Interview with the Chief HRO of Colruyt Group

April 2021

As Director People & Organization at Colruyt Group, Liesbeth Sabbe has been an advocate of the power of culture-driven companies for years. On top of that, she herself started her career as a system designer aka the historical predecessor of the current generation of enterprise architects. That seemed an interesting combination for an interview.

For the sake of being complete: the role of system designer as executed by Liesbeth at the time was a hybrid between what we today consider to be business architect, solution architect and enterprise architect. It has always been a crucial role that has evolved with the increasing versatility - not to say complexity - of the Group. "At some point, we just needed more structure within our growing organization. Where are the synergies? Does the customer mean the same to everyone? The need to coordinate amongst ourselves became more and more urgent, and our enterprise architects played a crucial role in this."

Gold in our hands

"When you see where we stood a decade ago, it's quite incredible where we are now in terms of craftsmanship and thoroughness."  That craftsmanship has been very deliberately developed within our own ranks and is based on a unique combination of strategic, tactical, analytical and conceptual abilities.

"A good enterprise architect makes the implications of decisions very clear. It shouldn't just remain abstract drawings."

According to her, Myreas colleagues always succeed in communicating their proposals in a balanced way, because the final choice lies with the client. Just add a far-reaching understanding of the business and you will more or less understand what Liesbeth means when she says that Colruyt Group has gold in its hands with Myreas.  "When we decided in the course of 2019 to house that unique craftsmanship in a separate organization, we were able to give it an even greater boost. In that way, Myreas has truly become a household name for enterprise architecture."

Everything starts with culture

As an enterprise architect, you play a crucial role in shaping the future of an organization. "If you have people helping you at the strategic level, they definitely need to feel what you stand for as an organization," says Colruyt Group's CHRO. Thanks to that strong cultural link, Myreas automatically has a deeper impact in the strategic programs as well. While other consulting companies often only last a few months, an enterprise architect at Myreas ensures that "the plan of your house is not only drawn, but that it is also effectively built."

Of course, in doing so, you have to take into account how fast the business can pick up the pace. The fact that Myreas has now doubled in terms of employees in a year really ensures that they can drive that pace.  Within her field of expertise, Liesbeth is certainly looking forward to the strategic plans that are currently on the table being transformed into roadmaps.