When I first met Inge Van Belle, more than 20 years ago, she was very clear.
“I want to become an ambassador and live outside of Belgium.
No marriage, and I don’t want kids. I want to feel free.
I promised my father I wouldn’t become an entrepreneur.
I love what you do with your Hercules Trophy hobby.
And yes… I also want to be a writer.”
I respected the clarity.
Marriage on a beach in Senegal.
Three kids.
One company built from zero.
A move from Belgium to the UAE.
Two books.
Several board and advisory roles.
And now: Advisor for Economic Diplomacy at the Belgian Embassy in the UAE.
Not the straight line.
The Hobby That Wasn’t
For years, Hercules Trophy was called my “hobby.”
An inter-company team challenge.
Company teams of 5 to 7 players competing in 12 fun team games in a festive atmosphere.
Play together. Work together.
It looked simple from the outside.
Games. Laughter. Community.
What people didn’t always see was the architecture underneath: the ecosystem, the technology, the long-term relationships, the belief that employee engagement is a wicked problem that requires community, not slogans.
That “hobby” became a company.
That company became an ecosystem.
That ecosystem moved across borders.
Entrepreneurship is not the opposite of diplomacy.
It is training in diplomacy.
You learn to negotiate.
You learn to listen.
You learn to survive without burning bridges.
Private Dreams, Public Responsibility
When she received the mandate of Advisor for Economic Diplomacy at the Belgian Embassy in the UAE, I didn’t see a title.
I saw convergence.
Economic diplomacy sits at the intersection of policy, business, and long-term trust.
It requires clarity without rigidity.
Ambition without ego.
Strategy without noise.
I have seen her operate at that intersection for years, in boardrooms, in communities, in conversations between cultures.
What started as a private dream — “I want to become ambassador” — evolved into public responsibility.
Different route. Same core.
The Twist That Matters
We built something bigger than either of us had initially planned.
But here is the lesson in my own human design: Life rewards builders who stay consistent long enough.
Not loud.
Not fast.
Consistent.
You can build a family and take big risks.
You can build a company and contribute at policy level.
You can start in corporate, move into entrepreneurship and arrive in diplomacy.
The worlds connect if you stay in the game long enough.
The Long Game
I often speak about community, engagement, and trust as the new currency.
This milestone is another reminder that none of that is abstract.
It is lived.
Belgium and the UAE both understand something fundamental: small countries thrive by building bridges.
In different ways, that is what we have been building for 25 years – bridges.
Some through games.
Some through books.
Some now through economic diplomacy.
Proud of her.
Proud of us.
Grateful for the detours.
And quietly amused at how life negotiates better than we ever could.
Not the straight line.
But definitely the richer one.