ROZINA SPINNOY –BELGIUM DESIGN COUNCIL, BIDS BELGIUM & DESIGN2STYLE
Rozina combines her academic background in Design and passion for Design thinking, as an Entrepreneur running her own small NGO focussing on ‘designing inclusive communities’ and improving districts, with BIDs Belgium over recent years. Collaborating with local and international partners on a variety of projects focussing on community, place and design led, socio-economic regeneration projects. Since leaving corporate world she initially started her own SME Design2Style, a branding and design agency specializing in project management and the renovations of private and commercial renovations, to the more recent initiative of the Belgium Design Council. Primarily focussing on promoting design, creativity, technology as a key levers for change in community and business projects for economic and social growth.
She has varied experience and projects ranging from working in women empowerment, urbanism, inclusive education, societal challenges such as inclusion, diversity, mental health and a keen interest in the trends and technology. A variety branding, concept and design development within the corporate hospitality sector, working with the UK based leading boutique hotel brands, to various of roles in an international multi-brand hotel group, located within the Brussels H.Q for several years.
Passionate about people, she is a keen advocate on women supporting women and you’ll often find her networking at a variety of events, collaborating and talking, which she is rather good at and throughly enjoys.
Rozina champions the value of brand design, design thinking and strategy, as an approach to improving processes, environments, businesses and communities.
Continually advocating the benefits of collaborative creative community projects, along with the benefits of designing our Districts, Cities and environments. Not afraid to tackle challenging and complex problems, including challenging political systems and traditions, she thrives on sharing her creativity and spreading the word.
www.bids-belgium.com
PHILIP MAHONEY – CEO RIVERSTONE
Philip Mahoney is an experienced all rounder. He has the ‘cocktail mix’ of what it takes to advise on the ambitious BDC projects. Philip will be an instrumental player in the BDC organizational and project strategies.
Philip is Chief Operating Officer at Riverstone where he uses his knowledge of luxury hotels to ensure the very best resident experience. He has thirty years of experience in hotel management, delivering high guest satisfaction levels and revenues at brands including Malmaison, Regent Hotels and the Radisson Hotel Group. Philip combines creativity and commercial acumen across every aspect of the business, including spa and leisure services, food and drink offerings and operations resulting in hotels listed amongst Conde Nast magazine’s finest. Philip likes spending time with family, cooking, travel and eating out and would appreciate more time for golf, reading, tennis, squash and diving.
As an E3 Board Advisor, with his expertise he will keep the BDC Clients and Partners on their toes. His ‘no messing’ straight talking mixed with his satirical sense of humour will be an added value for the Belgium Design Council.
ALOK NANDI – ARCHITEMPTO
As a designer, creative director, design strategist, writer-director, he explores conflicting constraints in evolving and hybrid contexts via his design agency Architempo. He is dealing with storytelling in multiple media, space and technologies, from high-tech interactive installations (Extrafiction framework, science museums) to low-tech mise-en-scene. In parallel to strategic design, Alok b. Nandi is active in media art and design, with a focus on interactive mise-en-scene and narrative architecture.
Born in Congo. Raised in Zaire. Based in Brussels.
Background combines engineering, management and film studies.
His previous professional experiences include a.o. advertising (P&G – Procter & Gamble), film production, exhibition design and new media in publishing (Casterman – publisher of a.o. Tintin, groupe Flammarion).
Alok Nandi is a lecturer and invited professor as well as regular speaker at international conferences and events (incl. PechaKucha Tokyo, TEDx Flanders). In parallel, he launched PechaKucha Brussels and initiated the Belgian presence of Interaction Design Association, IxDA. Alok Nandi co-chaired Interaction14 in Amsterdam [ interaction14.ixda.org ] and currently serves on the IxDA Board of Directors (2015-2017).
VINCENT BOYDENS – BRAND & RETAIL SPECIALIST
Vincent started working in the field of architecture and for various companies in competition design and 3D visualisations.
He was involved in building the sites of the Vlerick Campuses, both in Gent and Leuven, as an architectural project manager. He was also responsible for the retail design and several brand launches for a total of 20 brands for L’Oral Luxe Benelux. At the L’Oral’ Paris headquarters he designed the new look for Helena Rubinstein as an international brand & retail designer.
Combining his masters degree in architecture at St-Lucas, a Vlerick MBA in general management, a VIK MBM Master in Building Management and a personal and business coaching degree, combined with his 17 years experience and his creative mind, he now assists companies as an independent creative coach. Matching business and creativity with the brand as a goal in itself.
SARAH LEDJOU
Sarah is a tech maker entrepreneur with a background in urban design. She has a Masters in Smarts Cities and Sustainable Cities from the ULB in Brussels. A Bachelor degree 
in Visual Arts, Visual Arts and Space option Urban Design. She has worked in the field of Makers /Fab Labs as a Community Manager and consultant, based in Brussels. She co-founded the first Fablab within the Academy of Fine Arts, where she studied. Co-ordinated on a Brussels Region funded project on the topic of ‘Solidarity’ in collaboration with a Brussels municipality and other partners, to design an urban place-making project in the public space with citizen engagement and participatory processes. Working on a number of projects throughout recent years with various Fablab throughout the Brussels Region. Including designing animated workshops for the Brussels Region funded ‘Fablab Mobile’ unit.
Sarah is also the CoFounder of B-Sprout Lab in Brussels.