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Kris Maes — IT vendor management & sourcing

Senior IT sourcing and vendor management leader with 15+ years driving category strategy, RFx execution, contract negotiation and multi-vendor governance across life sciences, FMCG, automotive, logistics and telecom.

Full profile on LinkedIn → Request CV
Profile

Trusted right hand to the CIO

I work at the point where technology strategy, supplier commercials and operating model meet. That has meant sitting on CIO leadership teams, owning full IT vendor portfolios, and leading the sourcing track of transformation programmes measured in hundreds of millions of euro.

Proven delivery on OPEX portfolios of €300M+ and transformation programmes exceeding €200M, with full lifecycle ownership from category strategy through contracting, transition and performance management. Comfortable in matrixed, multi-region environments — and effective at getting IT, Finance, Legal, Security and Procurement aligned behind one supplier strategy.

At a glance

  • RoleDirector, Kris Maes Consulting BV
  • BasedBelgium — working globally
  • FocusSourcing · Procurement · Vendor Management
  • SectorsBiotech · FMCG · Automotive · Logistics · Telecom · Advisory
  • LanguagesDutch (native) · English (fluent) · French (good) · German (notions)
Experience

Selected engagements

Fifteen years of vendor-side and client-side work, across sectors with very different risk profiles.

  • 2021 — Present
    Freelance IT Leader / CIO Advisory
    Kris Maes Consulting BV Independent
    • CIO-level advisory on IT strategy, roadmap, portfolio governance, vendor management and operating-model design.
    • Lead RFx, contract negotiations and service integration across infrastructure, software, cloud, networking and telecom.
  • 2021 — Present
    IT SPVM Senior consultant & Service Line Leader
    Leadout Solutions Consultancy
    • Lead the SPVM service line across all engagement, having P&L, service portfolio and people leadership responsibility.
    • Responsible for strategic client and service delivery.
  • 2021 — 2026
    (External) Head of ITS Sourcing, Procurement & Vendor Management
    Galapagos NV Life Sciences / Biotech
    • Embedded on the CIO leadership team with end-to-end accountability for the IT vendor portfolio and the outsourcing transformation agenda.
    • Shaped and executed the multi-year shift to an outsourced delivery model — infrastructure managed services, AMS and SI partners — from vendor selection through transition governance to post-go-live performance.
    • Built the multi-vendor governance framework (SLAs, KPIs, scorecards, performance reporting) that maintained service continuity through restructuring, M&A and divestiture TSA execution.
    • Aligned IT spend to budget (AOP/LRP) and delivered structured cost-optimisation plans.
    • Coordinated contract frameworks and platform integrations with research software vendors including Schrödinger, Revvity, Benchling, Genedata and Biovia.
  • 2025 — 2026
    Vendor Governance Lead
    Toyota Motor Europe Automotive
    • Transforming ways of working with IT service providers and consolidating the supplier landscape into strategic vendor relationships.
    • Establishing vendor operations: spend reporting, contract review, structured purchasing process and a performance management cadence.
  • 2021
    Sourcing & Onboarding Lead
    Katoen Natie Logistics
    • Managed business requirements, vendor selection, contracting and onboarding for a specialty SaaS Terminal Operating System.
  • 2018 — 2021
    Senior IT Vendor Manager
    Coca-Cola European Partners FMCG
    • Led strategic vendor and asset management across tier-1 ERP, cloud and infrastructure platforms at one of Europe's largest FMCG manufacturers.
    • Primary lead on a €200M+ enterprise technology transformation — sourcing strategy, RFP/RFI execution, contract negotiation and delivery governance.
    • Advised the VP Vendor Management and CIO on supplier rationalisation; orchestrated cross-enterprise governance with C-level, Finance, Security, Legal and Procurement.
  • 2017 — 2018
    Senior Manager, Global Risk Advisory
    Deloitte Northwest Europe Advisory
    • Built the Software Asset Management go-to-market across NL/Nordics and coordinated delivery across complex client engagements.
  • 2016 — 2017
    Software Asset Manager, CIO Office
    Telia Company (SE/FI) Telecom
    • Defined software risk governance, led audits and negotiations, optimised licence usage and supported SaaS/cloud transition initiatives.
  • 2010 — 2016
    Manager, Contract Risk & Compliance
    Deloitte Advisory
    • Programme-managed large EMEA software audit engagements (IBM, HPE); led a virtual team of ~10 FTE; advised on SAM compliance and tooling alliances.

Areas of expertise

  • Strategy & roadmap — multi-year IT strategy, demand and portfolio governance, investment prioritisation
  • Sourcing & vendor — category strategy, RFI/RFP/RFQ, negotiation, multi-vendor and SI governance
  • Delivery & service — IT service management, SLAs, KPIs, scorecards, escalation, continuity
  • Financials — AOP/LRP budgeting, OPEX/CAPEX control, savings tracking, QBRs
  • Leadership — C-level advisory, cross-functional alignment, mentoring

Categories covered

  • Professional services
  • Software & SaaS
  • ERP
  • Infrastructure & cloud
  • Data centre
  • Managed services
  • AMS & helpdesk
  • Telecom & network
  • R&D / discovery platforms
Credentials

Education, certifications and contribution

Education

  • Master in Commercial Sciences — IT Management, Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel (2009)
  • Bachelor in Applied Informatics — Industrial Informatics, Erasmushogeschool Brussel (2007)

Certifications & frameworks

  • ITIL v3 Foundation · COBIT v5 Foundation · PRINCE2 Foundation
  • Six Sigma Yellow Belt
  • IAITAM Certified Software Asset Manager
  • ServiceNow Certified SAM Professional & System Administrator
  • Microsoft Azure Fundamentals · Power Platform Fundamentals
  • SNOW SAM · Flexera

Looking for a fuller picture?

The complete CV is available on request, and the LinkedIn profile carries the ongoing detail.

Request CV → LinkedIn