A week with Dennis Herremans: building the foundations for data-driven success

Whether he's working with executive teams, coaching colleagues, facilitating workshops or helping organisations align around shared definitions, Dennis spends his days connecting people, ideas and objectives. No two days are ever quite the same. 

Dennis starts the week from his home office after taking his children to school, one of the ways he makes family time a priority. Away from work, he enjoys reading, playing chess, cooking and photography; interests that reflect the same curiosity and appetite for learning that characterise his professional life.  

That mindset carries into his working day, as he spends the morning preparing several important customer workshops and reviewing part of a customer's data strategy. 

Later, a Data Steward contacts him with an issue involving conflicting definitions of the same business term across different departments. "It may sound like a small detail, but definitions matter enormously," Dennis says. "If you have a KPI target of reaching 200,000 customers by the end of the year, everyone first needs to agree on what a customer actually is." 

Helping organisations establish this shared understanding is a key part of his role. Clear definitions form the basis for reliable reporting, trusted data and successful AI initiatives. 

On Tuesday, Dennis travels to a customer site in Brussels. 

Together with senior stakeholders, he facilitates workshops that translate business objectives into practical data and AI strategies. These sessions bring together people with different priorities and perspectives, making alignment an important part of the process. 

"No single person or department has all the answers," Dennis explains. "The best outcomes come from collaboration and a shared understanding of the organisation's goals." 

Following the workshops, Wednesday is focused on transforming ideas into a concrete strategy and roadmap. 

Working from home, Dennis analyses the workshop outcomes and develops recommendations that can help the customer achieve its objectives. A secure AI assistant helps with routine tasks, allowing him to spend more time on critical thinking, and stakeholder considerations. 

Towards the end of the afternoon, a customer reaches out with a data governance challenge. Dennis quickly assembles a team of colleagues with complementary expertise and schedules a workshop for the following day. 

Thursday is office day. Between customer meetings and project work, Dennis joins colleagues from different disciplines to tackle the governance challenge raised the previous day. 

"My role is often about connecting people," he says. "Whether it's business experts, managers, architects, project managers or technical teams, every perspective adds value. The strongest solutions are usually developed together." 

By combining expertise from across the organisation, the team develops practical solutions for complex customer challenges. 

Dennis has seen first-hand how this collaborative approach can create lasting results. One project he is particularly proud of is Sopra Steria's collaboration with VDAB. 

"There, we supported the organisation's journey towards becoming genuinely data-driven," he explains. "Our contribution went far beyond implementing governance frameworks or introducing tools. We helped reshape the Data Office, developed an organisation-wide operating model for data governance, coached Data Stewards and worked closely with both business and IT teams." 

The impact of that work continues today, helping support better decision-making, trusted data and future AI initiatives across the organisation.

Friday is dedicated largely to Dennis's role as Practice Lead. 

Part of the day is focused on commercial activities, including supporting proposals and responding to requests for proposal. Most of his time, however, is spent meeting the consultants he manages. 

Those conversations cover everything from technical development and project challenges to career ambitions and personal growth. 

"Helping people develop is one of the most rewarding aspects of my role," Dennis says. "Delivering great work is important, but so is creating an environment where people can learn, grow and succeed."