Rolf Driesen
“It’s only in hindsight that a career follows a straight line”
As the son of Limburg entrepreneurs, Rolf Driesen was destined to take over his father’s construction business. From age 14, he used to chip in during the summer holidays. After a degree in business engineering in Diepenbeek, he obtained another Master’s degree at Vlerick Business School and spent some time working abroad. All indications were that he would one day take over at the helm from his father. But things turned out quite differently. These days, Driesen is the CEO of Deloitte Belgium.
Driven by curiosity
Rolf Driesen is clearly in his element at Deloitte. Consultancy proved the perfect match for a curious mind like his. “Every few months, you are handed a new challenge: a different sector, another client and a new problem that needs solving. I loved it”, he says. He has been at Deloitte for 28 years already. “While it may not sound very adventurous, it felt as if I had many different careers within one and the same company. Every new role brought new insights, new challenges, and new opportunities.”
For a long time, he saw Deloitte as an opportunity to gain experience and learn, rather than his final destination. “With every step I took, I always told myself, this will come in use when I run the family business one day.” Until 2004. That’s when he and his father came to a decision. Driesen would not take over the family business.
Not a straight line
From consultant to CEO. In hindsight, Driesen’s career has all the makings of a gradual climb to the top. He mainly remembers the intersections. “It’s only in hindsight that a career follows a straight line”, he says with a smile. “En route, however, you are continually forced to make choices. The main thing is to recognise opportunities, seize them, and be prepared to challenge yourself time and again. I never planned to become CEO of Deloitte Belgium; it was not part of my personal career plan. I was always passionate about what I did, but never motivated by job titles. I just tried to do my best in each role. The rest tended to be a natural consequence.”
Reinventing the shop
As CEO of Deloitte Belgium, Driesen is navigating an era in which technology, artificial intelligence, and geopolitical shifts are reshaping entire industries and sectors. But that is what he finds so fascinating about the job. “As a CEO, you can change or redefine priorities and unite people around a common goal. I think that is what I like best about leadership.”
When people look back on his tenure as CEO twenty years down the road, he hopes that he will not be associated with a specific turnover, ranking, or market share. Instead, he wants to be remembered as inspiring Deloitte to make the right choices at the right time. “The world is changing at an unprecedented pace. It’s not enough to keep the shop open. You need to go one step further and reinvent it.”
Short bio
STUDIES
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1989-1994: Bachelor’s and Master of Business Engineering, UHasselt
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1994 – 1995: Master, MBA Finance, Vlerick Business School
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2007: Executive Program, Management, International Institute for Management Development (IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland)
WORK EXPERIENCE
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1995 – 1996: scientific researcher, Management Accounting & Control, Vlerick Business School
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1996– 1997: Bulk Controller BeNeLux, Air Products
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1998– 2003: Manager, business consulting, Arthur Andersen & Co
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1998– 2006: Senior Manager, Consulting, Deloitte Belgium
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2005 – today: Partner (in various roles: Human Capital Leader, Talent Partner and Managing Partner Consulting), Deloitte Belgium
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2023 – today: CEO, Deloitte Belgium
10 questions for Rolf
After secondary school, I went on to study business engineering because...
“it offered the ideal mix of science and economics. As a child, I was fascinated by how things worked, and I would spend all my time reading science books. I briefly considered physics or chemistry, but my dad gave me the nudge I needed to study business engineering. I was born into a family of entrepreneurs so it seemed like a logical choice.”
What made studying in Diepenbeek so special...
“the small, cosy community where everyone knew each other. Another thing I appreciated was the teaching approach: small classes, the ten-week system, and a lot of attention to the practical application of knowledge.”
My favourite spot on campus was...
“the Agora. We would often go there to play cards. What’s more, it was the perfect lookout. (laughs) You could see who was entering or leaving, or who hung out with whom. And when a bunch of students suddenly started moving, you know it was time for class.”
The teacher who inspired me the most was...
“Professor Paul Matthyssens, who taught industrial marketing. He combined academic insights with experience as a consultant and consistently made theory highly actionable. I found his lectures very inspiring. I don’t think I missed a single one.”
As a student, I was...
“a busy bee. During my studies, I also played for the Belgian national basketball team. In the early years, I did what I had to do and always passed with honours. In my last year, however, I decided to see how far I could push myself. I wanted to test myself, and I ended up graduating with the highest honours that year.”
If there’s one thing I learned at UHasselt, it’s..
“that there is no such thing as a straight line when it comes to your career. It’s a sequence of intersections. En route, you will encounter many great opportunities. The main thing is to recognise and seize them, and take a step into the unknown. You often grow much more when you’re outside of your comfort zone. My Erasmus in France forever broadened my view of the world. That’s when I realised that I wanted to work abroad. Later, during my time at Vlerick, I got to spend a few months in Florida.”
How would you describe your job in no more than 5 sentences?
“My job is all about charting a course in an ever-changing world. Deloitte is a global network of 450,000 people. The challenge for me, as the CEO of Deloitte Belgium, is to transpose the company’s international strategy to the Belgian context. Because we are a partnership, leadership at Deloitte is not about hierarchy or power but about uniting people around a common goal. Ultimately, it’s about developing talent, creating impact, and ensuring that we also remain relevant in the future.”
What do you find most enjoyable / challenging about your job?
“That you can really set the course. When I became CEO, I realised more than ever that people scrutinise the choices you make. Together with the executive team, you can shift the focus, set priorities, and help chart the organisation’s course. We live in an era in which entire industries are being reshaped by technology, AI, and geopolitical shifts. While this makes leadership more challenging than ever, it also makes it extremely fascinating. Yes, you need to go with the flow, but you also need to look ahead.”
In my opinion, the key to success lies in...
“a combination of vision and teamwork. You need to set a course that people can believe in and be enthusiastic about. Alone, you won’t achieve a thing. Surround yourself with people who complement you, who challenge you, and who are also better than you. Ultimately, a strong leader is not defined by the quality of the team that he or she has built, not by his own merits.”
If you were able/want to do something or give back to your alma mater, what would it be?
“I mainly want to encourage students to look beyond Limburg’s borders. We have a lot of talent here, but the most formative experiences often happen when you leave your comfort zone. UHasselt can play an important role in this by challenging students, broadening their horizons, and giving them the confidence to step out of their comfort zone. If we can contribute to this, through guest lectures, mentoring or other initiatives, we are happy to do this.”