Meet our 2021 Promotions

Deloitte Legal-Lawyers (DL): Congratulations on your promotion end of 2021 to Senior Director!  What are you most looking forward to in the coming months? 

What I am looking forward to most of all is reconnecting with clients and colleagues after all the corona troubles and watching market initiatives /disruptive ideas grow again, especially in the real estate sector.

DL: What are the main challenges you see?

There are two main challenges coming: I first of all expect increased government intervention, both in terms of incentives and/or penalisations, this in all sectors and mainly driven by ecological objectives. The other one is the budgetary impact of the corona crisis, which will definitely lead to an increased focus on (tax) compliance and (tax) audits.

DL: What are your key focus areas?

Real estate initiatives focusing on sustainable infrastructure and housing and at the same time on affordability and homeowner mobility.

It is exciting and humbling to know that we are in a great place - at Deloitte - to make an impact on these initiatives. The size, diversity and connections of our professional services network means we have easy access to a wealth of knowledge and insights.

We believe there are major changes underway in Real Estate, and it is our vision to lead the way. We intend, for example, to connect very shortly with all key stakeholders to discuss how people in Belgium may continue to own their own property in spite of a.o. land shortages, property price increases, and rising costs of construction materials.

DL: Do you have any recommendations for lawyers wanting to advance their own knowledge?

We all have the habit of assembling with like-minded people. We are in a comfort mode then but it is so important to think out of the box, and my advice is to connect with and integrate other ‘profiles’ in your day-to-day business (like engineers, IT specialists, psychologists, consultants,…).

DL: If there is one misconception you could clear up about Tax advisory, what would it be?

Tax Advisory is not all about compliance or lengthy opinions resulting from desk research, but – at Deloitte Legal - Lawyers – is focused on tailor-made solutions that we can implement together with our clients and for which we provide operational support in their day-to-day business.

DL: If you look back at yourself when you started, what advice would you give yourself?

Always keep calm