ABOUT TOM BRAEKELEIRS
Technology changes fast. Humans change slow.
That gap is where most organizations get stuck — and that gap is where Tom works.
Tom Braekeleirs is a keynote speaker, professor, and author who helps leadership teams navigate the human side of artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and innovation. He has delivered over 200 keynotes across four continents, for audiences ranging from hospital boards and pharmaceutical companies to banks, retailers, government agencies, and technology firms.
He is a Professor of Digital Medical Technology and AI at Ghent University, a keynote speaker and moderator at Nexxworks, and the founder of NEXXTT.HEALTH. His book 'Acceptable AI' presents a practical framework for building trust in artificial intelligence and has been praised by executives and academics for its clarity and real-world applicability.
Before moving into innovation and speaking, Tom spent 17 years in enterprise technology at companies including Microsoft, Navision, and EDS-AT Kearney. He then led the BlueHealth Innovation Center for eight years, coaching health-tech startups through the messy reality of digital transformation, before it became part of imec.
In 2022, he received the PRoF Award for Innovation for his contribution to advancing digital innovation in healthcare.
His personal motto: "Change the world, or go home!"
What I Speak About
For over 25 years I have worked at the intersection of technology, business, and people. What fascinates me today is not what technology can do — it’s what it does to us. I speak and advise on the human side of technological power, across every industry where leaders are wrestling with AI, transformation, and change.
My keynotes and workshops center around three themes:
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Acceptable AI: How organizations build (and destroy) trust in artificial intelligence. Based on my book and academic research, this talk gives leadership teams a practical framework for moving from AI hype to AI trust. Because the question is no longer "Can AI do this?" but "Should we let it?"
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Future-Ready Leadership: How to prepare your organization for a future you cannot predict. Why traditional strategic planning breaks down in exponential times, and what to replace it with. Rooted in lessons from healthcare — an industry forced to transform overnight — with principles that apply to any sector.
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Innovation That Sticks: Why most digital transformations fail — and it’s seldom the technology. This talk dissects the human dynamics that determine whether change takes root or dies quietly. Storytelling, culture, resistance, and the courage to ask uncomfortable questions.
Who I Work With
I work with executive teams, boards, and policymakers navigating high-impact technological decisions. My audiences come from healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, retail, government, education, and technology. The common thread is not the sector — it’s the challenge: leading people through change they didn’t ask for, powered by technology they don’t fully understand.
I bring three distinct perspectives to every engagement:
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25+ years in enterprise technology and business transformation
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Deep expertise in digital health — the highest-stakes environment for technology trust
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Academic rigor from my assignment on responsible and acceptable AI at Ghent University
What Makes Me Different
I am not an AI evangelist. I am not a fear-monger. I sit in the space between the two — where the real decisions are made. My talks combine academic depth with real-world stories, delivered with warmth, honesty, and a healthy dose of lousy dad jokes.
My most powerful stories come from healthcare, where the stakes are measured in lives. But the lessons are universal. When a banking executive hears how trust in AI was built in a hospital, it reframes their own challenges. When a manufacturing leader learns why a brilliant health-tech startup failed to get adoption, they see their own transformation differently.
"Tom is razor-sharp, maybe with bad humor. But he asks the right questions, that make you think."
~ Matthias De Clercq, co-CEO Nexxworks
Beyond the Stage
I am the author of Acceptable AI (Pelckmans, 2025), available in English and Dutch. I host the HealthNerd podcast, a monthly conversation at the crossroads of healthcare, technology, and entrepreneurship. And I occasionally write about things that keep me up at night as a columnist. On a personal note: happily married with 2 children and a bit of a music fan.
Book Tom
Available for keynotes, moderation, workshops, and advisory sessions. Delivered in English or Dutch. For corporate events, conferences, leadership offsites, board retreats, and executive workshops.
Topics can be tailored to your audience and industry. I’m always happy to schedule a content preparation call before the event to make sure the talk lands exactly where it should.