Speaker Bio
Katrien Buys was born and raised in Belgium, and a mathematician by education at the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven Belgium). This degree led her to start in the insurance industry where she worked in the Belgian entity of the Ageas group during several years.
Triggered by a need of exploring the business world beyond its boundaries, a guiding principle that she keeps valid until today, she set off in 2012 to join the Italian operations and have her first international working experience. After a return to Belgium for 2 years, leading a strategic transformation program, she took the bigger opportunity of traveling and moving with her family to Portugal.
Katrien bridges the gap between her work at Ageas Portugal and impact organizations, creating new business opportunities for positive societal impact. She likes to be innovative and to always find ways to cooperate in different areas, creating value both for these organizations and for Ageas Portugal.
More importantly, she asks questions regularly, most often “why?” which is the most powerful question to keep you on track and ensure you don't take anything for granted. Because she works in strategy, innovation and sustainability, she sees her role as bringing people together, having good conversations and co-creating a world of hope for as many people as possible.
With her board positions in the beyond insurance ventures the group is launching, Katrien is gaining experience in non-executive roles while contributing to the expansion of the group’s offer in products and services in the region.
Katrien is the winner of the 2021 MAZE Runner Award and engages in both business as non-profit organizations for impact.