About >> Mission, goals and directors

About DAMA Belgium and Luxemburg (BeLux) Chapter

VISION

To be the voice of data management professionals in Belgium and Luxembourg;
To be the “go-to” place that any data professional will visit FIRST for resources, information, education and knowledge exchange;
To be the world leader in best practices in data and information management.

MISSION

To provide a non-profit, vendor-independent association where data professionals can go for help and assistance;
To provide the best practice resources such as the DM-BOK (Data Management – Body Of Knowledge) and the Data Management Terms in a manner that reaches as many Data Management professionals as possible;
To create a trusted environment for Data Management professionals to collaborate and communicate.

GOALS

Improve the current education program by collaborating with partners at all levels (educators, trainers, suppliers, etc);
Communicate the education program to all, providing the appropriate level of access, costing and training where needed and required
Support DAMA members by enabling resources (website, education, white papers, books, etc) which will assist in addressing their information and data management needs;
Form alliances with other organisations involved in data or information management;
Create and support a trusted speaker bureau to which Chapters and Data Management professionals have access, and from which the best speaker for their needs can be selected.

DAMA BeLux Directors

Jan Henderyckx | President

I've been "into" data since the first day of my carreer. Over the 35+ years in consulting I've always focussed on the contribution of data to and organisation. As practice lead of BearingPoint Belgiumand the data governance center of excellence, I enable companies to become data centric. The journey to getting value out of your data in a regulatory compliant and ethical way can be long and complex. Due to many years of hands-on experience in a broad range of companies I can shape your data organisation and assure you have the right tools to support your strategy. I believe in a solid accademic background combined with a pragmatic approach as it shouldn't just "work on paper". Hence my Master level CDMP and Data Governance DAMA certification. I like to pass on the enthousiasm for data by means of formal trainings, keynotes, publications and working side by side with my clients. I strongly believe that the best way to grow the industry and the community is to share the knowledge. Hence my longtime commitment to non-for-profit organisations. I started as active member of the DB2 IDUG community, served on the DAMA International board and I'm currently president of the DAMA BeLux chapter.

Bart Vandenreijt | Director | VP Finance

I thrive in navigating the impact of data and AI disruption on business, with a proven track record in driving change, transformation, and innovation across diverse data-rich sectors. My expertise spans in roles in sales, marketing, data product development, data and AI driven strategy, data partnerships, data and analytics driven platforms and business process optimization, consistently delivering measurable value through the establishment of new teams, transformation of business models, and creation of innovative value streams.

Dorthy Van Saen | Director | VP Marketing

I am a newbee when it comes to the exiting world of data management and data governance, but looking forward to exploring it together with you and my experienced and wonderful team of new DAMA BeLux directors. Being an experienced professional in the Banking world, I have built up knowledge in the Finance and Credit Risk domains, from data analysis to reporting on the fact and figures for which impeccable data is of course crucial. Along the way, I have had the opportunity to work on several strategical topics and the implementation thereof, improvement exercises to streamline reporting processes and change management without loosing the people aspect thereof out of sight.

Currently, I am an active member of Data Quality Management department reporting to the Chief Data Manager where I, together with my team, am responsible for setting the guidelines and frameworks of data governance and data management in the area of company management reporting. So the importance of working with data of good quality, enforced by sound data governance and good data management are no secret to me. As such, DAMA DMBOK has always been 'the reference' for me and my team to improve and increase efficiency.

Looking forward to connecting with you (in person) and discussing on the many challenges and opportunities in the wonderful world of data.

Inès Herbosch | Director | VP Content & Ethics

I am a Chief Data Officer and support (inter)national organizations with their data challenges in a pragmatic way. I transformed the last years Data Governance into Data Excellence by focusing more on the goal instead of the 'how'. I have a business profile and have high expertise in data governance and data management, digital transformation, business and data strategy, data protection and marketing automation. I always start from a business perspective, to bring added value to the business on a day-to-day basis.

I worked in the non-profit industry, government, pharmacy, telco, IT and FMCG. I have a long-term but pragmatic agile approach, creative strategic thinking and helicopter view. Co-creation is my main goal to achieve the best outcome for the several business users (data consumers).

I have been nominated as CDO for the year 2022 and am and international keynote speaker and guest lecturer.

History of DAMA International

DAMA – the Data Management Association International elected its first board of directors in 1988. The first chapter was founded in 1980 in Los Angeles. Other early chapters were: San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, New York, and Washington D.C.

DAMA has been hosting an annual conference since 1989 when our first symposium was held in Gaithersburg, Maryland. In 2001, we had a record attendance of over 1,000 data management professionals from 24 countries at our 13th annual symposium held in Anaheim, California. In 1996, the first Australian DAMA conference was held in Melbourne, and in 2000, we held the first DAMA Europe conference in London. Today, our annual symposium is the premier international event for the data management profession.

DAMA International is an all volunteer organization governed by an Executive Board of Directors. Directors are voted in for a 2 year term of office and may stand for re-election.

Code of Ethics

Statement of DAMA International Code of Ethics and Governance

As a DAMA International Officer or Advisor, DAMA Direct Chapter Officer, DAMA International affiliated organization officer, Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP), or DAMA Member, I recognize my obligation to:

Observe the precepts of DAMA International as set forth in the bylaws, guidelines and policies of DAMA International;
Understand the ethics and values DAMA-I has chosen to adopt and to conduct all matters concerning my membership in DAMA-I in the spirit and actions of these ethics and values;
Preserve and actively promote the ideals and mission of DAMA International through active involvement in professional and educational events and encourage others to pursue life-long learning in data management;
Refrain from all behaviors that would constitute harassment or bullying of any other individual, whether in person or via electronic means. Harassment includes: making offensive verbal/electronic comments related to personal characteristics or choices, posting sexual images or comments in public or online spaces, displaying deliberate intimidating behavior in person or in online environments, bullying, stalking, sustained disruption of conversations or other intrusions of electronic meetings or physical meetings or other events, inappropriate physical contact with others, or unwelcome sexual / personal attention;
Promote the image of DAMA International by refraining from:
- Engaging in any sales activity, including direct or indirect solicitation, or conducting any other activity contrary to the purpose or policies of DAMA International or its affiliates, as is appropriate to a non-profit professional
  organization;
- Distributing any materials or posting displays of any kind at DAMA International, direct chapter, affiliated chapter, or affiliated strategic partner sponsored activities without prior approval and express written consent of the event organizer, DAMA International, direct chapter, affiliated chapter, or strategic partner as appropriate;
- Using the DAMA International, the direct chapter, the affiliated chapter or the affiliated strategic partner name or logo other than to conduct DAMA International, direct chapter, affiliated chapter or affiliated strategic partner business as determined by the Board of Directors of DAMA International, the direct chapter, the affiliated chapter and/or the affiliated strategic partner;
- Making unwarranted negative or disparaging comments about any vendor, product, service, other organization or individual either orally or in writing.

In addition to the member codes of behavior, as an officer or advisor of DAMA International, direct chapter, affiliated chapter, or affiliated strategic partner, I also recognize my obligation to:

Actively Support the programs of DAMA International and its affiliates;
I recognize my acceptance of a position as an officer or advisor of DAMA International, direct chapter, affiliated chapter, or affiliated strategic partner as a commitment to perform certain tasks in pursuit of goals stated for the position and the DAMA International community and to agree to perform those responsibilities to the best of my ability throughout my term;
Accept my commitment to fulfill my DAMA International obligations so that I shall not profit personally as a direct result of my performance as an officer or advisor;
Bring to the attention of the DAMA International Ethics Officer any concerns over possible conflicts of interest that may arise from the performance of my role as an officer or advisor;
Conduct all business on behalf of DAMA International and its affiliates according to the values and ethical practices adopted by DAMA International;
Protect positively the reputation, credibility and effectiveness of DAMA International and its affiliates as well as their mission in all contact with others, regardless of their affiliation with DAMA;
Refrain from communication or discussion, oral or written, concerning DAMA International matters with any person not directly involved in the matter, both during my term as an officer or advisor and after my term has been completed;
Regard any communication (oral or in writing) I make concerning DAMA International to be official and on-the-record to avoid any misunderstanding of intent or action and ensure that all my communications concerning DAMA International be made carefully and in accordance with the ethics and values adopted by DAMA International;
Protect closely any member or prospective member personal contact information under my control for use only while conducting DAMA International business activities. Refrain from the distribution or sale of any membership information to any organization for any purpose.