Tom Antonissen

Experience

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  FEDERAUTO asbl

  Feb 2004 - Jan 2006

  Secretary General / Adviser European Law

  At FEDERAUTO (The Belgian Confederation of Automotive Trade and Repair and Connected Sectors), I worked as Adviser European Law for the Juridical Department of FEDERAUTO (where I performed close monitoring of recent EU legislation and developments, internal and external communication, representation of interests and public relations…).I was made Secretary General of 3 Belgian trade federations (with EU representation):SIGMA - representing Importers of Machinery for Civil Engineering/ ConstructionAGRIMADIS - representing Importers of Agricultural MachineryVEREMABEL - representing Distributors and Repairers of Agricultural Machinery (As such I was responsible for their daily management, the preparation and follow-up of relevant legal and technical matters, consulting and advising, as well as representation towards authorities)I also ensured their representation at European level (as an accredited lobbyist to the European Parliament), resulting in the following additional mandates:For SIGMA: Secretary General of ECED (The European Confederation of Equipment Distributors, www.eced-association.org);For AGRIMADIS: Secretary General of FECIMA (www.fecima.org);For VEREMABEL: EU Affairs Manager of CLIMMAR (www.climmar.com);As Administrator within the Board of Road Federation Belgium (RFB, www.rfbelgium.be - holding a dual mandate from both FEDERAUTO and SIGMA), I represented the RFB in the Executive Committee of the European Union Road Federation (ERF, which I was later asked to join as staff member). Show less

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  EUreSupport srl

  Feb 2005 - now

  European Affairs Adviser

  As a self-employed European Affairs Adviser and lobbyist, I have the good fortune to continuously work with interesting clients and projects at EU level, providing and coordinating in-demand services such as (professional) association management, trade federation representation, lobbying campaigns, EU Funding & Project Management, usually as part of a wider team / secretariat or through affiliation with other Public Affairs companies, Project Management / Innovation consultancies or EU Law firms.My areas of expertise include: Technology, Transport, Mobility, Logistics, Energy, Environment, Competition, International Trade, Internal Market, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), EU Law and more. I live and breathe EU politics!Main references and current client base are kept updated on LinkedIn, more information available upon request. Show less

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  Jausas Abogados - Barcelona

  Jan 2006 - Jan 2006

  EU Affairs Adviser

  I worked as a paralegal adviser to the EU Law and Pharmaceutical departments of this reputed privately held law firm - this was under the Eurodyssee exchange programme for Young Professionals, which allowed me to get my own "expat experience" after which I returned even more motivated and understanding to my native Brussels.

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  European Union Road Federation (ERF), International Road Federation (IRF)

  Aug 2006 - Jan 2008

  Director of Policy & Institutional Affairs

  As an independent EU Affairs Adviser I acted as Director of Policy & Institutional Affairs for the European Union Road Federation (ERF), which was at that time the Brussels Programme Centre of the International Road Federation (IRF). ERF represents the road transport infrastructure sector in Brussels (towards the EU Institutions as well as other stakeholders) and globally. Its main areas are advocating the Socio-Economic Benefits of Roads to Society, the Sustainable Development of the road network, the inclusion of infrastructure-related Road Safety aspects in all phases of road development and maintenance, a proper financial framework to allow new types of (public & private) financing of the road network (through PPPs, Road User Charging, Electronic Toll Collection,...) and the use of technology and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) to optimise the functioning of the existing (and future) road network in Europe (working with EU programmes such as the Galileo Navigation Satellite System). Show less

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  LOGOS Public Affairs

  Jan 2008 - Jun 2011

  Manager Transport Practice

  As Senior Consultant specialised in the Transport and Automotive sectors, I was responsible for Business Development and EU Association Management.During my time with LOGOS, I became Manager of their Transport Practice, and provided clients with insights in the EU's legislative and policy-making procedures, thus helping them advance their interests with professionals tools such as Case Monitoring and Coalition Building.

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  The Association of European Vehicle Logistics (ECG)

  Jul 2011 - Mar 2020

  EU Affairs Adviser

  Established in 1997 in Brussels, ECG (www.ecgassociation.eu) represents over 100 leading finished vehicle logistics companies from 26 countries across Europe, including the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Western Balkans and Turkey. ECG Members provide transport, distribution, storage, preparation and post-production services to automotive manufacturers (OEMs), importers, car rental companies and vehicle leasing operators.Acting as EU Affairs Adviser (previously EU Affairs Manager), my responsibilities included representing ECG towards the EU institutions, media and stakeholders, conducting the Quarterly Cost and Confidence Trend Survey among ECG-members, overseeing the weekly publication ECG News and facilitating the Land Transport and Maritime & Ports Working Groups as well as the twice-yearly East Regional Meetings.As a graduate from the ECG Academy (leading to a Certificate in Automobile Logistics Management from the European Business School in Wiesbaden, now part of KPMG Education), I remain actively involved in its Alumni Meetings as a moderator and previously performed the role of Lecturer in EU Affairs & Lobbying as well as Executive Secretary to the ECG Academy Advisory Group (EAAG). Show less

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  International Road Federation (IRF)

  May 2013 - Nov 2023

  Senior Advisor ITS

  The International Road Federation (www.IRF.global) is a global not-for-profit organization, headquartered in Washington, DC since 1948 and supported by regional offices throughout the world. The IRF serves a network of public and private sector members in more than 70 countries by providing world-class knowledge resources, advocacy services, and continuing education programs which together offer a global marketplace for best practices and industry solutions.I assumed my part-time role in May 2013, although I have over 15 years of experience with the IRF, and road transport policy more generally, focusing in particular on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), Road User Charging (RUC), Road Safety and Infrastructure Management. For instance, I served during several years as a Road Safety Expert for the European Commission (EC), under its Technical Assistance and Information Exchange (TAIEX) facility and continue to support Road Safety activities in the (Western) Balkans region and beyond.My most recent responsibilities included supporting the IRF's program of regional congresses and training workshops in Europe and worldwide, as well as facilitating the activities of the ITS Committee and the RUC Committee. I was closely involved in recent IRF Task Forces, in particular 'Road Adaptation for Autonomous Vehicles' (RAAV) and 'ITS for Climate Impact Mitigation' (ICIM). Show less

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  Akka Technologies

  Mar 2017 - Jan 2023

  EU Affairs Director

  From March 2017 until end December 2022, I served as EU Affairs Director and Public Affairs Adviser to the CEOs and Board members of AKKA Technologies, an engineering and technology consulting firm which was bought by The Addeco Group in the summer of 2021 for €2bn (and merged to become the 50.000-strong Akkodis, www.akkodis.com).My role encompassed advising and representing AKKA/Akkodis in Brussels at EU level towards the institutions, our partners and other stakeholders. I furthermore supported the AKKA/Akkodis Research team in developing and implementing EU-funded R&D projects, and acted as main liaison with ERTICO - ITS Europe, UNIFE, UITP and other relevant trade associations and R&D organisations.Throughout 2022 I also had the pleasure to become part of the overall Public Affairs team of The Adecco Group (TAG), working on employment and skills issues, in particular in the automotive sector via the Automotive Skills Alliance. Show less

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  Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA)

  Apr 2017 - Dec 2017

  EU Representative

  The IRHA (www.irha.ie) is the recognised national representative body of the road haulage industry in the Republic of Ireland. The association was founded in 1973 with the purpose of representing and promoting the interests of Ireland's licensed road haulage industry - on a national, European and international level. The Association promotes professionalism, excellence and safety in the operation of road transport businesses.My role was to represent the IRHA in Brussels during such a critical moment in history for the Irish road hauliers, namely by the triggering of the 'Brexit' divorce proceedings at the end of March 2017 which will be a crucial issue for Ireland during the next two years. I endeavoured to build excellent relations with the Irish Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and with the Irish Permanent Representation in Brussels, in order to reach the best possible deal for the IRHA. In addition, I worked with the European Commission and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) on the 'Mobility Package', which contains legislative proposals on important issues such as the social aspects of road transport, access to the market and road user charging. Show less

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  MobileGeneration

  Dec 2020 - Jan 2024

  Co-Founder

  During my close to 20 years’ experience as a Public Affairs adviser in the mobility, transport and technology sectors at the EU level in my native Brussels, I’ve heard buzzwords like “digitalisation” and “entrepreneurship” many times. I decided to put those words into action by supporting the technical skills of my brother-in-law Ivaylo- (Ivo) Penev and his excellent team of Bulgaria-based developers. So I am proud to have co- MobileGeneration srl and aim to use my knowledge and network to further develop the company’s client base. I am convinced that high-quality mobile applications will become even more a necessity in our hyper-connected world, both helping traditional businesses to “go digital” and basically anyone with a good idea to get traction, traffic and attention! Show less

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  Huawei Technologies Research and Development Belgium NV

  Jun 2022 - Nov 2023

  EU Affairs Adviser

  As EU Affairs Adviser I supported the Technical Policy & Regulation team, part of the EU Standardisation and Industry Development department. My main focus was on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and wider Automotive topics, both from a policy perspective as well as looking for (EU-funded) collaborative R&D project opportunities. I was thus closely following developments of the ITS Directive, Mobility Data Spaces, Data, AI, Cybersecurity and was active within associations such as ERTICO - ITS Europe, TN-ITS, AIOTI, CCAM Association, IRF and more. Show less

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  European Parking Association

  Jan 2023 - now

  After an earlier stint over 10 years ago, I was reappointed as Brussels Representative of the European Parking Association (EPA, www.europeanparking.eu) in January 2023. Founded in 1983, EPA is the umbrella organisation for the European parking sector. The national member associations consist of private companies and public bodies that are operating and managing on- and off-street parking structures and services. The corporate members represent the supply industry that offers all related products and services concerned with parking.Appointed to the role of Executive Director in January 2024, with the support of the current Köln-based secretariat we are in the process of transferring EPA's legal entity as well as its head office to Brussels. This to ensure its continuous representation at the EU level and increase EPA’s participation in research proposals and projects.As part of the agreed 'EPA 2.0' Action Plan, I am closely following topics related to (parking) data sharing and standardisation, electromobility, cross-border enforcement and kerbside management. We therefore engage with partner organisations such as the Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS, www.allianceforparkingdatastandards.org), NAPCORE, European Automated Valet Parking Platform (EAVP), ALICE, POLIS, MaaS Alliance, Intertraffic, ITS Belgium and more. Show less

  • Executive Director

    Jan 2024 - now

  • Brussels Representative

    Jan 2023 - now