Freelance Head of AI & Data
Available from February 2027

I make AI and data work in practice, from strategy to real adoption

For sustainable scale-ups and energy companies navigating critical transitions. Whether that means rolling out AI across the organisation, building modern data and analytics capabilities, leading data teams through growth or leadership changes, or translating data into strategic choices. The goal is always the same: better decisions, faster.

10+ years of experience in data & analytics leadership, currently leading a company-wide Generative AI program. As (interim) manager, fractional lead and hands-on consultant. Background in System Dynamics (MSc, Cum Laude) & Business Analytics (MSc, Cum Laude). Driven by accelerating the energy transition and broader sustainability challenges.

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Portrait photo of Tom Bongers

Previously engaged at, among others

Expertise as Freelance Head of AI & Data

AI, data and insights are tools, not the end goal. The end goal is impact: helping organisations grow without losing their mission, scale without creating chaos, and make decisions that compound over time. These are the five pillars I work with:

AI Adoption & Portfolio

Human + AI ways of working, use-case portfolio, benefits tracking, responsible by default

Everyone is experimenting with AI, but nobody can tell you which use cases actually pay off, or how the work itself is supposed to change. Pilots multiply; production stays empty. The bottleneck is rarely the model. It is adoption.

Why me: I have shaped AI strategies and translate technical complexity into actionable recommendations. More importantly, I have seen real execution of AI projects, way beyond the slide deck: as Generative AI Program Lead at Vandebron I combine three roles: product owner of the AI incubator team, coach for AI super users, business leaders and AI ambassadors, and lead of the program that rolls out an AI-native, AI-first way of working across the organisation.

What I do: I build an AI use-case portfolio prioritised by value and feasibility, with staged funding, clear go/no-go gates and benefits tracking against the original business case. And I coach teams into a hybrid human + AI way of working: new routines, new roles, a new division of labour between people and agents, with adoption as the metric that counts. Guardrails (EU AI Act, GDPR, model risk) are built in as a lightweight condition, not as a compliance project.

What you get: A funded portfolio instead of scattered pilots, with realised value tracked against the business case. Teams that genuinely work alongside AI in their daily routines, measured by adoption rather than licences bought.

Data Strategy & Governance

Vision, roadmaps, data domains, ownership, data quality

You have data, but lack a clear vision. Every department does its own thing, there is no ownership, no priorities. Management does not know what data contributes to.

What I do: I develop data strategy, governance frameworks and roadmaps that align with business goals. Beyond definitions and data quality KPIs, that means data domains, clear owners and a workable stewardship model that fits a scale-up, not a bank. I also secure executive sponsorship and the sustained investment that keeps the strategy alive well past quarter one, instead of a deck that lands and stalls.

What you get: A clear strategy for the next 1-3 years, backed by a mandate and funding. Teams know what is expected of them. Reliable steering information for the executive team.

Team & Leadership

Interim leadership, hiring, coaching, operating model, federated ways of working

You have a data team, but they never get out of ad-hoc work. You cannot scale and are considering hiring your first Head of Data. Or your data lead is (temporarily) leaving and you do not want to lose momentum.

What I do: I build and lead multidisciplinary data teams: hiring, onboarding, skill development and delivery routines. I design the operating model so it scales: central where it has to be, decentral where it can be, a federated (hub-and-spoke) model with clear decision rights and accountability between business, IT and risk. I have led teams from 5 to 12 FTE and coached people from junior to lead, and I help your first permanent Head of Data succeed. Also available as fractional Head of Data / CDO (2-3 days per week).

What you get: A team that can run independently, with an operating model that survives your next growth phase. No dependency on external consultants. Management that trusts the data function.

Strategy, Insights & Analytics

Decision intelligence: forecasting, scenario analysis, pricing, KPI frameworks, self-service BI

You are facing a critical strategic transition (new market, product pivot, proposition development, ERP migration) but lack the insights and the lead to carry those decisions.

What I do: As an interim strategy lead with a data background I turn open questions into decision-ready answers. Always data-driven: first the analysis (pricing, segmentation, unit economics, forecasts, scenario analyses), then the options. I set up KPI frameworks and self-service BI so the organisation can steer on the numbers itself, and I lead cross-functional teams from business case to implementation roadmap.

What you get: A strategic decision with clear trade-offs, a measurable business case and an implementable roadmap. KPI frameworks and dashboards the business actually uses. A team that can continue autonomously after I leave. Examples: proposition development during a market shift (energy), pricing & segmentation, team transformation.

Platform & Architecture

Modern data stack, migrations, tooling, integrations

Your legacy systems are being replaced, or you are merging multiple data sources. Migrations often fail because technology and organisation are tackled separately.

What I do: I design enterprise data models and guide the full migration: from gap analysis and board presentations to hands-on SQL migration scripts and team coaching. As a freelance Head of AI & Data I also steer build vs buy and the cost efficiency of the platform, tooling (Snowflake, Power BI, SAP) and vendor selection. I work well with stakeholders at all levels, from architects to end users.

What you get: Migrations that deliver on time and are widely supported. Data quality frameworks that significantly reduce errors. Teams that truly understand and use the new system. Scalable infrastructure.

Who is this for?

You will recognise yourself if:

  • Teams are already experimenting with AI, but nobody can tell you which use cases pay off or how the work should change. You want a funded portfolio and real adoption, not scattered pilots
  • You are a sustainable scale-up or energy company (50-500 employees)
  • Your data or insights lead is (temporarily) gone and you do not want to lose momentum. You are looking for interim leadership for 3-9 months
  • You are considering hiring your first Head of Data / Head of AI & Data / CDO, but are not sure you are big enough for that yet
  • You need someone to kickstart and lead a critical project, for example a data or ERP/CRM migration, a KPI value tree set-up, or implementing energy market changes

Sectors I have experience in:

Energy & Utilities Climate Tech Sustainable Finance Impact Scale-ups Consulting

Concrete examples: Company-wide Generative AI program (Vandebron), energy trading and forecasting (Vandebron), utility customer management (Alliander), ESG reporting and carbon accounting (ING, CCV), B2B SaaS analytics (Traxl).

Tech Stack

SQL (expert), Python (advanced), Snowflake, GCP/BigQuery, Azure, Power BI (DAX), Looker, dbt, Dagster, Airbyte, scikit-learn & Prophet (forecasting), Docker/K8s, CI/CD, Kraken, SAP S/4HANA & SAP C4C, Salesforce, Git

Cases

Generative AI Program: Towards an AI-Native Organisation

Generative AI Program Lead (freelance)
Context & Assignment

Vandebron first brought me in as interim Head of Strategy, where I delivered a board-approved business case unlocking €10M+ for new energy propositions ahead of the end of net metering, and redesigned the strategy team. Building on that, Vandebron asked me to lead its Generative AI program. The ambition: move from scattered experiments to an AI-native, AI-first organisation, where AI is part of how every team works rather than a side project of a few enthusiasts.

View my role & approach

The role combines three hats, deliberately. Together they close the loop between what gets built, who uses it and whether the work actually changes:

  • Product Owner, AI incubator team: Prioritise and deliver AI use cases from idea to production, gated on value and feasibility rather than hype
  • AI coach: Coach AI super users, business leaders and AI ambassadors to redesign their own work with AI, so expertise spreads through the organisation instead of sitting in one team
  • AI adoption program lead: Roll out the AI-native, AI-first way of working across the organisation: adoption routines, enablement, guardrails (EU AI Act, GDPR) and tracking adoption and value rather than licences
Business Impact
3 hats
Product owner, AI coach and adoption lead in one role
Org-wide
Roll-out of an AI-first way of working, not a pilot
Live
Use cases in production, beyond the slide deck

AI moves from experiment to the way teams work: an incubator that ships, a network of super users and ambassadors that carries the change, and leadership that steers on adoption and value.

Enterprise Data Migration & Governance

Data Consultant / Architect (freelance)
Context & Problem

Alliander, a large Dutch grid operator, had 15+ legacy systems and no central definition of core concepts (customer, connection, asset). The board wanted to migrate to SAP CX and a modern data architecture, but nobody knew where to start. Customer data contained duplicate records and inconsistencies that blocked operational processes.

View my role & approach

As Data Consultant / Architect I led the data foundation workstream:

  • Created an enterprise customer data model (100+ concepts, relations, dependencies) using enterprise architecture tools
  • Gap analysis between the current state and the SAP CX target architecture
  • Presented the business case and migration roadmap at board level
  • Designed a data governance framework that is practical, not bureaucratic: data domains with clear owners, a workable stewardship model, definition frameworks, quality KPIs and privacy-by-design for privacy-sensitive customer and metering data, including smart meter (P4) data under GDPR
  • Built a deduplication tool and MDM features (hands-on development)
  • Facilitated workshops with 50+ stakeholders to anchor adoption
Business Impact
70%
Fewer data errors
50+
Stakeholders aligned
100+
Data concepts modelled

Clear migration strategy with broad support. For the first time, management received reliable steering information on asset management and grid investments.

Commercial Analytics & Data-Driven Marketing

Data Analytics Lead (freelance)
Context & Problem

CCV, a European payment provider, wanted to professionalise its commercial steering. Reporting was fragmented across Sales, Marketing and Finance: every team had its own numbers, definitions differed per dashboard, and digital marketing spend was hard to justify. Management lacked a consistent view of commercial performance and customer value.

View my role & approach

As freelance Data Analytics Lead at CCV I built the commercial analytics foundation, and was asked back in 2025 to design a group-wide KPI framework:

  • Built Power BI reporting, KPIs and dashboards for commercial performance and customer value, working closely with Sales, Marketing and Finance
  • Combined GA4, BigQuery and CRM data into reusable data models as the basis for self-service analytics
  • Supported digital marketeers with BI insights and marketing dashboards, enabling steering on ROAS
  • Integrated sales-forecasting models (Prophet, Python) into reporting to support target-setting and scenario planning
  • Return engagement (2025): designed a KPI framework and harmonised sales reporting across teams for consistent commercial steering
Business Impact
2×
Return client (2022 & 2025)
3 teams
Aligned on one version of the truth
ROAS
Data-driven marketing steering

Renewed dashboards and visualisations of sales, product and market insights, in several cases leading to concrete process changes.

What others say

Snippets from LinkedIn recommendations by clients and colleagues. Read them in full on LinkedIn.

"Tom is a natural leader with a great talent for technology and data. He was instrumental in delivering the successful transformation of our Data Analytics team from ad-hoc reporting towards a Center-of-Excellence model. Tom is able to transmit ambition and drive not just to a team, but to a whole company!"

Giuseppe Procaccianti

CTO Dexter Energy, former manager of Tom at Vandebron

"As the driving force behind Master Data Governance, Tom provided direction, progress and quality, and turned complex issues into practical solutions. A professional who not only delivers results, but also brings energy and confidence to every project!" (translated from Dutch)

Bart Vink

Team Lead, Alliander

"As an objective sparring partner with seniority in both content and stakeholder management, he renewed many dashboards and visualisations of sales, product and market insights. In several cases this led to insights that triggered concrete process changes." (translated from Dutch)

Edwin Jansen

Head of Marketing & Communication, CCV

"Tom took a proactive approach in building the data framework for our annual ESG reporting from scratch, and professionalized our data collection process. I learnt a lot about good data management working with Tom, a true data master. Would recommend Tom any day of the week!"

Anna Ahrenberg

Brand & ESG Manager

About me

Tom Bongers

My work sits at the intersection of AI, data, strategy and impact: I help organisations navigate critical transitions, always with the same goal: better decisions, faster.

🌱 What drives me

I am motivated by accelerating the energy transition and broader sustainability challenges. That is why I primarily work with energy companies, climate tech scale-ups and impact-driven organisations. It is also why I invest through Carbon Equity in breakthrough technologies for climate solutions.

🤖 Why AI, and why now

AI best practices are being rewritten every few weeks. The person who has seen a wide range of implementations, across stacks, sectors and stages, holds an asset that no single company can build internally. That breadth is exactly what you need when the technical landscape shifts faster than your organisation can develop. As a freelancer I bring that breadth with me, combined with a decade of building the data foundations AI depends on.

🔄 Background

I have 10+ years of experience in data & analytics leadership: building and leading multidisciplinary teams (analytics, engineering, data science), coaching people from junior to lead, and aligning data strategy with executive and board-level stakeholders. Understanding the business is always my starting point, grounded in my MSc in Business Analytics (Cum Laude). My MSc in System Dynamics (Cum Laude) taught me to see the patterns, feedback loops and unintended consequences others miss. I bring that lens to every engagement: understand the system first, then intervene smartly.

Experience gained at, among others: Vandebron (Generative AI Program Lead, interim Head of Strategy and Manager Data Analytics), Alliander (Data Architect & Governance Lead), Traxl (interim Head of Data), CCV (Data Analytics Lead), and several B2B SaaS scale-ups.

🧭 How I work

Three principles guide every engagement: deliver something that works: hands-on, value in practice rather than on paper; build for continuity: teams that run independently after I leave; and land the change: transformations succeed on adoption, not technology.

Personal: Engaged to Julie, father of Philou. Based in Utrecht, in our 120-year-old house that we renovated to energy label A++. I love doing sports and being outside in nature: cycling, CrossFit and (trail) running.

Interested in working together?

Or do you know an organisation looking for an interim or fractional AI & data leader? Leave a short message and I will get back to you. I am available for new engagements from February 2027.

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