Freelance Head of Data & Insights
Available from January 2027

I build data organisations and deliver the insights for better decisions

For sustainable scale-ups and energy companies navigating critical transitions. Whether that means 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. 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 Data & Insights

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 four pillars I work with:

Data Strategy & Governance

Vision, roadmaps, ownership, prioritisation, 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. From shared definitions and data quality KPIs to ownership models and decision-making processes. As a freelance Head of Data & Insights I translate business ambitions into concrete data initiatives with measurable impact.

What you get: A clear strategy for the next 1-3 years. Teams know what is expected of them. Reliable steering information for the executive team.

Team, Leadership & Analytics

Interim leadership, hiring, coaching, KPI frameworks, self-service BI

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 analytics teams: hiring, onboarding, skill development, operating model and delivery routines. I have led teams from 5 to 12 FTE and trained 100+ people; from SQL and Python fundamentals to data-driven decision making and decision intelligence. I set up KPI frameworks, implement self-service BI, and 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. Scalable analytics capability. Management that trusts dashboards and analyses.

Strategy, Insights & AI

Decision intelligence: forecasting, scenario analyses, propositions, AI adoption

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 deliver strategic decisions under tight timelines. Always data-driven: first the analysis (pricing, segmentation, unit economics, forecasts, scenario analyses), then the options. From business cases to implementation roadmaps. I lead cross-functional teams and make sure exec teams get decision-ready recommendations. I also help organisations adopt AI responsibly: from use-case selection and coaching to the data foundation it requires.

What you get: A strategic decision with clear trade-offs, a measurable business case and an implementable roadmap. 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 Data & Insights I also steer the choices around build vs buy, 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:

  • 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 Data & Insights / 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
  • You want to get started with AI, but lack the data foundation and someone to guide adoption

Sectors I have experience in:

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

Concrete examples: 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

Strategic Proposition Development, Team Transformation & Program Lead

Interim Head of Strategy (freelance)
Context & Assignment

Vandebron (200+ FTE) faced a fundamental market shift: the abolition of the Dutch net-metering scheme in 2027. Without new flexible customer contracts, multi-million future earnings were at risk. Initial assignment: design new energy propositions. After success, extended to a full team transformation and broader strategy execution, in parallel with a company-wide ERP migration (Kraken).

View my role & approach

As interim Head of Strategy I lead the consumer strategy team (business insights, pricing & program management). It is a strongly analytics-driven role: insights determine the strategy. I deliver strategic decisions and organisational change:

  • Stabilising the team & creating momentum: Set up the operating model and delivery routines, KPI framework (decision adoption, milestone hit-rate), clear decision rights. The team did not need a strategy reboot, but did need direction
  • Strategic proposition development: Cross-functional analysis (Strategy, Product, Tech, Pricing, Data) for new data-driven propositions: pricing structures, customer segments, unit economics, technical feasibility in Kraken
  • Go/no-go decision framework: Decision-ready recommendation with visible trade-offs for the exec team: no 50-slide deck, but a clear choice with a multi-million business case
  • Full team redesign: Restructured the team, added program management and created the new Business Strategy & Insights function, and redefined the collaboration model with other teams (Product, Tech, Commercial)
  • Securing continuity: Documented all decisions, onboarded and coached new team members, set up a rolling quarterly cycle for strategy and planning
Business Impact
2027
New flexible contracts live
8+ mo
Interim period
100%
Continuity secured

Clear implementation roadmap for flexible contracts (2027 launch). Transformed team with new roles and collaboration model, ready to operate autonomously.

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: practical, not bureaucratic: ownership models, definition frameworks, quality KPIs, privacy-by-design
  • 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 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.

🔄 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 (Manager Data Analytics and interim Head of Strategy), 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 data leader? I am available for new engagements from January 2027.

tom@bongersconsulting.com LinkedIn