Belgium’s hospitals and healthcare institutions operate in one of the most complex cybersecurity environments in Europe. Highly sensitive patient data, life-critical systems, legacy medical technology, and increasing regulatory pressure under frameworks such as NIS2 place enormous responsibility on security leadership. The CISOs and senior cybersecurity leaders featured here play a vital role in safeguarding clinical operations, enabling digital healthcare innovation, and ensuring trust across Belgium’s healthcare ecosystem.
Paul Henon — Chief Information Security Officer, AZ Alma
Paul Henon is the Chief Information Security Officer at AZ Alma, where he supports the hospital’s cybersecurity maturity through a strong focus on governance, resilience, and organizational improvement. With a background as an interim manager and strategic cybersecurity expert, Paul brings hands-on experience in IT service management, regulatory alignment, and security frameworks such as ISO 27001 and NIS2. His work emphasizes strengthening operational security while helping healthcare organizations become better structured, more resilient, and better prepared for evolving cyber risks.
Ignace Hemeryck — Chief Information Security Officer, University Hospital Ghent (UZ Gent)
Ignace Hemeryck serves as Chief Information Security Officer at UZ Gent, where he is responsible for leading and managing cybersecurity initiatives within one of Belgium’s largest academic hospitals. His role focuses on overseeing security governance and advisory functions, ensuring that complex healthcare projects are supported by risk-based security requirements. Ignace brings deep experience in managing multidisciplinary security teams and aligning cybersecurity strategy with both clinical and research-driven hospital environments.
Wouter Danckaert — Chief Information Security Officer, Jessa Ziekenhuis
Wouter Danckaert is the Chief Information Security Officer at Jessa Ziekenhuis, where he has built on a long and deep tenure within the organization. Having spent more than two decades as an IT applications engineer before stepping into the CISO role, Wouter brings extensive institutional knowledge of hospital systems, workflows, and clinical applications. His background enables him to bridge operational IT, patient safety, and information security, ensuring that cybersecurity initiatives are pragmatic, sustainable, and aligned with day-to-day hospital operations.
Frederic Pampalone — Chief Information Security Officer, CHC Groupe
Frédéric Pampalone is the Chief Information Security Officer at CHC Groupe, where he defines and implements the organization’s cybersecurity strategy across a complex healthcare environment. His responsibilities include cyber risk management, regulatory compliance, securing interconnected healthcare systems, and guiding incident response efforts. Frédéric also places strong emphasis on cybersecurity awareness and close collaboration with IT and business teams, ensuring that security practices support both patient care and operational continuity.
Olivier Bruylandt — Chief Information Security Officer, CHU Brugmann
Olivier Bruylandt serves as Chief Information Security Officer at CHU Brugmann, where he leads the hospital’s cybersecurity governance and NIS2 compliance efforts. His role spans security maturity assessments, risk mapping across IT and OT environments, incident management, and executive reporting. With experience ranging from technical architecture to enterprise and data governance, Olivier is actively involved in transforming organizations, strengthening security culture, and guiding hospitals through complex regulatory and operational change.
Kurt Gielen — Chief Information Security Officer, Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg
Kurt Gielen is the Chief Information Security Officer at Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg, bringing extensive leadership experience from prior roles as IT Manager and Head of IT within the same organization. His background covers IT operations, infrastructure, cloud architecture, budgeting, and change management. As CISO, Kurt leverages this broad operational foundation to align cybersecurity strategy with hospital-wide digital transformation, ensuring resilience, scalability, and continuity of care.
Laurie-Anne Bourdain — Chief Information Security Officer, UMC Sint-Pieter
Laurie-Anne Bourdain is the Chief Information Security Officer at UMC Sint-Pieter, with a professional background spanning cybersecurity, data protection, and enterprise risk management. She brings experience from both the financial and public sectors, which informs her structured and governance-driven approach to healthcare security. Laurie-Anne focuses on aligning cybersecurity practices with regulatory requirements while supporting secure, efficient hospital operations.
José-Antonio Piñeiro — Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, Groupe Hospitalier CHIREC
José-Antonio Piñeiro serves as Deputy Chief Information Security Officer at Groupe Hospitalier CHIREC, following a long and distinguished tenure within the organization. Having progressed through roles in biomedical technology, infrastructure, networks, innovation, and IT leadership, he brings decades of hands-on experience in hospital technology environments. His deep institutional knowledge allows him to support cybersecurity strategy with a strong understanding of clinical systems, infrastructure evolution, and long-term operational needs.
Peter Asnong — Chief Information Security Officer, Wit-Gele Kruis Limburg
Peter Asnong is the Chief Information Security Officer at Wit-Gele Kruis Limburg, where he combines information security leadership with deep technical expertise in middleware and system administration. His background includes extensive experience in healthcare IT environments, integration platforms, and enterprise systems. In his role, Peter focuses on securing critical healthcare services while ensuring that underlying technical platforms remain stable, compliant, and resilient.
Securing the Future of Belgian Healthcare
Cybersecurity leadership in Belgian healthcare goes far beyond technology—it is about protecting patients, enabling clinicians, and sustaining trust in essential public services. The CISOs and security leaders highlighted here demonstrate how deep domain knowledge, long institutional experience, and pragmatic governance can strengthen resilience in one of the most demanding sectors. As hospitals continue their digital transformation, these leaders will remain central to safeguarding Belgium’s healthcare systems for years to come.