You’re also the Product Owner of FUSE, what’s that all about?  

FUSE or the Future Solutions Engineering Team is a team of engineers dedicated to building visionary solutions that can be implemented for all kinds of projects, off the shelf. It’s an answer to the ever-changing environment our users are working in, where highly flexible out-of-the-box solutions are a more cost-effective alternative to tailored solutions.

Do you have a favorite DataMiner feature or solution?

Call me nostalgic, but I still think the basic features are what really make DataMiner stand out. The ability to alarm and trend any parameter in the system is incredibly powerful, and the options for setting up alarm and trend templates are pretty extensive. It does take a good understanding of these features to use them properly, but once you get the hang of alarm and trend templates, you can really create a lot of value with DataMiner.

You also got to work abroad in Singapore for quite some time. Was it hard to adapt to the culture, being a Belgian born and bred?

I’m really thankful to Skyline for giving me the opportunity to do a long-term assignment and support the team in Singapore. It was hard work, but also an amazing chance to see a completely different part of the world and experience a new culture.

One thing that really stood out to me was how well-organized the public transport was—such a huge difference compared to what we have in Belgium. As for the people, sure, there were some cultural differences, but everyone was so respectful of each other's cultures that it never felt overwhelming or shocking.

What’s the funniest or most unexpected experience you had while living abroad?

Oh, wow. We’ve traveled to so many beautiful places—like Japan, where I had the tastiest peach ever right at Mount Fuji. I even battled appendicitis while abroad.

But the thing that stands out the most definitely was thinking I could handle spicy food, only to find myself completely struggling! And then realizing there were six levels spicier than what I thought was already way too much. Every relative who visited us thought they could handle the spice too, but they all went through the same thing, finally admitting that they could only handle “medium spicy.”

Did you take any souvenirs home from your time abroad?

We took home the most beautiful souvenir possible. Our beautiful daughter, who was conceived abroad. Being a dad is awesome. It’s so fascinating to see our baby girl growing up, and learning new things every single day, like pulling herself up when just a day earlier she was crawling her way through the house.