Les Engagés
I am not a politician. My passion is to create, to assemble, to undertake and to dream, even if it seems impossible… Against the various crises that we are facing today, I have decided to drop everything and go from criticism to engagement. I want to participate in the emergence of another more ecological, more just and more humane model for society.
In the small world of politics, I often feel like I have a different perspective than other people… And good for me! Because it is not by repeating the same mistakes that we will change the course of history. I have ambitions for Belgium, for Europe. I believe in it. Do you?
Because I don’t like being told “it’s impossible!”
As a child, I was often called a “daredevil”. On my roller skaters or on my bike, in the playground or at school, on the football field or in the neighborhood, I liked trying the impossible and wandering in dangerous areas. Sometimes, I had to pay a price for it, a few broken bones, to be exact.
Soon, I noticed that it was injustice that was driving me crazy. It’s probably why I started studying law. However, it didn’t take long for me to understand that my real thing was action, so I got a master’s degree in administration of businesses at the Vlerick Business school, the cradle of Flemish business and that is where I finally understood that undertaking is first and foremost daring.
I then pursued my schooling in management by launching my career as a consultant for McKinsey. But I was far too young (or free) to end up in a golden cage. I thus made myself a promise: the day I would become a ‘senior’ would be the day I quit. And that’s what I did 3 years later, the day of my nomination… Everyone thought I was crazy.
Because we can survive a nightmare in the kitchen
I was director of Delitraiteur for 2 years, when the administrator refused to follow the business plan I was defending. He gave me a challenge: “If you’re so sure of your numbers, do it yourself!”. I took it literally. The next day, I quit and, my eyes full of stars, I opened my first business of premade dishes: Divine Cuisine. That’s when everything became… a nightmare! Long moments of solitude during which I asked myself how I’d pay myemployees’ salaries. From the production chain to the delivery teams, I shared everything with them. This allowed me to learn a thousand different jobs, by their sides, in solidarity in the cold of the fridges. I couldn’t let them down. Little by little, thanks to determination and sacrifices, the business took off, overcame its challenges, and grew to ensure its future.
Because someone needed to stand up to big pharma
Already as a student, I was shocked by the exorbitant prices of medication. Prices artificially inflated by the monopoly of pharmaceutical businesses and certain dysfunctions in the pharmaceutical market. Someone had to shake things up. I thus created Medi-Market with the ambition of democratizing access to medication and health products. Despite the resistance ofsome members of the industry that notably tried to block our suppliers to keep their privileges, our gamble paid off. Today, the group boasts almost a thousand employees that accompany 1,5 million Belgians in their search for better medication at affordable prices.
Because we need to be able to stop and look
There comes a time where we end up transferring all of our qualities to our business… but also all of our flaws! It is then time to take a step back and think of the meaning of it all andyour next steps. Its what I chose to do at Medi-Market.
I spent all those years running; running after great projects, with real issues, but without taking the time to look at the bigger picture. And when I finally did, what a slap in the face!
Because we can all change
My children, Valentine, Victor and Pierre were the first to make me realize the scale of the ecological crisis that is taking place. From then on, it wasn’t possible for me to continue like before. To give meaning to my life, my next project had to participate in some way or another in the construction of a more sustainable, just, and humane world.
Today, I am going into politics with the same energy as when I was developing start-ups. It is urgent to assemble all our strength to succeed in transforming a way of life that is on course for disaster. To create a system that finally takes into account the limited material and economical resources of our planet, that allows each and every one of us to blossom, to accomplish, and that puts the added value of humans back at the center of priorities.
Because we no longer have a choice
Changing is not easy and it asks for a lot of courage. I clearly have my own limits. But changing is possible as long as we believe in it and keep our values close to our hearts.
We are at a crossroads for our civilization. Science is firm on that point. Change will happen whether we want it or not. The question now is whether we’re going to drive it or to be victim of it. If we do nothing, it will happen in chaos and violence. If we anticipate it, if we have the will to take necessary measures, I am convinced that we can even hope to live better tomorrow than today. The best way to predict the future is to create it.
Because being alone, is nonsense
The success of a business is the success of all those that make it run daily. When I was named “Manager of the year” in 2019, it was mostly the consecration of a collective and humaneadventure for the benefit of the common good.
Against the scale of social challenges that we need to fight, I will not be able to accomplish anything alone. I was quickly seduced by the movement “Les Engagés”. I found in their manifesto the same ingredients and values that drive my personal reflections. I then decided to invest myself in their movement and I was warmly welcomed. Elected Vice-President ofPolitical Reflection and President of the Political Assembly of the movement, I am proud today to carry the colors that incarnate a new way to do politics. I am convinced that “Les Engagés” are part of the solution.
Because we have no time to lose
I am not a “politician”. I am a revolted citizen. I am a father that wants a better world for his children. I am an entrepreneur ready to dedicate his next few years to a new project for society, to contribute against the greatest challenge our world must face. In substance, I would like to make audacious and coherent reforms in the worlds of climate, energy, finance, work, health, security, and justice. I want to help the State regain its power of regulation over markets, local and primarily international. It must be able to protect those who invest in transition. I want to bring back good governance and coherent action, oriented towards results. Find the project that I am proposing here [link] (in French; use Google Translate to read it in your native language).
In my approach towards politics, my priority is to recreate bonds, unite around a positive project and convince that nuance and compromise are necessary. Political debates are mined by divisive positions and an incapacity at taking a step toward others. This can only lead to immobilism… However, we need to act now more than ever.
I am and I will remain independent of politics. It is essential to keep a link with reality. This is why I am pleading for a limitation to the number of terms politicians can serve. Like for my start in management, I have made myself a promise: I will not spend more than 10 years in politics.
Time is short. There is not a moment to lose. I am ready for this new challenge. Are you ready to face it with me?
Together, it’s possible