Koen Breyne facilitates peer groups for Product Management Leaders, Supply Chain & Logistics Leaders, CPOs, Customer Service & Success Managers, Facility Managers, and Corporate Communication Directors. With an MBA from VUB and a career that took him from account manager to general manager and country manager across multiple sectors, he now works as a team coach – connecting people’s behavior to their motivations and turning those insights into action. In the room, he listens as much as he speaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My entire career has been in sales – from account manager to sales director, general manager, and country manager in different companies and sectors. That experience means I can quickly picture what peers are talking about when they bring a challenge to the table. It helps me rephrase and sharpen the real issue: what is it actually about? Today, as a team coach, I also pay close attention to body language and make sure everyone gets a chance to participate – not just the loudest voices in the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Guests who walk into one of my peer group meetings typically describe it as open, respectful, and safe. That doesn’t happen by accident. I work with a structured approach to make sure we tackle the themes that peers actually care about. When someone uses jargon or an abbreviation I don’t fully understand, I ask – that alone signals that no question is too basic. And when someone shares something delicate or says it in an awkward way, I make sure the room stays respectful. People need to feel they are not alone in their challenges, and that their peers are not necessarily further ahead \u2014 just differently experienced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being a Chair gives me personal energy – it doesn’t cost me anything, it fills me up. I get to guide a group of intelligent people, challenge them, and create an environment where they genuinely thrive. What drives me is simple: seeing people put to their strengths. More than once, someone has walked into a meeting torn between two options – should I do this, or rather that? By listening to peers who have no personal stake in the answer, they get honest, unbiased input grounded in real experience. That’s the moment I think: this is exactly what a peer group can do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"