Veerle Soetewey is a professional process architect and subject matter expert on facility design and construction in the pharmaceutical, biotech and food industries. She focuses on cell and gene therapies and novel foods. She has more than 30 years of experience in delivering services and products to these industries. Experience in a large number of fields enables her to approach facility design in an eclectic way, merging multiple needs and variables into a spot-on result. Staying abreast of industry trends and advances, Veerle is often involved in first-of-their-kind technology platforms and facilities. 

“VILS creates an environment that enables people to grow in their professional role and become excellent performers,” Veerle says. “Thanks to our team of experts, VILS has become a major-league player in the life science industry. 

“By clearly and deeply understanding the needs and processes of our clients, VILS can offer a ‘first time right’ design, thus reducing design-and-build lead times, which significantly contributes to project success.”

With a career spanning over 30 years – including 18 in the life science industry – Sven has held diverse roles across his own ventures, start-ups, scale-ups, and more established, publicly listed organizations. With a background in IT, he has always had a passion for designing smart processes, inspiring people to embrace change, and helping organizations evolve and grow. He brings a strong entrepreneurial background – from hands-on experience in sales and marketing, to the implementation of systems, processes, and software, and ultimately building and leading his own Life Sciences company. These experiences enable him to translate strategic vision into scalable operations, tailor-made for a growth-focused environment like VILS.

“What energizes me most about working at VILS is the culture created by our experts,” Sven says. “It’s based on a sharp focus on ‘just the essentials,’ a shared drive to meet deadlines without compromises, and a clear understanding that strong, process-driven design shapes effective facilities. Facility follows process.

“These are the pillars of successful execution and change, and they resonate deeply with how I lead and contribute to this fast-evolving company, alongside a team that shares the same mindset and ambition.”

Geert is a professional building engineer and Project Director for facility design and construction in the pharmaceutical, biotech and food industry. 

He has over 30 years of experience in designing and building multidisciplinary projects. Experience as contractor, engineer, and end-client in all different types of multidisciplinary projects (labs, cleanrooms, datacenters, logistics, automated warehouses, etc.) enables him to define optimal approaches in terms of planning, budget and quality and to execute projects that fully satisfy the client. 

For Geert, smooth collaboration is key to success. “It is very satisfying to execute complex projects with a strong team and reliable partners and do it in a joint team effort with the same goal in mind. This determines the success of the project.”

Yves Vermeulen is a highly experienced Project Director with over 25 years of expertise in the design and execution of facilities for the pharmaceutical, biotech, and food industries. His work increasingly focuses on emerging technologies such as Cell and Gene Therapies and Novel Foods. 

With a strong track record in GMP-regulated environments and both EPC and EPCM project delivery, Yves helps translate user and process requirements into integrated, compliant, and future-oriented facility solutions. His technical insight and structured approach support successful outcomes across a wide range of complex capital projects. 

Yves is known for keeping project teams aligned on the right priorities, ensuring that delivery stays on schedule, within budget, and to the required quality standards. His leadership style emphasizes clarity, collaboration, and a steady focus on results. 

“At the end of the day, it’s about making sure the team stays aligned on the right priorities,” Yves says. “We deliver complex projects on time and to a high standard – one important element of that is maintaining team well-being and a ‘one team, one goal’ mindset throughout the process.”

Kevin is a professional Process Engineer and subject matter expert for VILS on clean utilities and process equipment within the Pharmaceutical and Biotech industry. He was appointed Head of Engineering mid 2024, managing and supporting our team of engineers. 

He has more than 10 years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector in a number of roles. He is currently working in our Engineering office with turnkey contractor solutions but he has also worked for a number of years on the client side. 

“At VILS, engineers focus on the essentials to ensure delivery within the budget and timeline,” Kevin says. “Each engineer is responsible for an assigned package, from the start of basic design through commissioning and final handover. 

“Having each engineer work from start to finish ensures that we can work efficiently, without losing knowledge or design decisions along the way.”

David is an experienced sales leader who has a deep understanding about the challenges in research, development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. He has over 18 years of experience in sales and key account management in the biopharmaceutical industry.

His experience in working with companies commercializing cell and gene therapies enables him to understand clients’ requirements from a process perspective and offer tailored services to design and build facilities around the production process. By staying up to date with new cell types and modalities now being used to develop life saving treatments around the world, David is well connected to major players in the field. He is eager to share this knowledge with his colleagues at VILS to further tailor the services to the industry’s urgent needs. 

The environment at VILS is fast-paced, customer centric and entrepreneurial, he says. “It's a real pleasure to work with such an experienced and knowledgeable team of people who are all focused on finding the best solution for our customers and executing the projects within the committed time and budget.”

Bert Nys is a seasoned Sales Manager with an extensive technical and project management background in BioPharma CAPEX projects. Having worked close to 15 years on all sides of BioPharma CAPEX projects (from contractor to client and finally in design & build engineering), Bert is your partner to translate your needs into a clear pathway towards the solution. 

Providing solutions that enable fast and reliable treatments to patients is a key driver for Bert in his day-to-day job. Especially in the world of cell and gene therapies, where that one dose can have a life-changing impact on patients. 

“VILS brings together a skilled group of process architects, project managers and engineers who can deliver complete facilities with a design-and-build approach in line with our values: A focus on on-time delivery and an insatiable drive to deliver. 

“We take pride in our zero misses for cGMP licenses for our designed facilities, especially given they have been delivered on extremely challenging timelines and stringent budgets.”

Jolien brings a blend of human-centered expertise and business acumen to her role at VILS. With a Master's degree in Communication Sciences, she built the foundation for a career focused on connecting people with opportunities and organizations with talent.

For 15 years, she specialized in recruitment for technical white-collar roles, where she discovered her passion for engineering and construction. This experience enabled her to develop a comprehensive understanding of both talent acquisition and business strategy, combining recruiting expertise with stakeholder and people management skills.

Since joining VILS in 2021, Jolien has evolved from recruiter to HR Manager, with marketing responsibilities added to her portfolio in 2022. “My approach centers on creating alignment between organizational objectives and individual aspirations, ensuring both the company and its employees can thrive together,” Joliden says. “I think it’s the best way to not only meet operational goals but also nurture a fulfilling environment for our team members."

Michele is an expert on Project Controls working on both small- and large-scale EPC and EPCm projects, with focus on Planning, Cost Controls, Progress reporting and Resources management. 

He has almost 15 years of experience in delivering projects in a wide variety of industries. In addition to working in life sciences, his experience includes work in the oil and gas, the nuclear and chemicals sectors. 

His background as Cost Controller and Planner, and his first-hand experience, from large EPC contractors and international clients to smaller engineering offices, guarantees a flexible and scalable all-around knowledge of project management office (PMO) and project controls issues. 

After many years in large-scale EPC projects in the oil and gas and chemicals industries, he has learned the world of Tier 1 life sciences customers and how to bring project controls experience in a scalable way to smaller and larger pharma realities. 

“My motto is to focus on what brings value, understanding what the Client wants and deliver the best value and result with minimum cost and complexity,” Michele says. “I love working with VILS, since it allows me to serve new customers with the same lean, direct approach that I believe in too! 

“My vision is to bring this VILS project’s execution approach to pharma clients and realities, keeping the “right first time” approach of VILS, while continuing to deliver quality solutions which creates value to our customers.”

Xavier brings broad financial expertise and cross-industry insight to his role at VILS. With a Master's degree in Commercial Sciences specializing in Finance, he built his career foundation through diverse consulting assignments that spanned automotive, banking, logistics, food, and pharmaceutical sectors.

For more than five years as a finance consultant, Xavier developed a comprehensive understanding of business operations across multiple industries, working with companies ranging from multinational corporations like BNP Paribas Fortis and Barry Callebaut to specialized firms like Process Automation Solutions NV and Astellas Pharmaceuticals. 

His expertise spans management reporting, financial analysis, budgeting and forecasting, and business controlling – skills he uses to support VILS' design-and-build projects.

"In joining VILS, I found a company with an ambition to grow," Xavier says. "The combination of technical excellence and financial discipline required for our complex biopharmaceutical projects creates the perfect environment to apply my diverse industry experience in service of work that I find truly meaningful."