Defence Tech Day

Frank Gielen began his career as a technical officer in the Belgian Army and brings a unique blend of experience at the intersection of defence, advanced R&D, and early-stage innovation. A graduate in telecom systems engineering from the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, he served as an Air Defence Missile System Officer for NATO in Germany during the Cold War, gaining early exposure to mission-critical technologies and international defence collaboration.

He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and transitioned to the private sector in 1994, joining AT&T Bell Labs in the US. He later played a key role in the DARPA-backed spin-off Tellium, which developed secure optical networks and successfully IPO’d on NASDAQ in 2001. This experience highlighted how tech-driven ventures can drive high-impact innovation in the defence sector.

 Upon returning to Europe, Frank led early-stage investment initiatives for university funds, taught software architecture and innovation at Ghent University, and became Director of Incubation at iMinds (now IMEC), where he launched the iStart program - ranked Europe’s top university-business accelerator.

 Currently, as Executive Director and Partner at InnoEnergy, he invests in early-stage climate tech ventures across Europe. His work increasingly explores the convergence between energy and defense innovation, recognizing their shared strategic challenges and opportunities_._

Agnès Flémal graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at Mons in 1984 and earned a postgraduate degree in business law in 1988. That same year, she took over the family business APPARELEC, steering it towards intelligent building automation before selling it to the CFE group in 1996. She also became the first Vice President of the Association of Engineers of Mons (AIMs).

She later founded TECHPLUS, specializing in high-temperature endoscopic vision systems exported worldwide. Agnès served for 10 years as a consular judge at the Charleroi Commercial Court and as an expert for the European Commission in emerging technologies, while also advising the Walloon Minister of Economy and Research.

In 2002, she launched and has since led WSL, the high-tech incubator for Wallonia, which by 2024 supports over 75 start-ups and is recognized as a leading European accelerator in the defense sector.

In 2021, she led the integration of the Belgian accelerator in DIANA, NATO’s deep tech innovation accelerator, the first startup defense program across the Alliance. Certified in Operational Foresight by the Destrée Institute, where she is a board member and trainer, she also serves as a Belgian expert for the European Commission's Open Strategic Autonomy (OSA) program and the Egmont Institute’s Foresight Network. Most recently, she has been assigned as an expert advisor to help align the startup ecosystem with defense needs in the adoption of emerging technologies.

Stephan is CEO and founder of Lobster Robotics. The idea started as a study project with 5 fellow students and 6 years later the team is still going strong.

Lobster Robotics is a high-tech company based in the Netherlands. Lobster designs, manufactures, and rents out fully integrated underwater drones, delivering high-resolution seabed insights with minimal effort. By combining cutting-edge robotics, automation, and data processing, Lobster eliminates the tradeoffs between scale, precision, and efficiency. Trusted by industry leaders, Lobster is setting new standards for how seabed intelligence is acquired, verified, and applied to critical decision-making.

Lobster Robotics is alumnus of the NATO DIANA 2024 cohort.

Belinda Smeenk is Staff advisor Strategy Knowledge & Innovation at the Royal Netherland Army (RNLA). She is working at the RNLA staff, in the Directorate Plans, for 17 years now.

Before that she was Operational Analyst (OA) for the Army at TNO Research for Defence and security for 10 years, and has been sent on mission to Afghanistan in 2006. She has studied Operations Research at the university of Tilburg.

In her role at the RNLA staff she is the main planner for the strategic ambition and innovation roadmaps for the RNLA. She is coordinating European Defence Fund Development actions en international development initiatives for long term innovation, but also stimulating the short term innovation through technology development, experimentation and implementation.

Emma Claeys is business development manager for R&D in defence technologies at dotOcean, where she drives international research collaborations and innovation initiatives. Over the past three years, she has helped shape cross-border partnerships and advance cutting-edge projects across Europe.

While completing her Master’s degree in Business Engineering, majoring in Production and Logistics, Emma co-founded a start-up, sparking her passion for technology-driven entrepreneurship. She then joined ORMIT, completing a multi-company management traineeship that provided a broad foundation in business operations and leadership. Before dotOcean, she worked at Flanders Make, the Flemish strategic research center for the manufacturing industry, focusing on business development for robotics and AI applications.

Emma specializes in setting up and coordinating international consortia under programs such as the European Defence Fund (EDF) and Horizon Europe, helping bridge emerging technologies and defence innovation. Today, she plays a key role in expanding dotOcean’s R&D strategy and fostering collaboration between industry, academia, and government stakeholders.

Alexander Ribbink is the co-founder and General Partner at Keen Venture Partners. Prior to his career in venture capital, Ribbink held executive positions at several multinational firms and served as TomTom's COO- leading the firm through to its IPO. Ribbink has been a vocal advocate for the defence ecosystem for many years and sits on several advisory boards committed to the future of European peace and security. 

Keen Venture Partners is a European venture capital firm investing in exceptional teams building transformative companies, with two sector-specific focuses on productivity software and defence technologies. Founded in 2016, Keen has backed European champions in B2B software, and is now raising a defence fund to provide targeted support to Europe's emergent defence industry. Keen's defence fund is led by an investor team with in-depth knowledge of, and experience inside, the European defence ecosystem, preparing to support the continent's boldest founders from pre-seed to Series B.

Ernst is Investment Director of the Dutch SecFund, where he is responsible for the commercial investment team and execution of the investment strategy. Before starting in this role Ernst has a +15 yr experience in investment management, focusing on renewable energy projects and energy ventures across Europe. In these roles he was responsible for managing diversified portfolios for institutional and high-net-worth clients, developing new segments in the market and member of the investment committee.

 The SecFund is a new (envisaged) EUR 100mln fund set up to play an important role in the funding landscape for early stage Dual Use companies. The fund is a collaboration between the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the Regional Development Agencies, united under ROM-Nederland. The Brabant Development Agency (BOM) manages the fund on behalf of all regional development agencies. The SecFund strengthens national security and strategic autonomy in The Netherlands by providing early-stage financing to innovative Dutch enterprises working on dual-use solutions—technologies or products that can be used for both civilian and military applications.