Biography
Steven Libbrecht, founder and managing director
Steven is passionate about making companies develop on a path of sustainable growth. He is equally passionate about assessing and exploiting the potential of new ideas and technologies and knows how to turn innovation into profitable and sustainable business. His areas of expertise include strategy and foresight, impact and risk assessment, innovation management, project and business management, consortia building as well as organizational development. His industrial track record covers various roles within the Shell Group of Companies (with positions in Belgium, Italy and France) - in R&D, technology assessment, industrialization of new technologies, as well as business management. For several years, he held the general management position in a fast growing family owned SME.
He has been involved in developing the 2010 edition of the Energy Technology Roadmaps 2050 of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Furthermore, he also contributed to the MYRRHA project of the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (2008-2012), focussing on the socioeconomic impact and valorization aspects of the innovative large research infrastructure. Over the years, he has been involved as an expert in stakeholder engagement processes (design and facilitation of participatory processes) in series of European funded FP7/H2020 projects such as BeWater, IMPRESSIONS, INCREDIBLE, STORY,...
Steven has a PhD in physics. His language capabilities cover English, Dutch, French as well as Italian.
steven.libbrecht@essetengage.com
Mobile +32 479 49 97 02
Peter Rakers, co-owner and senior consultant
Peter worked with a variety of international companies specifically in the life science sector, where he also held management and leadership positions. He worked for companies such as Wyeth (presently Pfizer), Bristol-Myers Squibb and Unilever. At Bristol Myers Squibb, he was a member of the international training group for operational effectiveness. At the Ratiopharm group, a leading generic manufacturer in Europe (presently Teva), Peter was managing director of the group‘s Belgian operations until 2008. In 2009, he became a self-employed consultant.
In 2022, Peter joined ESSET ENGAGE as partner/senior consultant and passionate facilitator of qualitative foresight methodologies. Peter helps clients achieving their vision, market differentiation and effective change while supporting the alignment process throughout the whole organization. He was involved in several public foresight and/or innovation projects at the European Commission (VOLANTE, CLIMSAVE, FOODSECURE in FP7 and ICT-AGRI-FOOD, SmartAgriHubs in Horizon2020). He also conducted strategic foresight trajectories for private organizations such as GSK Biological, Nestlé, FeBelGen and Takeda. One of his major foresight accomplishments was the ASAP scenarios for pandemic preparedness for the Asia-Europe Foundation that ran for 6 years across Asia and Europe linked to the UNSIC program of the United Nations and the CAPSCA program for airline companies in Asia-Pacific. In 2021, he was involved in the Horizon Scans for the European Food Safety Agency and the FAO. As of 2022, he is the strategic coordinator of the Horizon Europe project EU-FarmBook.
Peter is a certified coach and trainer. He gave middle and higher management trainings at the Brussels Airport Company and the European Patent Office. He’s also a guest lecturer in the Master in the Management, CEMS and International Exchange Programs at the Rotterdam School of Management.
peter.rakers@essetengage.com
Mobile +32 495 207 204