Heidi De Pauw

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Heidi De Pauw

Who is Heidi De Pauw?

Heidi De Pauw holds a master's degree in Criminological Sciences from Ghent University. She also holds a postgraduate degree in human and social sciences from the University of Patras (Greece) and a postgraduate degree in Business Administration from EHSAL Brussels.

Her career started at the Ministry of the Interior, where she was responsible for security contracts, drug prevention and mega-dancing. In June 1998, she joined the then newly established Child Focus as a case manager, where she worked on cases involving missing and sexually exploited children. When Child Focus decided to create a new ‘Study & Prevention’ department, she conducted national and European research, published and worked on prevention projects on various topics related to missing and sexually exploited children.

After 7 years at Child Focus, Heidi became Secretary-General of Eurochild, a European network of organisations working against the social exclusion of children. Between 2005 and 2011, she was director of PAG-ASA vzw, a specialised centre for victims of human trafficking.

Since 1 November 2011, she returned to Child Focus, where she holds the position of CEO. Heidi has authored several publications and articles and is often invited as keynote speaker and expert on human rights, child rights, safety, human trafficking, sexually exploited and missing children, and (female) impactful leadership. She is also active in several coaching and mentoring programmes for young leaders and talents.

Board positions and other mandates:

  • Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Assembly of Minor Ndako & Juna vzw, a shelter for unaccompanied minors and child victims of trafficking;
  • Special Representative to the Royal Palace (current position) and former Deputy President of Missing Children Europe, the European Federation for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children (mandate according to the articles of association terminated at the end of 2021);
  • Member of the General Assembly of MCE;
  • Founding member and vice-president of Antwerp Diamonds Football Club;
  • Vice-chairman of the Queen Paola Foundation;
  • Member of the Lotto Super League Businessboard;
  • Member of the General Assembly of PAG-ASA vzw, a specialised centre for victims of human trafficking;
  • Commander in the Order of the Crown.
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    Leadership: from Dream to Impact (possibly if about leadership) by analogy with my book (if about impact/worldview): Between Abomination and Hope

    Leadership in the human interest sector is still viewed somewhat pityingly...yet here too, terms like P&L, branding, marketing etc are not foreign. Unlike the for-profit sector, our activities have a direct impact on the elves of those involved ie children and young people and their loved ones. In this keynote, I will walk through my career path and reflect on how I turned a dream into reality, how the path to impact is often treacherous and bumpy, how strategy cannot be limited to a piece of paper...in short, how I succeeded in making Child Focus the best-known not-for-profit brand in Belgium, the brand in which Belgians have the most confidence, how the 80% private funding was realised, how we manage to be increasingly relevant and ‘incontournable’ for the importance of children and young people in today's rapidly evolving world. A story of agility, impact, resilience, decisiveness and perseverance...