ADM On the Spot: June 2026
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Change
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On the spot
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Young professionals
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Middle management & professionals
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C-level / CEO
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In-person
Business leaders and thought leaders will take the spotlight for a short, powerful presentation. Get ready for valuable new insights, innovative research, and inspiring ideas, presented in an accessible and engaging way. The goal is not only to inform, but also to inspire, stimulate, provoke, and perhaps even encourage people to do things differently.
Bonus: Take home a copy of one of the business books "The power of the chameleon" or "Reshape Your Career"!
Program
The power of the chameleon
Hannelore Van Meldert, Director Career Center at Acerta, author
Never before has it been more important to adapt your thinking and actions. Change is the only constant, and staying future-proof requires agility. Fortunately, adaptability is a skill you can develop. The Power of the Chameleon shows how to increase your resilience with powerful levers like learning orientation, emotional intelligence, self-confidence, and self-regulation, within yourself, your team, and your organization. Practical, concrete, and based on scientific research, this book is your guide to emerging stronger from change.
Create a ripple effect. Stop changing the way you always do.
Christophe Windelen, Partner at INNOCOM
Most transformations fail not due to a lack of plans, models, or expertise, but because people aren't on board. Change is often approached as something you design and implement, while engagement is the real lever.
Under pressure, organizations centralize decisions, pile up initiatives, and seek external support. But real movement doesn't happen at the top, but at the core of the organization, creating space for a ripple effect where leadership is about activating potential rather than constantly injecting new change. In this session, we challenge persistent assumptions about change and explore how organizations can move forward without paralyzing themselves.
The opportunity of change
Pieter-Jan Haest, Project Manager EARTH at VITO
Pieter-Jan works at VITO, a leading European research center with 1,400 employees, where scientific insights are transformed into groundbreaking technological innovations, AI solutions, and policy advice. As Project Manager, he oversaw the completion of the EARTH building last year: a high-tech, state-of-the-art laboratory and office complex for 250 employees. VITO is currently in the midst of a relocation phase, during which teams are gradually immersed in a new way of working.
During this talk, Pieter-Jan will guide you through the opportunities of this transition. He will cover the entire journey: from the preparation phase, through the translation of theory into practice, to the key insights and experiences along the way.
Reshape your career. Your roadmap for career change at life's tipping points
Bärbel Buyse, Entrepreneur in Business & Human Growth, author
Do you feel it's time for a career change? Have you already decided? Or are circumstances forcing you to rethink your professional future?
If so, you are not alone. Careers today no longer follow one straight line. Longer working lives, a turbulent world and technological disruption mean that professional lives unfold in phases, each with its own shape and goal.
But how do you navigate an in-depth career-change journey? Entrepreneur and author Bärbel Buyse challenges you to look beyond the usual question: “What should I do next?”
With an entrepreneurial mindset that embraces risk-taking and innovation, she reframes change as a blank canvas of possibilities. It is about letting go and consciously taking ownership of your future. Inspired by her book Reshape Your Career, she shows how you can reshape the next chapter of your professional life in your unique way.
Speakers
Hannelore Van Meldert
Director of the Career Center at Acerta and Author
Hannelore Van Meldert has been working in the field of human resources since 2011, with a strong focus on building sustainable careers. She finds inspiration in the continuous changes within organizations and the labor market, and in how people can continue to develop within them. In her role as Director of the Career Center at Acerta, she leads a team of HR consultants that guides organizations on recruitment, internal mobility, and employee departure.
Christophe Windelen
Managing Partner at INNOCOM
Christophe Windelen is managing partner at INNOCOM and has been guiding organizations through complex strategic changes for over twenty years. He knows better than almost anyone how wide the gap can be between ambition and what actually works in practice. In addition to his work as an advisor, Christophe is also a lecturer and author. From these three roles, he consistently observes the same pattern: change often succeeds or fails based on the question of whether people are sufficiently equipped to go along with it.
Pieter-Jan Haest
Project Manager EARTH at VITO
Pieter-Jan graduated as a Civil Engineer in Construction from KU Leuven in 2012. Subsequently, he worked within the Besix Group for 10 years in a wide variety of roles and projects. In 2022, he joined VITO as Project Manager for the EARTH building. Starting from scratch, a new benchmark in laboratory infrastructure was established over the course of four years.
Bärbel Buyse
Enterpreneur in Business & Human Growth, Keynote Speaker and Author
Bärbel Buyse is an entrepreneur with over twenty years of experience leading companies through growth, innovation, and disruption. She was recognized with the Womed Award as a Female Entrepreneur. After reaching her own tipping point, she steered her career in a new direction with a greater focus on human growth. Today, she develops accessible models that guide professionals through change. She is also Entrepreneur in Residence at Vlerick Business School.
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