Leadership Team

Appointed Laborelec CEO in March 2024, Luc comes to the post after heading up Research at the ENGIE Group’s Research & Innovation. With a Master’s in Industrial Engineering Sciences from KAHO Ghent (now KU Leuven ), Luc began his career at Tractebel Engineering designing high voltage overhead lines and substations, and engineering for thermal and nuclear power plants. Next, he moved to renewables, overseeing wind farm development in Europe, South-America and Asia. By 2016, he headed the Wind, Hydro and Geothermal activities in ENGIE’s Centralised Generation Métier, where he was responsible for ENGIE’s installed capacity of renewables worldwide. Luc is a passionate pathfinder pushing the boundaries of the energy transition further every single day.

For Luc the unique combination of top-notch experts and engineers, with high-end research and test labs, is a true playground to offer real bottom line impact to our clients. Navigating this fabulous ship of progress is a true gift and a pleasure to do.

In a true collaborative manner, Luc encourages the teams to keep thinking differently and challenge the as-is, preferably with a little edge to keep things interesting. At the core of everything, he wants to see trust, engagement, respect and care ruling the exchanges.

His steadfast focus remains on delivering affordable, reliable, and sustainable electrical power for all, because, for Luc, driving the energy transition is ultimately about making the world a better and cleaner place to live, today and for generations to come.

In 2025, Françoise Sotiau took charge of Laborelec’s Materials & Nuclear Business Line, bringing with her more than 25 years of experience in the energy sector across finance, strategy, operations, and innovation. A graduate of the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (Université libre de Bruxelles), she holds a degree in Business Engineering with a specialization in Finance, awarded magna cum laude.

Françoise has held a wide range of leadership roles across ENGIE, including Chief Financial Officer and Director of Strategy, Innovation, and Procurement at Laborelec, and Director of ENGIE Sun4Business, where she developed and managed a portfolio of 60 MW of solar projects for B2B clients in Belgium. Her career has taken her across Europe, leading multicultural teams and driving performance in areas such as distributed generation, energy management, and facility services.

At Laborelec, Françoise now leads a team of more than 70 experts and several specialized laboratories, covering key domains such as failure analysis, nuclear chemistry and decommissioning, ageing and qualification, non-destructive testing, and instrumentation. She is passionate about combining technical excellence with strategic insight to deliver high-impact solutions for the energy transition. For Françoise, empowering teams, fostering innovation, and building trust-based partnerships are essential to shaping a more resilient and sustainable energy future.

Since July 2025, Nathalie Carmeliet has been leading Human Resources & Communication at ENGIE Laborelec, drawing on over two decades of experience in talent development and organizational transformation.. With a Master’s in Sociology focused on Human Resources Management from Université libre de Bruxelles, and a degree in English-German translation, she combines analytical depth with a strong sense of human connection.

Nathalie’s journey at ENGIE spans more than 20 years, where she held key roles in learning and development, talent management, and HR business partnering across diverse business units. From coaching and career development to distributed leadership and well-being, she has consistently championed people-centric strategies that empower teams and drive performance. Her work has supported international operations in energy management, generation, and innovation.

At Laborelec, Nathalie sees HR and Communication as powerful levers to shape a culture of engagement, agility, and shared purpose. She fosters an environment where people feel seen, heard, and supported – believing that when individuals thrive, organizations flourish. For Nathalie, building a resilient and inclusive workplace is not just a goal, it’s a responsibility toward a more sustainable future.

Xavier Henry serves as Chief Financial Officer at Laborelec, where he oversees the company’s strategic steering, performance management, ethics, compliance, and procurement functions. With a strong foundation in both engineering and business, Xavier holds a degree in chemical engineering from the Faculty of Applied Sciences in Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, and an MBA from Vlerick Business School.

He began his career at Total as an operations engineer, gaining hands-on experience in petrochemical processes. In 2007, he joined Laborelec as a specialist in flue gas treatment, CCUS, and thermal processes, contributing to several international environmental engineering projects with Tractebel.

Over the years, Xavier has held several leadership roles at ENGIE Laborelec, including spearheading the development of SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) service offerings and leading the company’s major organizational restructuring in 2015. Since joining the Leadership Team in 2017, he has significantly expanded Laborelec’s international footprint and driven product innovation, aligning technical excellence with strategic business growth and financial performance.

In 2025, Xavier was appointed Chief Financial Officer, a role that capitalizes on his broad experience and strategic leadership skills to drive financial governance and sustainable value creation across the organization.

Femke Flachet currently leads Laborelec’s Business Line for Renewables, Storage & Decentralised Flexibility, a position she took on in mid-2025. Her focus is on accelerating the energy transition by integrating cutting-edge technologies and fostering collaboration across disciplines. With a strong belief in the value of multidisciplinary approaches, she guides teams working on innovative solutions in solar, wind, battery systems, and flexible grid operations.

Prior to this, Femke served as Director of Laborelec’s Nuclear Business Line from 2021 to 2025, where she oversaw a broad portfolio including nuclear chemistry, ageing and qualification, instrumentation, and collaborative research. She joined Laborelec in 2017 as a Senior Project Leader and quickly advanced to Lab Manager, demonstrating her ability to lead with both technical depth and strategic vision. Her career began at the Doel Nuclear Power Station in 2005 as a reactor engineer, later heading the fuel manipulations team and managing fuel assembly procurement for both Doel and Tihange. In 2014, she joined ENGIE’s international nuclear projects department, supporting new unit developments in the UK and Turkey.

Femke holds a Master’s in Nuclear Engineering from Ghent University and a Master’s in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Antwerp. For her, driving the energy transition means combining technical excellence with curiosity, trust, and the courage to challenge conventional thinking, qualities she brings to every initiative she leads.

François Thoumsin leads Site Infrastructure & QHSE at ENGIE Laborelec as Business Driver Director. In this role, which he took on in 2025, he oversees the integrity, safety, and sustainability of Laborelec’s facilities and operations, while supporting technical excellence across the organization. From 2022 to 2025, François directed Laborelec’s Power & Infrastructure Business Line, where he led a team of over 100 experts delivering operational technical assistance and applied research for conventional power plants and industrial clients.

With a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Health & Safety from the University of Liège, François has built a 28-year career within the ENGIE Group, spanning operations, strategy, and leadership. He began by managing maintenance and operations at coal, gas, hydroelectric, and pumped-storage plants in Belgium and Luxembourg. His focus later shifted to renewables, where he served as CEO and Chairman of Wind4Flanders and as General Manager Renewable Energy BeLux, overseeing the development, financing, and operation of large-scale wind and solar projects.

François has also played a key role in shaping Belgium’s energy communities and renewable financing models. As part of ENGIE’s transformation, he joined EQUANS as a Divisional Manager in the Smart Buildings Business Unit, driving innovation in energy services and digital solutions. Throughout his career, François has combined technical expertise with strategic leadership, always guided by a commitment to performance, safety, and the energy transition.

Olivier Vandelaer took on the role of Director Digital & IT at ENGIE Laborelec in January 2023, following several years of executive leadership across human resources, cybersecurity, and digital transformation. With a Master’s in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Liège, Olivier blends scientific insight with a deep understanding of organizational systems and technology. Alongside his role at Laborelec, Olivier also holds dual responsibilities as Chief HR and Chief Information Officer at ENGIE Research & Innovation.

His career began in IT consulting, supporting major European clients in designing and operating complex digital landscapes. In 2009, he joined Electrabel as IS Service Manager, overseeing delivery of key business applications including extranets, intranets, and data warehousing. Within three years, he was leading one of ENGIE’s IS delivery centers, managing international teams and critical systems for revenue and contract management.

Olivier later became Head of Strategy for the Benelux business unit, and in 2017 joined Laborelec’s Executive Committee. Over the years, he has held multiple leadership roles at Laborelec, covering HR, communication, marketing, and cybersecurity. He also served as Chief HR and CIO at ENGIE Research & Innovation, where he helped shape the group’s digital and organizational evolution. For Olivier, driving transformation means aligning people, technology, and purpose to deliver lasting impact.