The WICT Network Europe Breakfast Sessions – Sylvie Verbruggen

Berber is an experience consultant supporting clients in the telco, media and technology industry in their digital and data transformation initiatives. She has worked across the globe and is passionate about organizing and analyzing data to create actionable insights, hereby optimizing customer interactions and strengthening human and machine interactions to cultivate data driven organizational capabilities.

Julie Fedele joined Liberty Global in June 2020 as the Vice President of Emerging Business. In her role, she leads multiple venture building teams to activate new revenue in focussed verticals such as Health, Security & Energy across Liberty Global’s portfolio companies.

Prior to joining LG, Julie spent 15 years working in the Healthcare industry cutting across all domains including the public and private sector (ANZ & UK) as well as leading product teams for Europe’s first healthtech unicorn in 2019.

After completing her MBA in 2012, Julie launched her own start-up called ‘Popping Up’, with the vision to connect pure-play online brands to semi-permanent rental spaces. Although the company failed, the experience led Julie to be an active coach & mentor in start-up communities, taking on Venture Partner roles, and becoming an angel investor with a laser focus on female founders whose goals are to give women more control of their health and lives by leveraging technology.

Always looking to expand her learning, Julie recently embarked on further education, undertaking a Masters of Consciousness & Transpersonal Psychology. Her goal is to build on her understanding about the new paradigm of life, work and leadership.

Julie hails from sunny Australia but lives in overcast London with her husband and son. She misses the sun. A lot. 

Fleur van Beem joined VodafoneZiggo in October 2021 as Executive Director Strategy, Insights and Digital Transformation. In her role, she leads a broad portfolio including strategy, corporate development & innovation, digital transformation, ZiggoSport and content rights and all teams responsible for Advanced Analytics and Data& Insights. Before joining, Fleur was a partner at strategy consulting firm Bain&Company, working with clients across a broad spectrum of industries and part of the leadership team of Bains telecom practice. Fleur led Bain’s EMEA Customer strategy and marketing practice, gaining extensive expertise in customer-led digital transformations and CX.

Fleur is very passionate about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, carrying responsibility for the topic at Bain for many years and also now at VodafoneZiggo an active ambassador of the topic. On behalf of Bain, Fleur was part of TM Forums Diversity Council, supporting operators with their D&I challenge and  co-creator of IDS (Inclusion and Diversity Score) enabling comparison across operators on D&I progress.

Fleur is married and mother of 4 boys and a girl. In her free time, she enjoys going to concerts, walking on the beach and long dinners with friends and family.

Nadia Howden is Director Consumer Strategy for Liberty Global. Working in partnership with product and technology, she is responsible for identifying consumer trends, research and insights and translating them into innovative and differentiating propositions with proven business value. Prior to this, Nadia worked in Product and B2B before taking up her latest role.

Originally from Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, she holds a degree in Business Economics with Italian Literature from the University of Manchester. In 2017 she relocated to the Netherlands to start working for Liberty Global.

Outside the office, Nadia enjoys keeping fit, in particular spinning and weight lifting. Always on the lookout for her next challenge, you may catch her running a half marathon or completing a duathlon for charity. Having studied and worked in Italy at the Università di Pisa, she also has a love for travelling and sampling the best food.

Nadia is The WICT Network Europe’s Marketing and Digital Communications Chair, where she combines her passion for seeking progressive communication strategies whilst also acting as an ambassador for diversity, equity and inclusion.

Ajanta Bhandari currently serves as Vice President Product Quality at Liberty Global.

Ajanta is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of international experience leading global teams. She joined Liberty Global in 2015 and has held various roles in the Core Networks, Entertainment and Mobile domains. Before joining Liberty Global, Ajanta worked in organisations with a significant footprint in the telecommunications industry including COLT, Ericsson and Verizon Business.

She also currently serves as a mentor for WICT Europe, an organisation sponsored by Liberty Global that focuses on driving diversity and inclusion in the technology industry.

Nina is a Proposition & Products manager at Liberty Global who joined the WICT Network in 2021, focusing on Social Media Marketing for our online channels. She holds a double degree in International Management from Erasmus University and Bocconi and has been working in Marketing and Sales for several years.

Nina is a passionate advocate for education and careers in Media, Entertainment and Tech for young women and men. She wants to encourage both to do exactly what they want, be true to themselves and have the opportunities to develop. In achieving this, Nina is a firm believer in the power of building an inclusive workplace where everybody feels safe and valued for being themselves.

Growing up bilingual and having lived in five countries, Nina thrives in an international, diverse environment working with people from different backgrounds. It should be not surprise that, outside of work, Nina enjoys travelling.

Jasper graduated from NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences in 2020. After graduation, he worked for MediaMonks where he created video productions meant for their internal and external audiences, with the accumulated reach of around 6 million people across the globe, across (internal) social and digital media. By dealing with great projects for big international clients, Jasper learned a lot about the fast paced environment, which is the marketing industry, and developed a high level of flexibility to adapt to this pace.

In 2021, Jasper founded FlameWorks Marketing, a digital marketing agency, specialized in creating marketing content. With FlameWorks, Jasper has been working for international clients, such as Liberty Global, LIVEKINDLY Collective, SHV Energy, Free a Girl, GIGAEurope and Orbisk. Via Liberty Global he came in touch with The WICT Network an joined the Marketing Team as Deputy Chair Creative Content.

Sadia is a seasoned leader with over 15 years of international experience in Mobile. She previously worked at Telenet and KPN .

Now Sadia works as a Senior Transformation manager in the Digital Strategy and Architecture team. 

Born and raised in Belgium, and having a multicultural background (India/Pakistan/Tanzania), Sadia is open-minded, flexible and deals with ambiguity in a creative manner. After having lived in Belgium, Sadia moved in 2015 to Amsterdam, where she lives together with her Dutch partner and daughter.

As  Deputy Membership , Sadia strives to reach a broader set of people and making women and men, regardless of who they are or what do for the business, feel equally involved and supported throughout their career. She is passionate about connecting people , WICT is the perfect place to do it .

Nikita Kandath is the Regional Marketing Manager for CommScope responsible for managing the Enterprise business for the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, and Eastern European region.

With over 8 years of experience in the B2B space, she is predominantly involved in creating, managing, and executing marketing strategies for the region and has worked with multiple tech vendors over the years.

She is no stranger to WICT Europe as she has worked previously in the Communications team in creating content for Social Media and Newsletters. She is very passionate about Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Rights for Women and People of Color as testified by her existing role at WICT Europe and her role as a Marketing Ambassador for CommScope’s DIBN Network (Diversity & Inclusion Business Network).

Nikita holds a Master’s degree in Media Management and has a creative eye for innovation and new ideas. She is a great team player and loves taking initiative.

Outside of work, Nikita loves traveling and learning about new cultures. She is also passionate about Music and is a trained Indian classical dancer.

Rose graduated with an LL.B from Trinity College Dublin in 2019. Upon graduation, she worked in Vulcan Consulting, a Public Affairs consulting firm with offices across Dublin and Brussels, focusing mainly on the E-Mobility, Sustainability and Pharmaceutical sectors. Her work included managing the communications channels for the firm, media monitoring and policy analysis. She then went on to undertake a LL.M at the University of Amsterdam in European Competition Law where she focused her thesis on the role that Competition Policy has in addressing gender equality. She began working at Liberty Global in the Public Policy team and now works as an External Communications Associate on the Media Relations team in Liberty Global. 

Kristina joined Liberty Global in 2019 and has worked on telecom and digital policy at an EU level for the past 6 years. She previously worked in the European Parliament as well as for the telecom association ETNO. She holds a double degree in European Governance from Utrecht University and Masaryk University.

As a Membership Chair she hopes to introduce WICT to a broader set of stakeholders, starting with the public affairs scene in Europe. With the increasing focus among policy makers on digital inclusion and equality issues, WICT has a great potential to serve as a platform for debate.

Originally from Sweden, Kristina enjoys hiking and swimming. She has moved between six different countries and two continents since leaving her home-town Stockholm. She is passionate about the possibility digital technologies have to empower people in their everyday lives. Kristina was elected Vice-Chair of the Digital Economy Committee in AMCHAM EU in 2021 and is actively engaged in ensure a prosperous transatlantic relationship. She is also the co-founder of the Swedish Tech Network, set up in 2021 with the aim to be a platforms for Swedes working on digital policy in Brussels.

With a solid 14-year experience across hospitality and meetings & events management Marta moved from Spain to The Netherlands in 2017 seeking an international and diverse work environment.

After various roles as a Project Manager in the events management industry,  she currently works at Liberty Global within the Corporate Affairs team as a Management Assistant. Being part of The WICT Network is a new challenge for her.

With an enthusiastic attitude, Marta is delighted to be on board in the WICT Europe project sharing its mission and values by promoting the members’s voice in the Media, Entertainment, and Tech. industry.

Marta holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations & Foreign Trade Master’s Degree. With her good eye for detail, her strengths are members’ queries, finding solutions, and troubleshooting. She is definitely a team player!

During her free time, Marta loves traveling and she is always planning in her head who will be her next destination to explore. Always on the hunt for new activities, she recently discovered that Pilates is a great, hard but fun workout however Marta’s favourite hobby is to spend quality time with her family and friends.

Jeanine Ferreira recently joined Stage Entertainment as International Head of Marketing after spending 8 years working in various marketing roles in the Vodafone Group. She moved to The Netherlands in 2019 from South Africa where she cut her teeth in the Banking, ICT and Automotive industries.

She is the winner of the 2019 RAHM International LGBT Leadership Competition and recipient of the 2021 WICT Nomi Bergman Fellowship. She is a certified Neuro-Leadership coach and is passionate about creating equal opportunity, especially through educating girls in underprivileged societies.

Jeanine is a hockey-mom to her 2 kids, Caitlin and Ethan and a travel and restaurant-hopping partner to her wife, Renate.

Simone Vieira is the Systems Engineer Leader for Europe, for CommScope’s Enterprise Solutions with a demonstrated history of working in the telecommunications industry, including managerial and executive-level responsibility for project, department and organisational success.

Highly collaborative and process-oriented with experience leading core IT presales and specialised solution-oriented teams. She is member of the British Standards Group (BSI) for Telecommunication – Cabling Design and Best Practices and part of the IoT/01 British Standards group as well.

She holds a Master’s degree in Project Management and a Bachelor of Telecommunications Engineering Degree.

Anne has about 17 years of experience in building and strengthening ecosystems for (deep) tech startups and technological innovation.

Currently she is heading the Deep Tech domain of Techleap.nl which is a non-profit, publicly-funded organisation that helps to build a thriving startup ecosystem in the Netherlands.

Anne graduated from Utrecht University with a master’s degree in Economic Geography (innovation clusters) in 2004. Thereafter she started her career as part of a small core team that founded YES!Delft, one of the most successful tech incubators of Europe.

After 7 years she left YES!Delft and started as a freelance consultant and entrepreneurship expert. She was involved in setting up new initiatives for a range of organizations and triple helix cooperations. Her clients include Quantum Delta, Innovatiepact Fryslân, Institute for Sustainable Process Technology, Buccaneer Delft and The Green Village.

In 2020, Anne joined Techleap.nl. She set the strategic agenda focusing on ‘science-to-impact’. With a team of experts, she works with regional partners to improve conditions for knowledge transfer, setting up learning communities of regional incubators and offering a top-tier sector-based program for (deep) tech startups facing the long and misty valley of death.

She is a strong believer in the strength and innovative power of The Netherlands, in cooperation, empowerment of women, fair distribution of wealth and is passionate about empowering people to develop themselves and create their own route to success.

Arnold currently works as a Finance Accountant in the EMEA Finance team for Netflix. He is based out of the Amsterdam office and is looking after the ever-growing list of Netflix streaming, Netflix content support, and Netflix production entities in the EMEA region. Prior to this, Arnold worked as the Central Finance Manager in the Group Control team at Liberty Global before taking up his latest role.

Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Arnold moved to the United Kingdom at 6 with his family. He studied Business Management and Economics at De Montfort university, and also holds a Masters in Banking and Finance from Loughborough University. 

Arnold lives and breathes football. Meaning that when he’s not playing, he’s watching (Man Utd to be specific). He also enjoys playing squash, travelling and attempting to learn new languages. 

Arnold is passionate about DE&I and has previously worked with WICT and the Black Pride charity to host events on Institutional Racism and celebrating black history month from an intersectional standpoint.

Eva is currently Director Product Strategy & Planning for Liberty Global. She is responsible for developing and securing the overall product strategy, as well as the product (financial) planning of Liberty Global. Before joining Liberty Global, Eva was Strategy Manager at a large Dutch media company Sanoma/SBS, where she was responsible for the women’s domain. She started her career as a Strategy Consultant at Deloitte.

Besides her professional development, Eva is very active at both the golf course and the local boxing dojo, where she combines a passion for speed, power and thinking ahead of the game. She lives in Hilversum, The Netherlands with her husband  and daughter in close proximity to several hiking paths where they enjoy walking and the outdoors.

Eva currently acts as treasurer of the WICT Europe Chapter, where she combines her love for figures, analysis and structure with an active commitment to the continuous development of female leadership.

Eke Vermeer is Vice President Public policy since 2019. Prior, she served for 4 years as Vice President Corporate Affairs, Chief of Staff Corporate Affairs and Director, Regulation & Public Policy.  She moved to Liberty Global from UPC (now VodafoneZiggo) where she served for 7 years as Senior Manager Public Affairs and Corporate Responsibility.

She holds a master’s degree from the University of Groningen in International Relations and completed part of her studies at Willamette University in Oregon,USA. Eke completed WICT’s Senior Executive Summit at Stanford Graduate School of Business, attended the INSEAD Executive Leadership Program as well, as Corporate Communications from the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.

She is serving WICT Europe as the Vice President  to fuel her passion for women leadership development. She has two children, serves as President of the PTA at their school, loves her dog Scout, and enjoys traveling and walking.

Emma is Vice President, People at Liberty Global. In this role, she is the Lead Business Partner for the Chief Commercial Officer, Chief Finance Officer and Chief People Officer covering all of the Central Functions and Global Finance teams. Emma relocated to Amsterdam from UK in August 2015. She contributes to business performance by providing strategic consulting on people strategies, organization design and development, and all other people specific or business-related initiatives, taking the internal and external context into account and leveraging relevant People Centers of Excellence.

Emma previously worked at Virgin Media (part of the Liberty Global family) for 2 years as People Director for the Customer Division (over 9,000 employees) supporting all Customer Contact, Sales, Field, Network Build, Network Expansion, and Business Provide Leadership teams.
Emma has worked in a variety of international roles, including Vodafone and Specsavers,  and has successfully completed assignments in Ghana, West Africa, and Sweden.

Emma is a  Fellow of the CIPD and completed the Advanced HR Executive Programme at Michigan University.
Emma is delighted to be the WICT Europe President and is passionate to create a great programme of events in 2019.

This bio will be available soon.