pIEt Haerens

ShapeShifter I Regenerative practitioner I Maverick I Founder, Chief Soul & Strategy Officer HAEDES I

Ghent, Flemish Region, Belgium

About

I am a human being in development — shaped by experience, humbled by uncertainty, and guided by the quiet wisdom of Nature, dogs, and horses. Future-oriented and deeply sensitive, I move between science and soul, systems and stories, logic and intuition, calculations and poetry. I resonate with those who dare to say “I don’t know,” and in that not-knowing, open space for something truly new to emerge. What drives me is not sustainability, not regeneration, but connection — of land, language, leadership, and life. I unfold ways of interacting that are alive, systemic, and reciprocal. Potentialities that don’t just sustain, but care and heal. That don’t just reduce harm, but invite conditions conducive to life. With over 25 years of experimenting as a creative consultant in the port, coastal and marine areas I have gone through a variety of roles from project manager, over quality manager and CEO. I get energized by translating complex challenges into living strategies that serve people and planet. I love teaming up with scientists and thinkers, artists, poets, doers and the more-then-humans — weaving disciplines to design beyond-linear, biophilic futures. As a European thinker with a global heart, I completed my MSc in Coastal & Marine Studies at the University of the Algarve and have further developed my knoweldge through regenerative leadership, the regenerative practicioner series, but most of all by learning from my daugthers and the more-then-humans that surround me. I believe imagination comes first — and that creativity, grounded in science and attuned to the rhythms of nature, is the key to resilient, life-affirming conditions. My sources: The Unknown A differenct language The heart, the gut, the soul Nature & the more-than-humans Quantum physics

Experience

  • Founder - Chief Soul & Strategy Officer at HAEDES
    Jan 2020 - Present · 6 yrs 7 mos

    Engineering & consultancy combined with soul & system thinking for challenges at our coasts, estuaries, rivers & oceans.

  • Founder at S@lto Consulting
    Jul 2019 - Present · 7 yrs 1 mo

    Enabling Creative Latitude S@lto Consulting exists to meet the needs to enable creative latitude, facilitate passionate working in combination with engineering skills. It reflects our believe in the strength of having the freedom, the creativity and the space to slow-down, think & envisage future needs in a holistic way as a valuable asset for consulting and engineering services. We dream of creating a change where engineering skills are combined with passion, soul, feeling and holistic & system/design thinking to help transforming mysterious complex opportunities into impactful realisations. You can count on us as consultant for sustainable solutions in the natural water sector, for your research and development projects, for design and system thinking, for strategic advice and advice on future needs.

  • Vice President at Belgian-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce
    Oct 2020 - Sep 2025 · 5 yrs

    As vice president I collaborated with the Board Members and Member of the CCBP on promoting the development of commercial and friendship relations between Portugal and Belgium.

  • IMDC (12 yrs 1 mo)
    • Project manager Offshore wind farms
      Jun 2007 - Jun 2019 · 12 yrs 1 mo

    • CEO at IMDC
      Jan 2017 - Jan 2019 · 2 yrs 1 mo

    • ISO auditor
      Dec 2007 - Dec 2018 · 11 yrs 1 mo

  • Project Manager - Advisor at HAECON INTERNATIONAL
    Mar 2000 - May 2007 · 7 yrs 3 mos

    Project manager and project engineering in the field of coastal protection, offshore wind & quay wall design.