Mentoring

Pieter Vervoort

VP Connectivity and Entertainment Business, Infosys

Nirali Patel

VP Data Strategy, Liberty Global

A globally recognised Executive of Data & AI with a passion for empowering change in organisations through data & AI driven insights, renowned for setting the strategy and vision to lead multi £m and enterprise transformation initiatives, leading to lasting culture changes that maximise this amazing asset. Excellent reputation for resolving problems, improving customer experience, and driving overall business process re-engineering improvements, through effective use of artificial intelligence including GenAI, ML, NLP, robotics. With a solid track record championing and driving data and digital transformation for large complex group organisations through deep business understanding and customer focused solutions.

Severina Pascu

SVP Commercial & Operations, Liberty Global

Severina Pascu is Senior Vice President, Commercial and Operations at Liberty Global, having served most recently as Deputy CEO and COO of Sunrise in Switzerland, CFO of Virgin Media in the UK and CEO of UPC Switzerland.

She is a long-time member of the Liberty Global family and been part of the Telecoms industry for 25 years.

She is a board member of Street Child Europe and Switzerland, a non for profit organisation supporting children in areas impacted by war to have access to education.

Severina was born in Romania, but now resides in the beautiful outskirts of Zurich. She is a mother of two and enjoys skiing, playing golf and is a passionate reader.

Bart Harlaar

Chief Information Officer, Infosys

My name is Bart Harlaar. I am responsible for all IT services that Infosys delivers to Liberty Global.

Before joining Infosys in 2020, I was part of Liberty Global since 2004. I originally started as a Project Manager but through the years have held a number of different roles in Program Management and IT Delivery. In my final role in LG I was the CIO for the Liberty Latam Group, working from Miami.

I am one of the few people in the IT team that is not an engineer/techie. Personally I find that quite healthy as it helps me look at things differently from most people in the IT domain.

Through the years I have learned a lot about the technical aspects of my job but my real strengths lie in People and Financial management. Building teams, supporting my people and create a productive but fun working environment is what I enjoy most.

Throughout my career I have had the pleasure of having great mentors which really helped develop me, both as a person and a professional. I really look forward to the opportunity to try and provide the same value for the WICT mentorship participants.

At a personal level, I am the proud father of 3 teenage boys. I love travelling and discovering the world and all its different cultures. I find physical health crucial for performing my role so I am a fanatic Crossfit addict. This also helps me balance other less healthy hobbies like enjoying a good dinner & drinks with family, friends and colleagues.

Joe Coleman

VP Connectivity & Entertainment Strategy, Liberty Global

I’ve worked in the telecoms and media industry for over 25 years, with experience across a variety of marketing and commercial roles including senior positions at both BT and Sky in the UK.

For the last 7 years I’ve worked for Liberty Global based in Amsterdam, most recently in the role of VP Strategy. I enjoy the challenges of my current role due to the variety and exploratory nature of the work.

Out of the office I love sports, particularly skiing and cycling, as well as reading (mainly fiction) and a wide range of music.

Laura Kelly

Senior Marketing Manager, CommScope

I have worked in a number of companies, roles and countries, with over 30 years’ marketing experience in the IT and Telecoms space. I’ve always been in marketing, and it suits me well, as I love to communicate and learn about the world with people from different walks of life. I’ve worked in local markets like UK, as well as emerging markets in Africa and Middle East, all with very different market dynamics and cultures. I’ve been through market ‘good times’ and market ‘bad times’.

The advice I would give is to always say yes to the opportunities life presents – that attitude has led me to my best adventures. My favourite time in my career was when I had the opportunity to build a team from the ground up, bringing new people into the organisation, with fresh ideas and new ways of doing things. I take great pleasure in seeing people grow in confidence and belief in their own ability and watched from the sidelines the progression of that team through the organisation and into new stages of their careers. You know you’ve done something right when your previous team continues to be in regular contact with you even after they have moved on.

I want to bring some of that experience to this program. When I started out, I didn’t have access to this type of mentorship. Everyone needs a sounding board and someone to help you navigate your career challenges.

The last 23 years I have worked for CommScope. It’s a long tenure in one company, but there has been so much change during my time there – it has never stood still. Change is constant around us and so we need to change too. I seem to be a permanent student, and have continued to study throughout my adult life, including Chartered Institute of Marketing and Open University programs, and most recently Account Based Marketing with ITSMA.

Nico Vrijenhoek

VP Liberty Procurement Services, Liberty Global

I have been with Liberty Global for 12 years. In first instance focused developing Marketing Procurement on a group wide level, later I got involved in Contact Center procurement and Consultancy procurement.

Since 2020, I have been in a management role at first leading the IT procurement team and since April 2024 leading the Sourcing Delivery team.

My motivation is stimulated when I am able to drive results through collaboration, based on building strong (interpersonal) relationships while applying methodological approaches.

I have a wide interest among others photography, baking/cooking/BBQ, history and travel.

Anne Nguyen

Managing Director Corporate Strategy, Liberty Global

Anne currently leads Liberty Global’s Corporate and Consumer Strategy teams. Prior to this, she was Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group’s global Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) practice.

Earlier roles include Finance Director at CarsDirect.com, an online marketplace and Senior Associate at PwC. In both operational roles, she scaled up teams, implemented new ways of working, launched new operations and restructured processes.

Anne is passionate about building and working with individuals to achieve their goals, leading diverse strategies and initiatives with clients and teams.

She is a keen foodie and enjoys travelling and sports of all kinds.

Leo-Geert van den Berg

VP Platform Technology Delivery, Liberty Global

Leo-Geert has over 23 years’ experience in various technology managerial roles, predominantly in telecom organisations. He joined Liberty Global in 2001 and moved to Ziggo in 2014 where he became CTO in 2016. Vodafone and Ziggo merged in 2017 where Leo-Geert became responsible for the networks in VodafoneZiggo. During 2023 Leo-Geert took the CTO role at VodafoneZiggo (ad interim).

Since January 2024 Leo-Geert has moved back into the Liberty European organization, responsible for the connectivity and entertainment technology platform delivery.

Prior to Liberty and VodafoneZiggo, Leo-Geert worked for Philips, TNO and IBM and during the 6 years at IBM took several development and management positions at Ahold and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Leo-Geert has a degree in language & speech technology from the University of Utrecht and he did his master thesis at Sheffield University.

Hobbies/interests: basketball (played at 1^st league level; trainer & coach for many youth teams), love to watch sports and attend sports matches. Enjoy travelling, wine and good restaurants.

Bernadette Vandamme

VP Business & Ops Controlling, Telenet

Bernadette Vandamme, Telenet’s VP Business & Ops Controlling and currently CFO a.i., built a 18 years financial experience in telecom sector. Starting as financial controller, she broadened her horizon by executing different roles in controlling, accounting, tax and procurement areas.

She joined Telenet in 2016 following the acquisition of BASE as Director Strategic Controlling navigating between short term and long-term forecasts. She is making sure that her passion for finance is contagious and is supporting all capital allocation decisions.

Before joining the telecom sector, she worked 5 years at Deloitte as auditor after having obtained her Master’s degree at ICHEC business school.

Hobbies: enjoy time with family and friends, yoga, cooking and reading.

Eva Warnaar

VP Organization & Tech Transformation, Liberty Global

Eva is currently Director Strategy for Liberty Global, where she is involved in key Transformational Programs for the company. Prior to this she lead the Product Strategy team, developing and securing the overall product strategy, driving actionable insights from product data, 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 MonitorDeloitte.

Eva strives for development of her own skillset, by learning from everyone in her environment and developing talent in her teams. Eva is also a founding member of the WICT Network in Europe.

She lives in Hilversum, The Netherlands with her husband and 5-year old daughter in close proximity to several hiking paths where they enjoy walking and being outdoors.

Suzana Grujev

VP Mobile Access Strategy, Liberty Global

Suzana has more than 20 years experience in the telecommunication/cable industry.

Her career includes nearly a decade at Liberty Global, where she is currently responsible for the Group Mobile access technology strategy, driving collaboration and co-creation across Liberty Global markets and the Group.

Prior to joining Liberty, Suzana worked as independent consultant within the Finance/Insurance sector, in addition to covering different positions within KPN, ranging from Mobile, Strategy and M&A to IT.

Suzana has a track record of leading change, from surviving change to growing through change, often in conjunction with technology transformation and leveraging ecosystem of partnerships.

She holds a Masters degree in Telecommunication from the Delft University of Technology.

She is also a member of the Delft Female Impact Community with a goal to connect as many female Delft students and alumnae as possible, to help each other to have more impact together.

Suzana is married, a mother of twins, a boy and a girl, both studying Electrical engineering in Delft. Favorite sport is basketball.

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Babet Agten

Meet Babet, VodafoneZiggo’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) manager on a mission. A mission to empower individuals and organisations to embrace diversity and a more inclusive future.

Babet’s professional journey has taken her through various roles in Communication, Learning & Development and DEI. But she doesn’t stop there—outside her “office” job, she’s a dedicated Vodafone Foundation Instant Network volunteer, rebuilding networks in areas affected by natural or humanitarian disasters and reaching out to communities in need.

Having lived and worked across the Netherlands, Italy, France and the UK, she brings a diverse cultural perspective to her work. Now calling Haarlem, Netherlands, her home with her partner, she keeps her backpack ready for spontaneous adventures.

Marta del Peso

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.

Suzana Grujev

Suzana has more than 20 years experience in the telecommunication/cable industry. Her career includes nearly a decade at Liberty Global, where she is currently responsible for the Group Mobile access technology strategy, driving collaboration and co-creation across Liberty Global markets and the Group.

Prior to joining Liberty, Suzana worked as independent consultant within the Finance/Insurance sector, in addition to covering different positions within KPN, ranging from Mobile, Strategy and M&A to IT.

Suzana has a track record of leading change, from surviving change to growing through change, often in conjunction with technology transformation and leveraging ecosystem of partnerships.

She holds a Masters degree in Telecommunication from the Delft University of Technology. She is also a member of the Delft Female Impact Community with a goal to connect as many female Delft students and alumnae as possible, to help each other to have more impact together.

Suzana is married, a mother of twins, a boy and a girl, both studying Electrical engineering in Delft. The advice that I give to my daughter and to my son for that matter, is to consider opportunities that come their way as we are a multitude of many things and not just one thing.

Simone Vieira

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.

Annemarie Koelman

Annemarie Koelman is Vice President Partner Service Management at Liberty Global, where she is responsible for looking after all service agreements for LG and its operating companies.

Annemarie has more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, having worked in the domains of entertainment, connectivity, B2B, Network and organisational change. Before joining Liberty Global, Annemarie worked for EDS in Sydney, Australia and Hewlett Packard in the Netherlands.

She holds a master’s degree from the University of Amsterdam in European Studies.

Annemarie has served as Board Member of the WICT Network Europe before stepping into the role of the President and she is currently a mentor of The Athena Mentoring Programme.. She is passionate about the personal development of others and has the aspiration to apply that expertise to advance gender equity within the industry. Outside of work she enjoys yoga, walking with her dog, traveling and spending time with her family.

Rose Cantillon

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 Olausson

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.

Berber Rienks

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.

Nadia Howden

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.

Cherilyn Laban

Cherilyn is a tama’ita’i Samoa, hailing from the small island nation. Growing up in New Zealand and working in US, Asia-Pacific and the Netherlands, Cherilyn has always believed that we are all individually unique, that our experiences shape us, and it is when we come together that magic happens!

Cherilyn is a chartered accountant with 20 years experience, primarily in the tech industry, including 10 years at Liberty Global. She studied commerce and psychology at the University of Auckland and has always been an advocate for diversity and inclusion.

In her free time, Cherilyn enjoys spending time with family and friends, being by and in the sea, travelling, reading, and wine.

Gladys Morales

Gladys is originally from Peru and moved to the Netherlands in 2008. She is a high-performance Assistant, with extensive experience in event management, executive administrative support, and business management.

Gladys holds a degree in Business Management focusing on Human Resources and is currently following a training in Project Management. She has been working for over 11 years at Liberty Global within the Service Delivery Group in Technology as a Personal Assistant.

Gladys is delighted to have the opportunity to join WICT Europe to further her passions of DE&I.

During her free time, Gladys loves spending time with her family, painting Mandalas, practicing meditation and reading books. She has found a great way to promote positivism, learning and sharing unique topics by the knowledge gained through various podcasts.

Sadia Ashraf

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 .

Jasper Rook

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.

Elba Aguirre Gomez

Elba is Director of Client Services for the Communication, Media and Technology industry at Infosys, where she also leads CSR & DEI initiatives. She is an experienced account manager seeking for value creation opportunities and helping clients reach their strategic objectives. She has worked across Latin America, Asia and Europe regions. Prior to her current role, she worked at KPN and as a strategy consultant for EY and Deloitte.

Originally from Mexico City, Mexico she holds a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) – Finance & Strategy from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.

Outside of work she likes hiking, running and biking. Elba likes spending time with her family, friends and pets. She is also passionate about art and biology.

Darcy Aikins

Darcy graduated from her BA in Psychology from Trinity College Dublin before moving to the Netherlands to complete her MSc in Organisational Psychology in Utrecht University. Here she wrote her thesis on the different ways extroverts and introverts receive informational benefits from using LinkedIn.

Since joining Liberty Global in 2022, she has developed in the external communications team working on media relations, data analytics, content creation and website management.

From being born in the US, growing up in Ireland and moving to the Netherlands, Darcy has loved living and working in multicultural environments.

Nikita Kandath

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.

Eva Warnaar

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

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.

Bio

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Emma Lyon

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.

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