Christophe
Thelen

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CTO in residence
from Belgium 🇧🇪

Neverending hunger for knowledge, shy from the spotlight

Building software products and great teams is difficult. That's where Christophe shines with his empathy for individuals, team dynamics, and what the business actually needs. He has worked on scheduling products all his professional career and is probably one of the few who actually enjoys scheduling challenges. His drive is building long-term strategies and helping teams become proficient at executing them.

Which is the prettiest country you ever visited?
Definitely Norway. I was there during a short holiday while studying abroad in Sweden.

What is your superpower?
Zooming in and out of problems. Never forgetting the big picture while being able to go into detail when needed

Who is your biggest source inspiration?
To this day, my first manager is the one who inspired me to grow and get out of my comfort zone. Generally, I am inspired by as many angles as possible.

About Christophe

Base: Belgium
Studies: Bachelor in Software engineering
Passions: Lego, golf, DIY

Expertises

High performance teams
Coaching
Software Architecture
Team processes

Articles by Christophe

Show me the way: engineering demo 101

Leadership

Processes

Team dynamics

Engineering demos fail when they present what was built instead of why it matters. A practical guide to leading with business impact, showing the happy path, and translating technical work into terms your audience actually uses.

Your network isn’t as safe as you think

Engineering

Ideas

Tooling

Cheap consumer devices from Amazon and BestBuy ship with factory-installed malware and botnet software. The Zero Trust principle isn’t paranoia; it’s the only safe assumption for any network you don’t fully control.

Be a lobster

Leadership

Ideas

Team dynamics

The processes that got you here will eventually constrain you. Like a lobster shedding its shell, scaling companies must periodically dismantle what worked intentionally, not in panic. Constraints aren’t a failure; they’re proof you’ve outgrown your current structure.

Read 150+ more articles