Sessions
Keynote Address
8:30 AM - 8:50 AM Wed
Graduated as a medical doctor at the University of Leuven in 1985, Carine Boonen started her career as a family practitioner (1985-1992) and in a psychiatric hospital (1986-1987).
Later she served as the chief of medical staff of the Ministry of Public Health in Flanders (1987-1992).
For 15 years she was the CEO of the Federation of Hospitals and Health Care Institutions in Flanders, an employers’ association setting to work 150.000 employees and doctors in health care sector. There she learned how to manage the tension between creating value for federation members whilst navigating budgetary constraints set out by politicians. This way she became experienced in strategic negotiations (1992-2006).
Furthermore she served as a senior health care policy advisor to the Minister-President of Flanders and was the CEO of a regional hospital in Flanders (2012-2013).
In the meantime, by participating in several boards all over the world, she learned how to enhance personal contribution for maximizing board productivity.
Nowadays inter alia she is still member of the board of a regional hospital (2011- ) and of homes for elderly care in Flanders (2011- ) and (2014-). In 2018 she also became member of the Medical Committee for Humanitarian Services of the Red Cross in Flanders.
In the past inter alia she was member of the Board of Trustees of the Universities of Leuven and Brussels (2002-2012), member of the Board of Child Focus Belgium (2009-2012), member of the Belgian Advisory Committee on Bioethics (2009-2014) and member of the Board of the Center for Medical Innovation in Flanders (2009-2017).
For more than 10 years she was member of the Board of the European Hospital and Healthcare Federation and president of its European Committee on Economics and Planning (1996-2007).
As a member of the Executive Committee (2005-2007) and of the Governing Council of the International Hospital Federation in Geneva (2003-2009), she learned from the best from around the world how today’s economy spans national boundaries and cultural realities and how to deal with international perspectives for an interconnected world. She improved her capacity to assess innovative health care delivery and to leverage breakthrough ideas aimed to improve the access and quality of sustainable health systems in developing and developed countries.
Throughout her career authentic leadership, based on integrity and vision, consequently has been her most important passion.