Lunch and Learn - bio

ir. Alain Wouters is a ‘viability entrepreneur’ who uses integrated, human-centered and
systemic approaches to enable viable enterprise and multiple-win solutions where needed.
An internationally known and experienced expert in group process design & facilitation as
well as applied systems thinking, diagnosing and problem-solving, he uses scenario-based
strategic management processes and other generative and conversational methodologies
to help people work together to anticipate and deal with change and complex problem
situations throughout the world. Invariably, the resulting flow and outcomes are guided
by reason and driven by passion. Since 1992 he has built up extensive worldwide
experience in both private and public sector strategy work, as well as in a growing range
of multi-stakeholder processes in developed and developing countries, including work in
high conflict areas (Burundi, Ivory Coast).

Alain is founder (1994) and Managing Director of Whole Systems (Belgium), a Brusselsbased
international strategic management consultancy. He is also Co-Founder of
Servicepunt Thuiswonen (Netherlands), which aims to enable people to qualitatively live
home longer. Till 2007, he held responsibilities as Partner of FairSights BV (Netherlands),
previously known as Global Business Network Europe. Alain is a Senior Associate with
4Sing GmbH (Germany), Senior Associate of the Centre for Innovative Leadership (Pty)
Ltd (South Africa) and board member of the SistaEnable Foundation (Denmark). He has
served on the WEF’s Global Agenda Council (Switzerland, 2008-2014) and has worked as
Adjunct Professor of Leadership at IEDC Bled School of Management, Postgraduate
Studies (Slovenia, 2013-2015).

In 1998 he co-edited and co-authored the book: “The Millennium Bug: the Year 2000
Computer Problem – Structure, Denial and Actions.” providing systemic perspectives on
the structural features of an archetypal 21st Century problem situation.
Till 1994, Alain Wouters worked as a Senior Analyst on Socio-Political, Economic and
Technological Scenarios in the Group Planning Co-ordination of Shell International
Petroleum Company Ltd. in London. During his seven years with the Royal Dutch/Shell
Group, he has also held various research/development and customer service posts at their
petrochemicals laboratories in the Netherlands and Belgium, where he derived and
generated a lot of satisfaction from applying new paradigms - such as Fractal Geometry,
Chaos Theory and Complexity Science - to understand & solve real world problems.
Before joining Shell in 1987, Alain Wouters was teaching assistant at the Bio-Engineering
Faculty of the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) in Belgium, lecturing on Systems
Analysis, Physical Transport Phenomena, Unit Operations & Food Processing, Statistics,
Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Programming.

Alain Wouters has a M.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering (Magna Cum Laude) from the
Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium (KUL, 1984). He is also “Laureate of the KVIV
Engineers Prize 1984“ and speaks five European languages (native Flemish/Dutch,
French, English, German & Spanish).