Lebbeke, Flemish Region, Belgium
Experienced IT Infrastructure Team Manager, IT Infrastructure, Security, Identity and Workplace Architect with a demonstrated history of working in manufacturing, consumer goods industry and telecommunications.
As part of the Group IT department at stow Group and Movu Robotics, I lead a team of 15 professionals managing IT infrastructure across multiple manufacturing plants and commercial offices in Europe and the United States. Our responsibilities include overseeing computing, networking, workplace systems, IT security, and manufacturing IT systems to ensure uninterrupted 24/7 production support, while also supporting the global sales team. My primary focus is the IT cybersecurity roadmap and its implementation, encompassing both technical advancements and governance enhancements. I am currently driving ISO 27001, NIS2, and CRA compliance, with particular attention to our warehouse automation division, where we design and assemble a wide range of operational technology (OT) robots. In addition, I oversee vendor relationships, including financial management, contract negotiations, and service-level reviews for managed services. Serving as the liaison between the IT infrastructure team and key stakeholders—such as business units, the SAP applications team, and production departments—constitutes a central aspect of my role. Key achievements include consolidating non-standardized IT environments into a unified and secure infrastructure, thereby improving both operational efficiency and security practices. Overall, my position requires balancing technical expertise with strategic management to ensure reliable IT operations that align with organizational objectives.
At Ontex, our team of 16 is responsible for the IT infrastructure supporting 21 manufacturing facilities worldwide and 11,000 end users. We design, build, and maintain all compute, network, workplace, security, and manufacturing IT systems to ensure 24/7 production uptime. One of our key achievements was migrating our global datacenter from a traditional setup to a hyper converged environment hosting our global ERP (SAP on HANA) platform and its associated services. Additionally, we designed and deployed a Modern Workplace solution based on Microsoft 365 for over 6,000 employees. We also implemented a future proof global WAN running on the public cloud and introduced a new network architecture to segment office, datacenter, (i)OT, and PLC networks. Furthermore, we are actively working to harmonize and simplify a decentralized IT environment by defining, communicating, and implementing new global standards. Another critical aspect of my role involves IT infrastructure team resource planning, staff coaching, and motivation. Additionally, I manage vendor and partner relationships in close collaboration with the Procurement and Legal teams at Ontex, facilitating strategic roadmap planning.
In our Microsoft team, we focused on delivering robust, secure, and efficient solutions for small, medium, and large-scale customers across various industries. In my role as a Solution Architect, I assisted customers in addressing their challenges by facilitating open discussions and reassessing their goals from both business and financial perspectives before exploring technical solutions. Our team combined the expertise of Microsoft MVPs with a group of highly skilled senior consultants. We concentrated on three key areas: Productivity (Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, and Skype for Business); Client and Mobility (Windows 10, Enterprise Mobility + Security, Azure Active Directory, and Azure Information Protection); and Datacenter (Azure and Hybrid).
As an Infrastructure Architect for BASE first and later Telenet, I focused on the overall strategy, infrastructure design, and roadmap for the Microsoft back-end and front-end infrastructure, with a strong focus on cost efficiency while supporting an agile framework. I was accountable for the end-to-end delivery of solutions, including financial management, follow-up installation/configuration, and handover to support teams. One of my key achievements was delivering a hybrid cloud solution with automation and orchestration as its cornerstone. Furthermore, we rolled out a Citrix XenApp environment for 350 to 400 call center agents located in Belgium and Morocco, and we successfully deployed Microsoft Intune (MDM) to about 1,000 iPhones and Android phones in less than three weeks.
As an IT Infrastructure Architect, I worked on the infrastructure design and implementations for the BASE Company Workplace front-end and back-end infrastructure, in different areas such as compute, storage, collaboration, database and endpoint security.