Brussels, Brussels Region, Belgium
Multi-disciplinary founder, builder & fractional exec; Belgium's 40 Under 40. Expert in taking ideas from first principles → strategy → product → global scale. CEO of deep-tech blockchain security company protecting > $1.5B in assets. Scaled venture from zero to global; led hardware/software, secure supply chain, industrialization, GTM/partnerships. Built world’s highest-security certified financial vault (EAL7) with zero security incidents. Protected $1.5B+ assets, NPS 60+, Trustpilot 4.7, multi-million partnerships, including with top 3 global asset manager. Raised ~$20M, delivered top-3 crowdfunding campaign in national history. Prior strategy/innovation consultant and project manager (20k+ hours) across fintech, finance, logistics, energy, utilities. Led robo-advisory platform build (20 streams, 100+ FTE) & digital transformation programs. Master's in Business Engineering, PMP, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Oxford Blockchain program. Fluent in 6 languages; advisor on strategy, product, GTM, zero-to-one, scaling & transformation.
Belgium’s 40 under 40 brings together 40 societal leaders below 40 to embark on a journey of personal and leadership development centred on meaning, societal responsibility, and impact. As a Fellow, I have the chance to connect with other young leaders from different sectors. Together, we reflect on our leadership journeys and increase our societal footprint.
I co-founded NGRAVE in 2018 to bring the digital asset space a true security solution, one that would never compromise on the user's security, whilst being fantastic to use. Out of this dream and under my leadership, we: - Built ZERO, a digital asset hardware vault that is unique in achieving the world's highest security certifications (a.o. EAL7, FIPS 140, zero security incidents since inception) and highest customer satisfaction in the industry (Trustpilot 4.7, NPS 60, customer satisfaction 90%). - Brought total assets protected to over $1.5 billion. - Received $ multi-million investments from the top of the industry (eg. Binance) - Closed $ multi-million partnerships with a.o. a top 3 global asset manager - Raised over $15M in funding More concretely, for retail users, NGRAVE helps serious investors take full control of their digital assets with an easy-to-use, maximum-security offline hardware wallet. Re Institutional, NGRAVE helps crypto wallets, exchanges, and banks counter outflow of and monetize digital assets, by providing easy to integrate maximum security on- and offline white-labeled wallets. What the blockchain founding fathers say about NGRAVE: "This...really goes beyond the status quo." - Jean-Jacques Quisquater, Bitcoin whitepaper reference #2. Blockchain founding father. "We want to empower certain constructs to exercise our individual autonomy, and Ruben is rebooting that idea from the ground up." - Scott Stornetta, Bitcoin whitepaper reference #3, #4 and #5. Blockchain founding father. Start truly owning what is yours.
Because of my occupation and my network, I am occasionally invited to guest lecture on blockchain related topics. I've given presentations in several universities including but not limited to Stanford University (US), Paris Dauphine (FR), Solvay Business School (BE), UGent (BE), KULeuven (BE), etc.