Key areas of Expertise
- Management and Organization Development
- Media and Technology
- Personal Communication Skills: public speaking
- Innovation and Business Development
Biography
Wim Coessens (°1967) trained as a conference interpreter (English-Spanish-Dutch) at Hogent, but turned his attention to management and media soon after graduating. Beside his academic activities, lecturing English and Business Communication Skills at the Faculty of Economics of Ghent University, he worked as a journalist for the Flemish newspaper De Morgen from 1994 to 2000.
In the same period, he also worked as a communications consultant for such clients as PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Becton Dickinson, Procter & Gamble and many more.
He ventured into management altogether when he became De Morgen’s Editorial Manager in 2001, and its Managing Director the year after. He sat on the Board of Directors of Vlaamse Dagbladpers (the Flemish federation of newspaper publishers) and Mediargus, and was a member of the Group Committee of De Persgroep, Flanders’ largest print publisher.
In 2007, he joined the Flemish public broadcaster VRT. After a brief lapse as the Managing director of Radio 1, he assumed the post of Manager Digital Media, becoming responsible for VRT’s activities on digital television, the internet and mobile platforms.
With his keen and broad interest in the arts, he moved to the Ghent International Film Festival in 2009 as its Managing Director.
In 2010 he decided to return to the roots of his career and started his own consulting firm The Works!, which serves clients in the media and arts sector with hands-on organizational, communication and business development and programs.
In January 2011, he joined Across Technology as a Senior Consultant, providing support for AT’s media clients.
Wim holds management degrees from Vlerick Management School Leuven-Gent and Antwerp Management School. When he’s not working, he is probably playing the double bass or reading about music, Darwin, science and technology. He drives a vintage Citroën DS 1974, the ultimate embodiment of applicable imagination, technological innovation and commercial prowess.
Languages
NL, EN, ES, FR
Nationality
Belgian