Board of Directors

Prof. em. Dr. Wim A.G. BLONK
Since 2002, Prof. Blonk has been actively involved in the creation of Close the Gap. Since its creation he is the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Close the Gap International. He retired in 1999 from the EU-Commission as Honorary Director General and retired in 2004 as professor of economics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Prof. Blonk is personally involved in projects for disabled children in Tanzania, Malawi and North-India (Ladakh).

Mr. André BONTEMS
Television Systems Engineer and member of the technical committee at Close the Gap, Mr. Bontems helps develop new technologies that consume less energy and are an alternative source of power within ICT4Development. He is also the founder of Avalon Studios and Avalon Network.

Mr. Michel DE BRAUWER
President and CEO of the Pietercil Group N.V., an international sales and marketing company located in Belgium, Mr. De Brauwer is member of the audit & budget committee at Close the Gap. On top of being Board member in several non-profit organisations in Belgium, Mr. De Brauwer has been elected President of the European Sales and Marketing Association (ESMA) with head offices in Austria and he is also Founding member of the Flemish Business Club “DeWarande” in Belgium. Mr. De Brauwer is currently still member of the Board of Teisseire fruit syrup company (based in France, as a part of Britvic International Plc).

Mrs. Alessandra AZCARRAGA DE SURMONT
Member of the technical committee at Close the Gap, Mrs. Azcarraga de Surmont assists the management of Close the Gap in developing environmentally-friendly technology and challenging Close the Gap’s solutions in terms of green ICT hardware and software solutions for developing countries. Mrs. Azcarraga de Surmont is also the founder of Avalon Studios and Avalon Network.

Mr. Olivier VANDEN EYNDE
Mr. Vanden Eynde founded Close the Gap in September 2003 as a spin-off and mini-enterprise at the Solvay Business School of the Free University of Brussels (VUB). Since the start, Mr. Vanden Eynde has been the Managing Director of Close the Gap. He is also founder and Managing Director of WorldPC vzw since September 2009. WorldPC vzw is a global platform in ICT4Development.

Mr. Guido VANDERVORST
Managing partner of the Enterprise Risk Services division within Deloitte Belgium, Mr. Vandervorst focuses on internal audit and control services, CFO services, forensic services and information and communications technology.  Mr. Vandervorst is member of the audit & budget committee at Close the Gap.