Freelance Head of Data & Insights
Available from October 2026

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. Grounded in System Dynamics (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 — click a pillar to see my approach:

Data Strategy & Governance

Vision, roadmaps, ownership, prioritisation, data quality

You have data, but no 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 course for 1-3 years. Management knows what data contributes to. 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 1-2 data people, but they never get out of ad-hoc work. Junior analysts are afraid to write queries. 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→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) for organisations that do not yet need a full-time data leader.

What you get: A team that can run independently. No dependency on external consultants. Scalable analytics capability. Management that trusts dashboards and analyses.

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, BigQuery, dbt, Kraken, SAP), and vendor selection. I work 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.

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. Decisions need to be fast, but cannot be wrong.

What I do: As an interim strategy lead with a data background I deliver strategic decisions under tight timelines — always insights-driven: first the analysis (pricing, segmentation, unit economics, forecasts, scenario analyses), then the choice. From proposition development and business cases to go/no-go frameworks and implementation roadmaps. I lead cross-functional teams and make sure exec teams get decision-ready recommendations — not 50-slide decks. I also help organisations adopt AI responsibly: from use-case selection 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.

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 6+ months
  • You are growing fast, data is growing faster — but there is no strategy or governance
  • You have 1-3 data people, but they are drowning in ad-hoc questions and firefighting
  • 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 are facing a major migration (ERP/CRM such as Kraken, SAP) or data platform implementation
  • You are facing a strategic transition (market shift, new propositions) and need insights to make the right choices
  • 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

Concrete examples: Energy trading and forecasting (Vandebron), grid operations and asset management (Alliander), ESG reporting and carbon accounting, impact measurement, payments (ING, CCV), B2B SaaS analytics (Traxl).

Tech Stack

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

How I work

My foundation is System Dynamics (MSc, Cum Laude) — it taught me to see patterns, feedback loops and unintended consequences that others miss. I bring that lens to every project: understand the system first, then intervene smartly.

Whether I am leading a team, building a data platform or designing new business propositions, I focus on three things:

Deliver something that works

Not something that looks good on paper, but something that actually delivers value in practice. I work hands-on: from SQL migration scripts to setting up Snowflake, from KPI frameworks to go/no-go decisions.

Code I write follows software engineering principles: DRY, testable, documented. Strategies I draft are implementable, with clear trade-offs. No quick fixes that become legacy in 6 months.

Build for continuity

Teams must be able to continue independently after I leave. No creating dependency on an external consultant.

That means: data governance that is not bureaucratic, hiring and onboarding your first data engineers, knowledge transfer and coaching. In team transformations I redesign roles and collaboration models so the structure stands, not just the people.

Land the change

Transformations succeed or fail on adoption, not technology. The best data architecture is useless if nobody uses it. The most beautiful strategy does not work if the team is not behind it.

I have trained 100+ people in data-driven working — from SQL and Python fundamentals to governance workshops for management. I involve stakeholders early, document decisions, and make sure change becomes anchored in the organisation.

Cases

Energy Company — Strategic Proposition Development & Team Transformation

Interim Head of Strategy (freelance)
Context & Assignment

An energy company (200+ FTE) faced a fundamental market shift: the abolition of the Dutch net-metering scheme in 2027. Without new flexible customer contracts, €16M+ in future earnings was 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) — 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 €16M+ business case
  • Full team redesign: Moved proposition marketeers out of the team, added program management, created the new Business Strategy & Insights function. 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
€16M+
Unlocked future earnings
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.

Energy Company — Data Analytics Team: from Ad-hoc to Center of Excellence

Manager Data Analytics
Context & Problem

A fast-growing energy company (20→200 FTE in 4 years, 2018-2022). The data analytics team consisted of 5 FTE mostly answering ad-hoc questions. Predictive models for energy consumption produced inconsistent results. The trading team did not trust the output and fell back on intuition. Management wanted to work data-driven but had no confidence in the numbers.

View my role & approach

As Manager Data Analytics I led the multidisciplinary team (scaled from 5 to 12 FTE, coached from junior to lead) and translated company strategy into concrete data initiatives:

  • Data model redesign: from 20+ separate pipelines to a structured warehouse (Azure Data Services)
  • Built predictive models for energy consumption (Python, Docker, K8s) with a retraining pipeline
  • Designed KPI frameworks and dashboards for commercial and strategic decision-making (Power BI, R Shiny)
  • Automated quality checks with alerts, team training in model interpretation
  • Scaled agile ways of working to company-wide level, strengthened collaboration between data, finance and commerce
  • Trained 100+ employees in data-driven decision-making
Business Impact
15%
Sales growth
8%
Less churn
€500K+
Cost savings
5→12
Team FTE

Grid Operator — Enterprise Data Migration & Governance

Data Consultant / Architect
Context & Problem

A large Dutch grid operator with 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.

B2B SaaS Platform — Analytics Capability from 0 to Scalable

Interim Head of Data (freelance)
Context & Problem

A fast-growing B2B SaaS scale-up without centralised data infrastructure. Every analyst wrote their own SQL queries without versioning or code reviews. Definitions of core metrics (such as "active user") differed per dashboard. Junior analysts were afraid to write queries for fear of breaking something. Management had no confidence in reporting.

View my role & approach

As interim Head of Data I built the full analytics function:

  • Set up a GCP data warehouse (BigQuery) and BI stack (Power BI, Looker) with modern data engineering practices
  • Implemented a dbt-style framework: "single source of truth" data models, code reviews, CI/CD pipeline
  • Developed price-forecasting models (Python, scikit-learn) with automated pipelines and monitoring
  • Aligned the KPI framework with management, engineering and commercial teams
  • Developed and delivered SQL training to 20+ people (Fundamentals + Advanced)
  • Introduced agile ways of working and a metrics-driven culture; recruited and onboarded 3 data engineers
Business Impact
60%
Faster analyses
80%
Dashboard adoption
6 mo
From 0 to mature capability

Junior analysts now work independently. Management dashboards lead in strategic reviews. The team can scale without external dependency.

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

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 — capital behind the technologies we need to solve the climate crisis.

🔄 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. My foundation is System Dynamics (MSc, Cum Laude) — it taught me to see patterns, feedback loops and unintended consequences that others miss. I bring that lens to every project: understand the system first, then intervene smartly.

Experience gained at, among others, Vandebron (Manager Data Analytics and interim Head of Strategy — a strongly insights-driven role: business insights, pricing & program management), Alliander (Data Architect & Governance Lead), Traxl (interim Head of Data), CCV (Data Analytics Lead), and several B2B SaaS scale-ups.

10+ years data & analytics leadership
System Dynamics MSc, Cum Laude
100+ people trained in SQL, Python & decision making
Carbon Equity Climate Tech Investor

Personal: Married, father of a young child, based in Utrecht. Outside of work: trail running, impact investing, and deep dives into decision science and the energy transition.

Interested in working together?

Or do you know an organisation looking for an interim or fractional data leader — Head of Data & Insights, fractional CDO — for a critical transition? I am available for new engagements from October 2026.

tom@bongersconsulting.com LinkedIn

(I usually respond within 24 hours)