acquainted with Rudi Princen, Senior IT Program Manager.
Hi Rudi. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Rudi: Sure! My name is Rudi Princen. I am 51 years old, married and I have four children.
What do you do in your spare time?
Rudi: Since I work part-time, I have more spare time than most people. That doesn’t mean I’m not busy though. (Smiles) I like to spend quality time with my wife and children. We love to travel, for example, and if the weather is nice in Belgium, we occasionally go on scooter tours through Limburg.
Together with my wife, I also run a spiritual association: Oneness. We regularly organize spiritual sessions or events with interesting local and international speakers. My wife is also a horse coach, so I’m regularly working with horses as well.
What did you study, and where?
Rudi: I graduated as a Translator / Interpreter French – Modern Greek. After that, I got a diploma in Economics and Social Sciences from the University of Bergen as well.
Later, I also obtained a Master in Modern Finance at EHSAL Brussels and a Master in Auditing at the ‘Kamer van Rekenplichtigen’ in Antwerp.
Why did you choose these studies?
Rudi: I have always been fascinated by other languages and cultures. I have lived and worked in Greece for a year, for example. That’s why I wanted to become a Translator / Interpreter.
During my language studies, my interest in economic and financial sciences eventually got the upper hand. I wanted to know more about those fields of study and apply that knowledge later on.
How did you get in touch with Pauwels Consulting, and what was your first impression?
Rudi: I got in touch with Pauwels Consulting – quite recently, actually – through GSK. My first impression? Pauwels Consulting is a large professional organization that is deeply engaged with its clients.
What did you do before joining Pauwels Consulting?
Rudi: I have about 24 years of work experience, mainly as an IT project leader and as an IT program manager, of which 14 years at Accenture.
I have been working in the banking sector for about 7 years, in the public sector – mainly at BPost, the Federal Government and various European institutions – for 11 years and in the industrial sector for 6 years, of which 2 years in the pharmaceutical industry.
I like working with teams on big, innovative or ambitious projects, preferably within a digital context: web or multi-channel applications for transactions with customers, partners and employees.
“I love the responsibility to realize a challenging timeline and scope with a great team.”
Which of your previous projects did you like most of all?
Rudi: I have led many interesting IT projects and programs at Accenture, particularly in the public sector. I learned a lot during those projects.
Some of the most prominent programs I’ve ever managed, were the implementation of the ‘Federaal Portaal’ including the web application for the ‘Kruispuntbank Ondernemingen’, Tax-on-web for the Federal Government, and the implementation of the central Biometric Matching System for the European Commission for VISA applications within the Schengen area.
I’ve been working as a freelancer since 2014. And – as a freelancer – I found the digital transformation program for Doosan very interesting. It was a re-platforming of 32 digital applications, mainly to Salesforce and Hybris as target platforms. The migration program I’m leading now at GSK is also very interesting.
Can you tell us a bit more about your current project at GSK?
Rudi: I’d love to! I am responsible for an ambitious integration and migration program at GSK.
GSK has purchased a large proportion of the vaccines of Novartis. That’s why more than 5,000 people will be moving from Novartis to GSK, as well as a dozen terabytes of data and documentation about those vaccines.
The program includes a dozen projects to migrate this data and documentation from Novartis to GSK applications. Our largest project has gone live recently.
It seems like quite the project! What are the timelines of this project?
Rudi: The bulk of the program will run until the end of this year, but there are still a few projects in the pipeline as well. Those will probably run until 2017.
What do you like about this project?
Rudi: I love the responsibility to realize a challenging timeline and scope with a great team. I also think the specific methodology used to achieve these data migrations is really fascinating. Last but not least: the atmosphere at GSK IT is great!
What are your lessons learned so far?
Rudi: During this project, I have learned an interesting new methodology to migrate data, and – now – I am even more aware of the dangers and risks during large data migrations.
What would you like to do after this project?
Rudi: That is a difficult question. There are many interesting kinds of projects.
Still, innovative and transformational digital projects keep fascinating me: companies and organizations that want to interact more effectively with their customers and partners through innovative web or mobile applications.
What are your ambitions for the future?
Rudi: My ambitions are rather contradictory, actually. (Laughs) I want to manage interesting programs as an interim manager or executive. I would also like to grow with Prime Consultants, a network of 34 independent consultants which I’ve formed, if possible in cooperation with Pauwels Consulting.
On a more personal level, I want our spiritual association to reach even more people. I want to make them live more consciously. And I also want to spend more quality time with my wife and family. Do you see the challenge? (Laughs)I do.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers? An inspiring quote perhaps?
Rudi: Certainly: Live from your heart. It’s not about the goal, but about the journey together.
Thank you very much for this lovely interview, Rudi. I wish you all the best for the future!
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AG Solidarity: a helping hand for children and young adults
11 Oct 2019
Pauwels Consulting realizes that not everybody always has it easy and offers people in need warm-hearted support. We regularly support charitable causes ourselves and can only encourage similar initiatives by our partners and consultants. Recently, colleague Stijn Lenaerts took part in a solidarity initiative for Maison des Enfants Clair Matin SAAE in Ukkel, at the invitation of our partner AG Insurance.
This fantastic initiative deserves some attention! That’s why we spoke briefly with Stijn, who told us more about AG Insurance, its charity projects and the initiative with which he and his colleagues made some underprivileged children in Ukkel very happy.
Stijn, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Stijn: Of course. My name is Stijn Lenaerts. I’ve been married for ten years and I have three daughters aged three, six and nine. I studied applied informatics at the REGA Institute in Leuven, a three-year college course. After finishing my studies, I started working at EDS, helping out with projects for KBC, BNP Fortis and Carlson Wagonlit Travel, among others.
HP took over EDS in 2008, but this did not affect my projects. During the takeover, I carried on working at BNP Fortis, which was then ‘simply’ called Fortis. But HP was facing some challenges and in 2016 I decided it was time to look for work elsewhere. That’s how I ended up at Pauwels Consulting.
What exactly does your current project involve?
Stijn: I work for the AG Insurance printing team, which has five members. We’re responsible for managing documents, so my typical working day consists of business meetings, analyses, development, testing, etc.
Recently, you participated in a charity initiative at the request of AG Insurance. Can you tell us a bit more about this?
Stijn: Certainly. AG Insurance is strongly committed to various charities, partners and associations through ‘AG Solidarity’. More than 170, I believe. Once a year, AG also asks each internal department to help with a charity project, where the idea is to offer actual physical assistance on location.
What kind of charities has AG Insurance been supporting lately?
Stijn: Let me think… AG Solidarity participated in the ‘Back to School with a Smile’ initiative organised by our new partner Goods to Give. With the help of AG Insurance, underprivileged children across the country received more than 800 new school items, including school bags and lunch boxes.
AG Solidarity also worked together with Vzw ’t Eilandje. This non-profit association organises basic services and temporary care and the accommodation team looks for housing solutions and supports home counselling for people who have recently moved. AG helped in the renovation of the association’s day centre.
AG Solidarity also helped renovate the kitchen at Vzw Tronkestik, a guidance home that provides care to twelve children and adolescents aged three to eighteen, and supported the construction of new homes for ASBL Comme chez nous, an association that provides integrated care and counselling for homeless people.
There are also fun initiatives, such as the current table football tournament where each team donates four euro to take part. Another initiative involves buying chocolate Christmas balls. The proceeds go to charities of course.
Which charitable initiatives did you take part in?
Stijn: Personally, I helped with an initiative for Maison des Enfants Clair Matin SAAE in Ukkel. This association offers care and counselling to forty-two children aged three to eighteen who cannot go home. Together with approximately fifty colleagues, we carried out various tasks, including giving the rooms and windows a lick of paint, tidying up the kitchen, removing an old fence, making the garden nice, etc.
We also gave the children 150 Lego, Playmobil and Barbie toys (smiles). I try to support other projects as much as I can too, but in fact, this was the first time that AG invited me to go and help out on location. Every time, AG decides which department works where.
How did this initiative make you feel?
Stijn: It goes without saying that the people who take part in this initiative really have it in their hearts to help others. These colleagues deserve respect. After we’d finished working, we were allowed to meet some of the children who stay at the association. Once you’ve seen all the joy and happiness that a new garden and some Barbie dolls bring, the physical effort of the day is immediately forgotten. You’re also brought down to earth. You realise how luxurious your lifestyle is and how banal your own problems really are.
Are you going to help other charities in the future?
Stijn: Definitely. As I said, this was the first time that AG contacted me, but considering the fantastic initiatives they organise and how much help and joy they bring, I definitely intend to actively support other charities in the future.
That’s great to hear, Stijn, and something we respect immensely. Thank you for this interview and here’s wishing you success with all your projects!
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In our series ‘Pauwels people’, our colleagues introduce themselves and talk about how they experience working at Pauwels Consulting and with our clients. Today, we are going to get acquainted with Siphiwe Ngobeni, Senior PMO at GSK.
Can you introduce yourself?
Hi, I’m Siphiwe, I was born and raised between Phalaborwa and Johannesburg, South Africa where I studied Information Technology at the University of Johannesburg. I have always been passionate about travelling and exploring different cultures, that’s how I ended up in Belgium.
How did you start your career?
My career started in a Small Mining town in the north of South Africa. I worked for an international mining company in the IT department as a support Specialist. I gradually made my way up the corporate ladder and more by ambition and drive to learn more, I had the opportunity to work with the project management department, and that’s where I found my passion. Over the past ten years, I managed several IT implementations of global infrastructure & application projects. I then later joined another mining company as a PMO Lead and my responsibilities were to establish an IT PMO and roll-out globally. This role gave me exposure to the most critical skills and knowledge about the Project Management industry.
I loved my job, but it felt time to expand my horizons and learn more about the business value chain, and because I had always dreamed of studying abroad, I decided to start an MBA at IéSEG in France. It was an amazing experience, with 26 Nationalities in the program, a wealth of culture and a very fulfilling learning experience for me. I also attempted to learn some French too, which is a never-ending journey for me.
In order to validate my MBA qualification, I had to do an internship, which brought me to Belgium, working at GSK for 6 months. After I graduated in 2018, I decided to stay in Belgium and I sent my resume to several big companies, including Pauwels Consulting. Later in the year, I received a call from Pauwels Consulting with an ideal project at GSK! So, I, of course, jumped at the opportunity.
What kind of project will you be working on?
I will be working as a PMO for the global Quality organization at GSK project and I can’t wait to start my challenge. My responsibilities will include but not be limited to, establishing a Global PMO by implementing standardized processes and governance, Implementation of the Portfolio reporting tool, and overall portfolio continuous improvement
Never lose the desire to learn something new, it adds spice to your life!
What challenges you in this type of job?
Well, in a nutshell, flexibility should become second nature when you work in the project environment.
While you’re preparing to start, I heard you did some volunteer work, could you tell us a bit more about that?
Yes, whilst waiting to start at GSK, I had the opportunity to follow online training of the programs aligned with my personal and career development, as well as volunteer at a charity organization of choice. Volunteering is a unique experience and the fact that I got the opportunity to do so at Pauwels Consulting, makes me feel like I’m really in the right place. The charity I chose is called ‘We serve the city’ and I already volunteered there a couple of times. It’s an organization in Brussels with a team of international volunteers who amongst other projects serve breakfast to refugees in Brussels – Maximiliaan park from 6:30 am to 8 am.
Is voluntary work something you do often?
Yes, it’s something I was brought up with and comes naturally to me. My mother founded a shelter for orphans, and she was also involved in several charity projects. For instance, collecting food from the supermarkets and delivering to the needy. Growing up in this kind of environment stimulated me to volunteer and help when and where I can. In fact, for me, it’s not volunteering, it’s a way of life.
Having been all over the world, do you have some advice for colleagues wanting to travel & work as you?
Travelling through Africa, Europe and North America certainly broadened my outlook and attitude to life. Travelling awarded me the opportunity to learn about different cultures, meet new people and most importantly, it expanded my pallet when it comes to food. When you do travel, take the time to really be in the moment, appreciate and be interested in everything different. You are never too young or old to learn!
Being a proudly South African, I, of course, will end this talk with a fantastic quote by Nelson Mandela: “A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.” – indeed, never lose the desire to learn something new – it adds spice to your life!
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Project management: Always look on the bright side
23 Jul 2019
At Pauwels Consulting we have a lot of driven consultants and sometimes, unfortunately, we have to say goodbye to a colleague. André Thys will enjoy his well-deserved retirement after a career of almost 40 years. An ideal reason for André to tell us about his fascinating career in our series 'Pauwels People'.
Can you introduce yourself? Hi, I am André Thys, married and I have three kids. In my time off, I like to do gardening and walking or biking together with my wife. We, of course, enjoy spontaneous trips and good cuisine as well. I have always enjoyed working and built an excellent career for myself, so now I’m definitely going to enjoy my well-deserved retirement.
How did your career start? I have an A1 degree in computer science, which is called a bachelor nowadays. I chose computer science because the other options seemed less interesting and it was a very up and coming topic at the time. During classes, we had to learn how to work with punch cards. With the punching machine, you punched holes in these cards. After that, you inserted these cards into a processing computer to transfer information. Computer science was mostly programming and 0’s or 1’s, so I saw it change a whole lot.
My first job was at AVON Cosmetics. After that, I worked at several software companies and then decided to start at a consultancy company. I chose consultancy because of the variety of projects, industries, and clients. A good consultancy firm opens doors for you at interesting clients and helps you grow your knowledge. You tackle different kinds of problems and you get to know various business processes. The bottom line, you learn to do your job better. This way, I quickly climbed up the corporate ladder to become a Project Manager.
How did you come into contact with Pauwels Consulting? Through the acquisition of PIT Advisors, I started working for Pauwels Consulting. I had already experienced a few acquisitions as an employee, but this transition went smoothly. PIT Advisors organized a dinner for all consultants and Bert Pauwels, where we were introduced to the company and we talked about our future. I immediately had a good feeling about it, and that never changed.
You worked a long time as a Project Manager IT, in what way did the job appeal to you? I initially ‘stumbled’ into the position of Project Manager IT but it seemed like a great challenge, so I gave it 100%! You need to obtain a helicopter view of the company by talking to key persons within the organization. From that information, you filter the needs and challenges. After that, you translate the needs into a strategy and later on, a well-defined project. Always keep the focus on where change or improvement is needed the most.
For instance, sometimes I started a project and the company had already decided on what needed to be done. However, from my conversations, I understood that such a project would not solve the underlying problem. At that moment, you need to have a sit-down with all parties involved and find common ground.
What are the challenges you face as a Project Manager? Sometimes, you realize at the start of a project that neither the company nor the employees are ready for change, or management is not sufficiently committed to the project. When departments are directly opposite each other and reproaches are hurled back and forth. At other times, you realize you’re not truly welcome because an employee wanted your job and now that person is thwarting you… Those are tough moments.
You need to find a way to deal with such conflicts and always enter into dialogue with all parties. I find the human aspect of my job fascinating, you learn how to ‘read’ people and you certainly learn how to be a good listener. It felt very satisfying when I could reconcile all visions.
What are your best memories? Late eighties, I worked on my best project at Janssen Pharmaceutica. It only lasted 6 to 7 months, but we accomplished so much in a limited amount of time. We wrote new software for order entry, from scratch. An all-in-one package, fully customized with modules for logistics and invoicing. Everything was communicated in real-time, unlike most programs at the time. Our software optimized the flows between departments and made everything more efficient. I’m very proud of that.
My time at Inbev was also a lot of fun, I worked on projects there for about 20 to 25 years, from exploratory to coordination and implementation, I’ve done it all. Now I think about it, I’m actually quite specialized in IT Project Management at breweries, I also worked on projects at Alken Maes and Skol :).
Do you have any good advice for starters or students that aspire a career in project management? After many years of experience, I still give this piece of advice: “Always look on the bright side, the glass is always half full”. Bring people together and stimulate interaction, the dynamic will lead to new insights and eventually to acceptance. That’s how you create solutions that make everyone happy.
What is your first week of retirement going to look like?
I haven’t planned anything actually, I’m keeping my schedule open so I can go on nature walks with my wife 🙂
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DevOps as a key component in your business strategy
02 Jul 2019
Last month we were happy to welcome the attendees of our first seminar in our new Brussels office at Avenue des Arts. The spacious venue, delicious cookies and fresh coffee got us started for a morning full of valuable insights on the technical side of digital transformation.
At Pauwels Consulting we see our mission in the IT market as twofold: bringing the right consultants to the right job and developing knowledge in the market by understanding how companies are organizing themselves in the inevitable digital transformation.
“Digital transformation means accepting that you’re becoming a software company.”
We learned that accepting this will not be enough. It requires hard work, strong governance, and the right tooling to create an environment where systems orchestration is automated as much as possible.
Marc De Leenheer, the founder of Tunitas, introduced us to the concepts of DevOps, the importance of testing and taking small steps. He brought cases and backed them up each with a theoretical background and some insights from the field.
Benny Willen, who is the CEO and founder of Cloudalize, took us further on the impact of DevOps in his company. Cloudalize is a Belgian Tech Startup that offers on-demand GPU from the cloud and desktop as a service. With investments from VH Horizons and a partnership with NVIDIA, they bring a story every tech-head gets enthusiastic about.
Having listened to all those insightful stories, we took the time to discuss and digest the information with our guests over lunch offered by our restaurant. Looking back at our first seminar and based on the feedback of our guests we are proud that this will not stay a single initiative.
You can download our business case & the presentation slides by filling out our form
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Ghent, 10 October 2017. Pauwels Consulting, the Belgian engineering, life sciences and IT consultancy company, is proud to announce the acquisition of Akros Solutions, the Belgian IT recruitment and consultancy firm with offices in Brussels.
Akros Solutions was founded in 2009 by Sebastian Jacquin and Amélie Alleman. In the past 8 years, Akros Solutions has established itself as one of the leaders in the Brussels IT recruitment and consultancy market.
This acquisition will help us strengthen our position in Brussels and Wallonia and create new opportunities for our consultants and freelancers. We had a short interview with Bert Pauwels, Sebastian Jacquin and Amélie Alleman.
Bert, Sebastian and Amélie, congratulations on this new partnership! Could you please introduce yourself?
Amélie: Sure. My name is Amélie. After college, I started working at an American staffing company as a junior recruiter. I liked my job, but after a while, I wanted to go one step further.
In 2008, I started thinking about starting my own firm. I wanted to do things differently. I wanted to bring more added value and personality to the game. As a result, in 2009, Sebastian and I quit our jobs and we started Akros Solutions.
Sebastian: My name is Sebastian. I was born in England. I have done many different jobs in my life. I have had my own small restaurant, I have worked in sales and at a certain moment I ended up at the same staffing firm as Amélie.
Gradually, I moved up the corporate ladder to office manager, European team leader and European director. I managed our offices in Brussels, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Germany and very briefly in Paris. I had a great time but in 2009 it was time for a change. I wanted to start a business of my own again.
Bert: My name is Bert. I have been in the game since 1999, when I started Pauwels Consulting as an IT recruitment and consultancy company. In 2004 and 2005, we expanded our focus to engineering and life sciences recruitment and consulting respectively.
Apart from work, I like sports, spending time with my family, and a combination of both. I am an avid runner and I try to motivate as many people as possible to live a healthy and sporty life, a.o. by sponsoring events such as the Pauwels Consulting Ghent Marathon on October 28th.
Could you please explain the activities of your companies?
Amélie: Akros Solutions is an IT recruitment and consultancy firm. It is our job to find the right people and the best staffing solutions for our clients in various industries. It has always been our mission to become the leading firm in the Brussels IT consultancy and recruitment market.
Sebastian: We have always offered permanent recruitment and contract recruitment services. Nowadays, staffing companies often focus on one form of recruitment or technology. We deliberately chose to deliver both types of staffing solutions and to focus on good relationships with our clients instead. We take our time to truly understand our clients’ needs and demands, and to advise our clients regardless of the return for us.
Why this approach?
Sebastian: When we started, we were too small to throw around resumes in the market. Obviously, we didn’t want to do this either. We wanted to add a genuine personal touch to our business instead.
There is a human being with wishes and ambitions behind every cv. It is not just our job to find IT consultants for our clients’ projects… it is our job to make sure that our candidates and clients get along and that they both feel and stay happy at work.
What about Pauwels Consulting, Bert?
Bert: We have the same focus and values at Pauwels Consulting. We want to be more than just a staffing agency; we want to deliver honest advice and great service to both our clients and our consultants. We always focus on long-term relationships. It is the best policy for healthy growth.
Amélie, when and why did you decide to start looking for a partner?
Amélie: This idea first popped up in January 2016. Sebastian and I have always loved our work at Akros Solutions, but we felt that it was time for the next step. Hence our decision to look for an experienced company with ambitious management that can help Akros Solutions get to the next level.
We had our first meeting with Pauwels Consulting in March or April that year, et voilà, here we are. This merger will help us take the next step in our growth and it will help us serve our clients in more areas than before.
This brings me to my next question: why did you choose for Pauwels Consulting?
Sebastian: Because we like Bert (laughs). No, all jokes aside, Amélie and I felt an instant connection with Bert and his team. We still have big dreams and ambitions for Akros Solutions, so we were looking for an experienced and ambitious partner with a healthy firm and a clear vision. We look forward to continuing our growth with the help of Bert and the Pauwels Consulting group.
Bert, why did you choose to enter this partnership?
Bert: Since our partnership with 3D Investments in January 2016 we focus on organic growth and growth through strategic acquisitions. We are always on the lookout for dynamic recruitment and consultancy firms with smart and ambitious management. Sebastian Jacquin and Amélie Alleman bring a lot of experience, a strong network and a clear vision to the table.
In addition, Akros Solutions has a great reputation and their IT specialties and customer base are complementary to ours. Pauwels Consulting is very active as an IT recruitment and consultancy company in Flanders, but not so much in Brussels and Wallonia. This merger will help us strengthen our position as IT recruitment and consultancy company in Brussels and Wallonia, and it will help us to reach new clients.
Amélie and Sebastian, will this merger change things for your consultants and clients?
Amélie: I only see benefits. If anything, this merger will help us serve our clients even better. We will no doubt benefit from the network, know-how and internal processes of Pauwels Consulting. This will make it easier for us to find ‘hard-to-find’ consultants for our clients in a limited amount of time.
Sebastian: I also see many opportunities for our consultants. Pauwels Consulting invests in knowledge growth and knowledge sharing between their consultants. Our consultants will enter a vibrant network of over 600 consultants and clients we haven’t worked for yet. Great career opportunities ahead!
Sounds great. Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
Bert: I am very happy with this merger. Not only because of the benefits for our clients, consultants and business, but also because I have a knack for smart, dynamic and ambitious people. I am very sure this partnership will be very successful.
Sebastian: I think there is nothing left to say (laugh). Evidently, I agree with Bert and Amélie. And should you (or the reader) have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. We look forward to answering all the questions you may have.
Bert, Sebastian and Amélie, thank you very much for this interview and all the best with this new partnership.
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Ghent - Pauwels Consulting, the Belgian consulting firm with offices in Belgium and Switzerland today announced the acquisition of Itelco.
Pauwels Consulting and Itelco have reached an agreement to join forces. Pauwels Consulting was founded in 1999. In the past years, the company developed as a multi-disciplinary international project sourcing partner in the field of Engineering, Life Sciences and IT. Itelco was founded in 1992. In recent years, the company has specialised in project sourcing, corporate recruitment and executive search for companies in Europe and the Middle East.
As of today, Itelco will operate as an independent business unit of Pauwels Consulting. Itelco Director Frederick De Sloover stays on to manage the day-to-day activities and to look after the quality and continuity of the business. The acquisition by Pauwels Consulting will support the further professionalization of the new business unit.
Exponential growth requires professional support
Itelco Director Frederick De Sloover welcomes the acquisition: “In order to support Itelco’s exponential growth, the company needs professional support and structure. I am therefore pleased and proud to team up with a top company like Pauwels Consulting.”
Bert Pauwels, Managing Director of Pauwels Consulting, is also very happy with this acquisition: “I have followed Itelco for quite a while. I admire the way in which Mr. De Sloover has optimized his company in the past few years. Mr. De Sloover focused on quality and profitability extremely well. As a result, Itelco became one of the fastest growing companies in Flanders in a very short time.”
Trends Gazelles join forces
With the acquisition of Itelco, two Trends Gazelles join forces. With a team of more than 320 specialists and a joint budgeted turnover of more than 24 million euro, Pauwels Consulting and its new business unit now have even more quality, diversity and flexibility on board to support its international clients. The Itelco employees and clients will definitely benefit from this acquisition as well.
Our clients and staff will benefit the most
Bert Pauwels: “Pauwels Consulting and Itelco’s clients and staff will benefit the most from this acquisition. Quality and flexibility are of paramount importance to our companies. We both have a wonderful team of employees. The merger of our teams will undoubtedly lead to a transfer of knowledge and further extension of our services.
Mr. De Sloover and I look forward to further extend our services to our clients and to support the further growth of Pauwels Consulting and its new business unit on a strong and healthy foundation.”
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