Connector of Talent and Success 💼 | Empowering Businesses to Thrive through People | Culture Growth Strategist | Coach | Writer | HR leader | #1 LinkedIn Belgium | Top #150 LinkedIn 🌍

Who I help: Ambitious introverts and people-first companies

Problems: Visibility without burnout, quiet leadership, culture that enables deep work

Outcomes: Promotions, role transitions, retention, high-trust cultures

STRATEGIC HR LEADER AND COACH WITH HANDS-ON APPROACH AIMING FOR THE BEST EMPLOYEE/BUSINESS EXPERIENCE - INTROVERT ADVOCATE

International HR Executive passionate about the link between employee experience and business dynamics. Combining a strong focus on strategic thinking and planning with a structured and factual hands-on approach. A positive well connected team coach with a natural sense of empowering team members in a spirit of challenge, learning and mutual recognition. Sound decision making capabilities based on critical reflections within companies focusing on innovation, change, digital transformation and learning.

A. Group HR Director Alter Pharma (200 FTE - BE/IRL/US) – private equity backed firm defining & implementing HR strategy (from strategy to operations) including definition of mission/vision/strategy & values.
B. Global HR Business Partner BU Kerley international/Tessenderlo Group (+/-300 employees - 11 countries) developing/transforming key HR processes (talent resource planning, talent acquisition, performance management, competency management, learning, reward,..) - HR project lead new factory Rouen, France. 
C. Global HR Executive SWIFT (+/- 3.000 employees in +25 countries) transforming/coaching business and HR into new ways of (digital) working/thinking to improve the employee and business experience 
D. Global Head of Reward Tessenderlo Group (+/- 5.000 employees in +25 countries) - strategic development/transformation reward strategy
E. Development new holistic performance management framework for Tessenderlo Group, including full implementation recognition stream.
F. HR Project Manager : move of the Chiquita EME Headquarters from Belgium to Switzerland (social plan negotiations, c&b setup, recruitment, mobility, new policy/process design,...)

Professional coaching certification Better Minds at Work               2018 - 2019
Centre for Creative Leadership - senior leadership program           Q1-2 2018
Management Development Programme Vlerick (17 days)		  2010 - 2011
Strategic Compensation & Benefits Management, Vlerick 		  2007      
Master degree in Law&Taxation, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven    1997 - 1998

Steven Claes

This visual stopped me mid-scroll.

Not because it was poetic.
Because it was accurate.

For 20 years as CHRO, I sat across from introverts who apologized for being exactly this.

For needing silence after back-to-back meetings.
For choosing one real conversation over five surface-level ones.
For slipping out before the small talk started.

Last year, a senior director asked me permission to skip the team dinner.

He thought I'd mark him as "not a team player."

I told him I'd been doing the same thing for two decades.

What most people get wrong about us:

They confuse selectivity with coldness.
Solitude with sadness.
Quiet with empty.

All three are dead wrong.

What work actually taught me:

→ Selectivity is a self-management skill
Choosing fewer interactions protects your best thinking. Not coldness.

→ Solitude is a recharge, not a retreat
The best boardroom decisions? Made by someone who sat alone with the problem first.

→ Quiet is not empty. It is focused.
That depth is a career advantage most never develop because they're too busy performing.

The quiet life is not a consolation prize.
It is a chosen one.

And if you are in an introvert's inner circle, know this.
You were not a convenience.
You were a deliberate choice.

That is quiet confidence in action.

Which line on the visual hit you the hardest?

♻️ Repost to help a fellow introvert feel seen

Introversion isn't a bug. It's an operating system. I spent years apologizing for who I am.

Too quiet. Too reserved. Too much "in my head."

I tried to fix myself.
Fake energy. Forced small talk. Endless networking events that drained me by Tuesday.

Then something shifted.

I stopped treating introversion as a bug to fix.
And started seeing it as my operating system.

My quiet? It's deep listening.
My reserved? It's strategic thinking.
My "in my head"? It's where the best ideas live.

20+ years as a CHRO taught me this:
The leaders who know how they're wired outperform those who fight it.

Every time.

So I wrote this on my whiteboard.
As a reminder.
As a declaration.

I'm done apologizing.

And if you've ever felt like you needed to become someone else to succeed, I see you.

♻️ Repost for the introvert in your network who needs to hear this.

📩 These are the daily techniques that helped me stop fighting my wiring:
https://lnkd.in/eSdKpkMs

Elangovan Perumal, PMP®

Senior Director | Customer Success Advocate | Strategic Thinker with an Optimistic Attitude | ✅ Follow for Leadership & Strategy Insights

I work at the intersection of 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲, 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐈-𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.

In my corporate role, I operate in 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲-𝐭𝐨-𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬, helping leadership teams translate intent into 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬 — clarifying outcomes, sequencing initiatives, and ensuring execution scales sustainably across the enterprise.

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐈 𝐀𝐦
I’m a Senior Director with 18+ years of experience across 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐓 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, spanning 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 & 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐁𝐅𝐒𝐈 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 & 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.

I’m known for bridging business intent with technology execution, especially in organizations navigating:

•	Enterprise-scale change
•	AI-First transformation journeys
•	Growth, integration, or operating-model redesign

I often work close to executive leadership, acting as a 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲–𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫 to structure ambiguity into clear programs, portfolios, and outcomes.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐝 & 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝

•	Enterprise and Global Program & Portfolio Management (PgMO)
•	𝐀𝐈-𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬 at scale
•	Operating models, governance structures, and execution playbooks
•	Cross-geo teams aligned to business outcomes rather than activity metrics

𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭

•	Built PMO, Quality Engineering, HR, Business Operations, and Talent functions from the ground up
•	Designed and Scaled delivery centre (200+ team members) by 350%, contributing to a $𝟏𝟕𝐌 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
•	Coached 50+ managers into leadership roles.

𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐞
Alongside my enterprise work, I engage in 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 for experienced managers and mid-career professionals — particularly those navigating growth, visibility, and transition.

I’m also exploring pathways toward 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩, with interests in 𝐄S𝐆 (𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥, 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞) and long-term value creation.

I’m open to conversations with:
•	𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 driving enterprise-scale AI and Transformation Initiatives
•	𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 seeking clarity in leadership direction and career growth 

If the conversation is thoughtful, I'm happy to engage.

Head of Business Transformation Services

Worked closely with leaders across different geographies in designing, leading and implementing internal business programs of varying size and complexity

Performed rapid assessment of landscape for clients and provide insights to accelerate action towards refining their current state

Driven decision making and be the trusted advisor to the stakeholders

Brought diverse and thought-provoking perspective to transformations, including market trends, new and innovative ideas from my experience and organizational points of view

Explored and co-created solutions that address the needs of clients

Driven and built upon a culture of continuous improvement by developing innovative ideas 

Developed detailed project plans, anticipate risks and plan mitigations ahead of time

Effectively collaborated with multiple and diverse set of stakeholders in a global environment

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Steven Claes

Elangovan Perumal, PMP®

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Elangovan Perumal, PMP®

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