Innovation and Business Strategy

Jon spent the majority of his career in strategic design consulting at MAYA Design, leading large projects across diverse industries such as healthcare, consumer products, and technology. The role encompassed overseeing teams from the initial concept to the design, testing, and development of groundbreaking new products, services, and business models.

He later served for 8 years on the leadership team at LUMA Institute, an organization dedicated to fostering human-centered teamwork, collaboration, and innovation. In the capacity of Chief Customer Officer, he was responsible for revenue generation, shaping go-to-market strategies, and overseeing delivery operations. The role also involved building and managing customer-facing teams, which included relationship managers as well as a global network of instructors and facilitators.

Katrien Vangheluwe graduated from the University of Kortrijk (Belgium) as an industrial chemical engineer. In various sales and business development roles, she worked for European organisations that specialised in technical equipment and advanced technology.

Taking the plunge into entrepreneurship, Katrien successfully opened and operated her own restaurant, building her business into a well-known, regional successful establishment. Equipped with first-hand experience, Katrien was attracted to helping others with business understanding and knowledge and it was in 1995  that she became involved in business simulations and their direct impact on teaching others the relationship between finance and strategic decisions.

Iele Steen graduated with a Masters in Law and began her career practicing in London.  Her move to Mexico and Singapore led her towards taking a position as a University Trainee in an international bank and it was from there that her desire to truly began. 

Further exploration of educational gaming and business simulation, supported her creation of BalinCa Plus™, a business simulation that reveals the story behind the figures to finance and non-finance professionals alike. Iele’s True North is to demonstrate how every part of a business contributes and creates value to the financial health of the company and it is for this reason that she has successfully consulted and trained all over the world to some of the largest global organisations such as Oracle, Cisco, Apple, Nokia an GE.