MICKAEL GOUDMAEKER

"VISION WITHOUT ACTION IS MERELY A DREAM. ACTION WITHOUT VISION JUST PASSES THE TIME. VISION WITH ACTION CAN CHANGE THE WORLD"
Joel A. Barker
ABOUT ME
I'm an entrepreneur and executive consultant who works with organizations at every scale, from ambitious startups to established multinationals. What brought me here is a simple belief: the organizations that sustain are the ones where people feel something. Not just motivation or targets met, but a sense of purpose, ownership, and belonging.
I've always had this thing where I went beyond what my role asked of me. I showed up for my leaders, my colleagues, the people I worked with, and I stayed present in a way that mattered to them. People knew they could count on me. That's carried through everything. Over the years, I realized that my strength wasn't about having the title or being in charge. It was about being genuinely invested in what people needed, in helping them think through the hard things, in showing up when it counted. That's what built Next to You. I wanted to work in a way that honored that instinct, that made it the centerpiece rather than something I did on the side.
I partner with companies and leaders on what it takes to build from scratch or scale with intention. Strategy, operations, people, growth. I support them to bring clarity and discipline, but also emotional intelligence and a real commitment to the people doing the work. I've built businesses from zero, scaled through critical moments, and learned what makes organizations thrive.
What I work on
Being an entrepreneur means you have to be good at a lot of things. You can't afford to be great at just one. Over the years, that's become my strength. I work across interconnected areas because they have to work together. (My years in luxury hospitality taught me: adapt, stay flexible, and make it work!)
People & culture : I help build/run HR departments and company cultures where people actually feel invested. This covers recruitment, talent strategy, organizational design, and creating an environment where people are seen and their work matters. I spent ten years in recruitment and talent consulting. That taught me the first moment of connection matters. How you bring people in, what you're honest about, who you choose to build with. I've scaled teams from zero to hundreds, and that foundation ripples through everything.
Sales & business development: I spend a lot of time on the commercial side, building sales strategies that work, thinking through market positioning, and helping teams grow revenue sustainably. I've been through the journey of scaling businesses from zero, of building go-to-market strategies that actually move. I understand what it takes to align commercial ambition with operational reality.
Operations & execution : process design, operational rigor, the unglamorous work of making systems that hold. I care deeply about building foundations that don't just work on paper but work for real people doing real work. This is where strategy meets the ground.
Strategy & leadership: thinking through hard decisions with leaders. Not telling them what to do, but helping them see clearly what matters, what's driving decisions, what might be blind spots. I lean into emotional intelligence here, because most strategic decisions aren't really about the numbers. They're about people, fear, hope, and what you're willing to commit to.
I'm also continuously evolving my expertise. I have plans in the coming months to pursue certification in specific legal and compliance areas that will strengthen the strategic and operational support I can offer my clients.
How I work
Next to You is how I show up. Present, involved, committed to what's actually happening. Not an external expert with all the answers, but someone who genuinely cares about the outcome.
I work as a strategic partner or embedded with your team on execution. Sometimes both. What matters is you're not alone, and the work reflects your values, not just your targets.
I'm equally at home in strategy or execution. I can listen carefully and/or I can talk a lot. I can get super excited about ideas, I can challenge when it serves the work, and I can pump the brakes when we need to sit with something. I’ll also ask the questions that matter and I’ll do my best to bring thinking to the table.
What I'm open to
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Full-time or part-time (hybrid flexibility matters to me)
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Day rate, monthly retainer, or project basis
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In some cases, arrangements tied to results
I'm flexible about structure if it's the right fit. So, let's talk !
*** Previous assignment : SISU Group as Managing Director of 2 legal units for few years;
*** Current assignment : WASO SRL (start-up) as CHRO & COO since few months;
CONTACT ME
NEED CLARITY? NEED A PUSH? LET’S TALK !
IT MIGHT JUST CHANGE THE GAME.
PHONE
+32 466 05 62 02