François Vanhercke
Verified

François Vanhercke

AI GRC & Ethics Consultant | AI Business Strategy

Finance, Consulting & ProcurementBrussels, Belgium€990 / day

About the Freelance


Professional Summary

I help leaders and organisations frame, secure and optimise their use of AI to create value while preserving control. My approach builds on more than 15 years of experience in risk management, governance and decision-making in complex environments, now applied to Artificial Intelligence. I work across three dimensions: Frame — governance, roles, responsibilities and decision criteria. Secure — AI risk, compliance, EU AI Act and operational ethics. Optimise — AI business value, process improvement, decision support and architecture. Certified ISO/IEC 42001 Lead Implementer, MBA in AI for Business, Risk Management background at ICHEC, Digital & AI Ethics, and ongoing MIT Professional Education in no-code and agentic AI. From AI complexity to better decisions. Create value. Preserve control.

Skills & Expertise


Main Domain

Finance, Consulting & Procurement

AI Strategy & Adoption

Expert

Supporting organizations in identifying relevant AI opportunities, evaluating their value and risks, and structuring responsible adoption aligned with business objectives, organizational capabilities and governance requirements.

AI Ethics

Expert

Integration of ethical principles into AI governance and decision-making, with particular attention to fairness, transparency, accountability, human autonomy and responsible innovation throughout the AI lifecycle.

AI Risk Management

Expert

Identification, assessment and treatment of AI-related risks throughout the AI lifecycle, combining enterprise risk management principles with AI-specific governance, controls and human oversight.

AI Literacy & Training

Expert

Design and delivery of AI literacy and awareness programs tailored to organizational roles, responsibilities and levels of AI exposure. Helping organizations build the knowledge and capabilities needed for informed and responsible AI use, including support for AI literacy measures aligned with Article 4 of the EU AI Act.

EU AI Act / AI Regulatory Compliance

Expert

Support organizations in understanding and operationalizing EU AI Act requirements and related AI regulatory obligations, translating legal and regulatory expectations into proportionate governance, risk management, controls and oversight mechanisms.

AI Systems & Agentic AI

Intermediate

Understanding and design of AI-enabled systems and workflows, including LLMs, RAG, AI agents, no-code/low-code automation and human-in-the-loop mechanisms. Bridging technical architecture with business requirements, risk management and governance to support controlled and responsible AI implementation.

AI Governance

Expert

Design and implementation of pragmatic and proportionate AI governance frameworks, helping organizations structure responsibilities, decision-making, oversight and accountability around the adoption and use of AI.

AI Governance, Risk & Compliance

Expert

Design and implementation of pragmatic, proportionate AI governance and risk frameworks that help organisations structure responsibilities, manage AI-related risks, meet regulatory requirements and improve decision-making.

Tools & Technologies

Experience Timeline


Lecturer – AI Risk Management & Governance

ICHEC Brussels Management School

Jan 2026 → Present

Teaching and facilitating professional sessions on AI Risk Management, governance and responsible decision-making. The intervention focuses on helping professionals understand how Artificial Intelligence changes the risk landscape and how risk management must adapt accordingly. Key topics include: AI-related risks across the AI lifecycle; governance, roles and accountability; EU AI Act requirements; NIST AI Risk Management Framework; ethical principles and responsible AI; human oversight and decision-making; alignment between business objectives, risk appetite and AI adoption. The approach is practical and use-case driven, with the objective of translating regulatory, ethical and risk frameworks into operational decision criteria. Objective: help professionals move from theoretical AI risk awareness to structured, proportionate and actionable governance.

EU AI ActNIST AI RMFISO/IEC 23894ISO/IEC 42001Bow-Tie AnalysisRisk AssessmentSWOT AnalysisPDCA

Independent AI GRC & Ethics Consultant | AI Business Strategy

SapIAnsis

Jan 2025 → Present

Helping organisations frame, secure and optimise their use of Artificial Intelligence by combining governance, risk management, compliance, ethics and business strategy. My work includes: designing pragmatic and proportionate AI governance frameworks; defining roles, responsibilities and decision criteria; assessing AI-related risks and regulatory requirements, including the EU AI Act; translating ethical principles into operational governance mechanisms; evaluating AI use cases from both a risk and business-value perspective; supporting the design of decision-support and AI-enabled solutions. Current work includes the implementation of an operational AI governance framework within a public organisation, including AI Committee structuring, risk analysis, responsibilities, decision mechanisms and oversight. Objective: help organisations make safer, smarter AI decisions while creating value and preserving control.

ISO/IEC 42001NIST AI RMFEU AI ActBow-Tie AnalysisRACIRGPDNIS2MBA

Strategic Risk & Emerging Technology Assessment

Confidential Public-Sector Organisation

Apr 2011 → Present

Working in a highly sensitive and complex environment where decisions must often be made with incomplete information, significant uncertainty and potentially high consequences. My experience includes: - assessing opportunities and threats associated with disruptive and emerging technologies; - analysing complex risks and vulnerabilities; - supporting decision-making under uncertainty; - balancing operational objectives, risks, constraints and responsibilities; - coordinating multidisciplinary stakeholders in sensitive environments; - translating complex information into actionable decision criteria. This experience directly informs my approach to AI governance and risk management today: understand the context, assess opportunities and threats, anticipate consequences and preserve human judgement when technology affects decision-making.

Technology Assessment · Horizon Scanning · Scenario Analysis · Strategic Risk Assessment · SWOT · PESTEL · Bow-Tie · Decision Analysis

Operational Risk & Complex Decision-Making

International & Public-Sector High-Risk Environments

Jul 1994 → Apr 2011

Extensive experience in high-stakes operational environments where decisions had to be made under uncertainty, time pressure and potentially significant consequences. This period developed strong capabilities in: assessing risks, threats and vulnerabilities; analysing rapidly evolving and incomplete information; supporting and taking decisions under uncertainty; coordinating people and resources in complex situations; balancing objectives, constraints, responsibilities and consequences; adapting plans and actions as circumstances evolved; learning systematically from operations and experience. These years established the foundations of my current approach to risk management and governance: understand the context, anticipate consequences, structure decisions and preserve human judgement in complex environments.

Risk Assessment · Scenario Analysis · Decision Analysis · Operational Planning · Crisis Management · Vulnerability Assessment · After-Action Review · Lessons Learned

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