Dennis Daems
Tech Lead & Analyst
The best ideas cause a bit of a mess, responsibly.” Dennis Daems has been with Verhaert Digital for a decade. With his masters in computer science comes a fascination for all sorts of new technologies. ‘One of my most important qualities is curiosity.’ He likes all things aviation & aerospace, is interested in urban planning, mobility and more sustainable living. ‘It’s important to understand the superpowers of technology and use it for good things.’ What also definitely belongs on the list of passions, is running.
What does your job involve?
I’m co-responsible for the technology roadmap and strategy of Verhaert Digital in relation to new technologies. My goal is to always keep the conversation going between business and technology. I research the feasibility of our wild ideas and strive to come up with the technological solutions to match them. While we have a strong multidisciplinary team in-house, it helps to have trusted partners so I set up collaborations in technologies like machine learning, computer vision, IoT, data analytics, etc.
My goal is to always keep the conversation going between business and technology.
What do you think are the characteristics
of a good team?
I recently came across Patrick Lencioni’s book: the 5 frustrations of teamwork. Good teamwork makes the difference in how you successfully complete your projects together. The five principles are: trust within the team, being able to conduct constructive conflicts, involvement and commitment, taking responsibility, and thus achieving a joint result. Unknowingly, we’ve been doing that for a long time at Verhaert Digital. Each month we elect a “mullet of the month” which stands for “business in the front, party in the back”. I think that actually summarizes those 5 elements nicely: great results and therefore a successful business is what you achieve when working with your team feels like a party.
What drives you in your job?
In three words: sustainability, challenges and learning. Technology is only a means to an end and not a goal in itself. That has always been in the DNA of myself and Verhaert Digital, including in the choice of projects: we really believe in the projects we take on. At the same time, we also realize how privileged we are: it is wildly fascinating to plant and nurture the seeds of a small start-up and then see it grow and thrive. Clients often ask us to bring a dream to life and come to us to create the right architecture for it. That’s what makes it so challenging for me. This way we are part of the cradle of a story. In the ten years that I have been working at Verhaert Digital, a few successful spin-offs have already been launched, such as Twikit and June. The best ideas cause a bit of a mess, in a good way.
Interested in becoming a Tech Lead & Analyst or working at Verhaert Digital like Dennis?