Jacqueline Blatt is an accomplished finance and strategy executive with over 12 years of experience in investment banking, growth equity investing, and operational finance, including nearly eight years as a strategic thought-partner to Rent the Runway’s CEO and executive team. Most recently, Jacqueline served as Rent the Runway’s Head of Investor Relations, having also spent time as Chief of Staff and as a leader on the Finance team. Jacqueline led Rent the Runway's IPO execution in 2021 and worked closely with the executive team across strategy, business development, partnerships, as well as internal, external, and board communications. She currently spends time advising early-stage consumer businesses. Prior to her tenure at RTR, she was on the investment team at General Atlantic and worked in M&A at Blackstone.
Jacqueline graduated summa cum laude from the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business at the Wharton School and the University of Pennsylvania, and lives in New York City with her husband and two sons. As advisor and investor, Jacqueline will be supporting Strada Partners with evaluating new opportunities, providing consumer expertise, and guiding our portfolio companies with an American perspective and business network.
Tobia De Angelis is a tech entrepreneur.
After a few years in early-stage venture funds, he founded Strive School, a Y Combinator-backed edtech company and Europe's fastest-growing web engineering online school. In early 2022, Strive School merged with Epicode, where he became President and head of strategy, helping raise a $10M Series A.
Tobia is now a Venture Partner at Pioneer Fund and has recently started a new company, currently in stealth mode.
He is married to his wife Pauline, is a big AS Roma fan, loves music and sometimes spends a little too much time playing video games.
In his role as Strada Fellow, Tobia will help navigate B2B product/go-to-market challenges with a special focus on Southern Europe.
Niels is an electrical engineer by training, and has been working mainly in senior sales roles in high growth enterprise cyber security software businesses across Europe, first at Onespan and currently at Transmit Security, where he built out the entire European sales activities. In addition, he has been a valuable advisor to various start-ups, supporting them in setting-up and scaling their sales efforts. In his spare time you can find Niels playing indoor football (he nearly turned pro!). Niels will support Strada and its portfolio companies on topics related to cybersecurity and software sales.
Francis Forton is a business administration graduate from KU Leuven and studied abroad in Canada.
He started his career as a consultant at Kearney in 2015, with a focus on large scale transformation, private equity and mergers & acquisitions in Europe and North America. From 2020 to 2023, Francis worked as COO at CED Belux, a local branch of the PE-owned (initially Blackfin, currently Rivean Capital) CED Group.
Francis has a track record of assembling various acquisitions into effective organizations geared on customer satisfaction.
He is married with two young children and currently based in Ghent.
As a Fellow, Francis will support Strada and its portfolio companies on topics related to healthcare, B2B services and buy & build.
Gatien Gillon is the Chief Executive Officer of CWS, a pan-european Leader in Washroom, Hygiene and Environmental Services. He is based in London. Prior to that he was the Group COO of Rubix, Europe's largest distributor of industrial maintenance and repair products. Gatien started his career as a consultant at McKinsey in 2005, before launching his own business process outsourcing company, later sold to ATOS. Following the sale of that company, he joined PE firm Bain Capital as Vice President in 2012, where he was in charge of improving operating performances of portfolio companies. In 2014, Gatien joined one of Bain Capital’s portfolio companies, Verisure, as Group Director in charge of Innovation, Products and Digital.
In his role as Strada Fellow, Gatien will be the go-to person for guidance on operational excellence, business processes and innovation & digitalisation.
James McArthur joined Hurtigruten as Group CFO in May 2023. Hurtigruten is a global leader in sustainable adventure and expedition travel with over 2,400 employees from across 50 nationalities providing polar and warm water expedition cruises via a fleet of purpose-built vessels operating around the world. Hurtigruten comes from a proud 130-year history of sailing the Norwegian coast and artic circle.
He holds a Master of Finance from the University Of Melbourne (Australia) and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Saint Louis (USA)
James began his career in Investment Banking at UBS AG working across Sydney, London and US transactions largely supporting private equity clients. Since then, James has lead teams in Strategy, M&A, finance and Country CEO roles. James has recently worked across Europe and the US working for a large private equity backed multi-national healthcare group. He has deep experience in business turn around, process and system implementation, incentive models and growth strategy execution.
Growing up on a large family agricultural property in Southern Australia, James is passionate about the outdoors, wildlife and the environment. He seeks out skiing and travel adventures and recently completed training and certification for back country ski touring and avalanche rescue to safely access expedition and mountaineering routes. James competed as a professional tennis player after graduating from University in the US.
James is married with two young children and currently based in London.
As a fellow, James will be the go-to person for international buy & build stories in healthcare and services.
Educated at Southampton University (Aeronautical Engineering), Michael worked for Dun & Bradstreet in London before founding his first company in 1991. Michael is a seasoned technology investor specialising in growth SaaS companies. His experience includes start-ups, raising capital, UK & international acquisitions and exits.Most recently, Michael led Webexpenses from an early-stage UK business to being a global provider of Expense Management solutions, which was acquired in 2021 by ELMO Software in Australia. Michael has three teenage children and lives in Oxford and Antwerp. Interests include travel, politics and cycling. As advisor and investor, Michael will be supporting Strada Partners with the screening of new opportunities and by guiding our portfolio companies through ambitious growth trajectories.
Matthias Stevens founded Esign in 2002, a digital agency that evolved into Belgium's most recognized Shopify Plus partner, specializing in online and mobile software solutions, e-commerce, performance marketing, and marketplace sales. He co-founded Social Seeder alongside Jo Caudron and Dado Van Peteghem, a pioneering SaaS ambassador engagement platform, which he successfully sold to a private investor in 2015. Following the 2024 merger of Esign with leading IT companies Christiaens, Denk IT, and Harmonize IT, the new entity, Dynamate, was formed under the guidance of investment firm Sofindev. Matthias currently serves as Managing Director at Dynamate, specifically overseeing the web development business unit.
Matthias completed his degree in Computer Science at the University of Ghent. His expertise in translating complex problems into usable solutions is highlighted by his focus on excellent UI & UX, ensuring that end-users have seamless and engaging experiences.
In his personal life, Matthias is a devoted father of two daughters and a son and resides near Ghent. An enthusiast of balanced living, his favorite quote, "Work hard, sleep fast, play more," perfectly captures his approach to balancing intense professional activities with dynamic personal pursuits.
Steve Symons is a successful serial entrepreneur and business leader with over 15 years of experience as the Founder and CEO of BuzziSpace, a leading manufacturer and seller of premium acoustic furniture and lighting.
With a strong passion for design, technology and innovation, Steve has led BuzziSpace to become a global player in the industry, with a presence in both Europe and the US, catering to clients such as Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, Coca-Cola and several major banks. The company teamed up with US-based Haworth in 2018, and Steve still serves as its chairman.
Steve is a master at building and scaling businesses internationally, and his expertise has made him a valuable advisor to Strada.
Steve owns a spirits company (HAVN) and he’s a lover of all things design-related. Engaging in anything sporty in his spare time.
Favourite quote: “`When the world zigs. Zag.”
Jérôme Van Biervliet is the Managing Director at VIB Innovation & Business, where he has played a pivotal role in elevating the biotech landscape. Under his visionary leadership, VIB:
In addition to his role at VIB, Jérôme is an active board member of several influential biotech companies and associations, such as Confotherapeutics, Augustine Therapeutics, Exevir, and Oncurious. He is also a passionate advocate for the biotech sector, engaging with Belgian and EU policymakers to support the growth and needs of the ecosystem.In his role as Strada Fellow, Jérôme will offer unparalleled expertise and insights in biotech innovations, venture capital strategies, and ecosystem development.
Jan Van de Poel is an accomplished entrepreneur and engineer with a diverse range of experiences in the tech industry. He is the founder of SeeMe.ai, a no-code MLOps platform that allows companies to leverage cutting-edge AI while focusing on their business challenges.
In 2010, Jan co-founded Flow Pilots, a full-service agency specializing in mobile applications and digital transformation for enterprises. He served as a partner until the acquisition in 2017.
Jan was also actively involved as a coach for CoderDojo Belgium from 2013 to 2018, setting up the Hasselt Dojo together with support from the PXL and UHasselt. As a coach, he mentors aspiring young coders and helps them develop their programming and problem solving skills.
He holds both a Master of Civil Engineering in Computer Science from KU Leuven, which he completed with distinction in 2007, as well as a Master’s degree in Commercial Engineering with a specialisation in Information Management Systems from KU Leuven, which he earned in 2005.
As advisor, Jan will be to go-to person for Strada Partners and its portfolio companies for any AI challenges.
Tim Vandecasteele is co-founder and CPO at Silverfin, building the leading compliance and advisory platform for financial services.He started his career at Philips, leading the software team developing the user experience for televisions. He moved to Vasco Data Security for a few years, helping to develop a new authentication platform for banks and governments and started Silverfin together with Joris Van Der Gucht 10 years ago.Tim is passionate about using technology to create simple products and solving complex problems. As advisor and investor, Tim will be the go-to person for Strada Partners and its portfolio companies for any software, product and technology development challenges.
Peter Vanham is executive editor at Fortune, an American multimedia business publication. He leads the magazine’s coverage on sustainability, impact and ESG, writing for Fortune’s CEO Daily and authoring the Impact Report newsletter. Peter is the author of several business books including “Stakeholder Capitalism” (with Klaus Schwab, 2021) and “Before I Was CEO” (2016), which have appeared in over 15 languages.
Before joining Fortune, Peter was head of the International Media Council and head of chairman’s communications at the World Economic Forum, where he wrote about globalization, technology, and business leadership. He has also been a regular contributor to Financial Times, writing on emerging markets, and published articles in Harvard Business Review, Insider, Quartz and Foreign Policy.
He holds master’s degrees in management research (ESCP, 2023), global leadership (WEF, 2018), business journalism (Columbia, 2012) and commercial engineering (KU Leuven, 2008). He lives with his wife and two daughters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Edouard is the former CEO and CFO of VOO, a Belgian telecom company recently acquired by Orange. During his tenure, he led the sale of VOO and drove operational performance improvements with a focus on client value management.
Prior to his role at VOO, Edouard served as CEO of Betv, where he successfully executed a business turnaround.
His expertise also includes customer care and operational excellence, where he optimized processes to enhance customer interactions and improve cost efficiency.
Edouard began his career as an operations consultant at Deloitte, followed by a strategy consultant role at McKinsey.
He holds an MBA from London Business School and a Master’s in Engineering, specializing in Computer Sciences.
As a Strada Fellow, Edouard will provide portfolio companies with expertise in client value management, customer experience optimization, and financial turnaround strategies.
