Joachim Vansanten, Partner at Quanteus Group, believes that it’s possible to generate profit and create impact without compromising on either. With a hands-on approach, a strong focus on impact, and a long-term vision, the investment firm distinguishes itself in a market often dominated by short-term thinking.
Quanteus Group is a hands-on investment company dedicated to building a stronger Europe by investing in a sustainable economy, a safer society, and healthier people. Founded in 2004 by the Vansanten and van Wassenhove families, the group has evolved into a dynamic player in the fields of business transformation, sustainability, and digital innovation. RSQ Investors, the investment arm of Quanteus Group, focuses on companies with high impact and value-creation potential.
With subsidiaries like BrightWolves – a next-generation consultancy specializing in growth, digitalization, and sustainability – and LiveCycle, an advanced Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software platform, Quanteus Group demonstrates its commitment to not just investing, but actively contributing to the growth and sustainability of its portfolio companies.
In this interview, Joachim Vansanten, Investment Manager & Partner at Quanteus Group, shares his insights on impact investing, the future of private equity, and how Quanteus Group distinguishes itself in a rapidly changing market.
Could you tell us a bit about the history of Quanteus and RSQ? How did you get to where you are today?
Joachim Vansanten: “Quanteus Group was originally founded by my father in 2004 as a consulting firm after his time at McKinsey. The goal was to bridge the gap between strategy and implementation. Over the years, we increasingly focused on business transformations. RSQ Investors was subsequently established in 2014 when Kris Vansanten and Evelyne van Wassenhove, our group partners, thought: "If we help companies with transformations, why not do it ourselves?"
Our first investment was The House of Marketing, a marketing agency that was struggling at the time. We executed a successful turnaround and, a few years later, sold the majority to Down2Earth. This marked the beginning of our evolution from a consulting firm to an investment company. Today, Quanteus Group functions as a holding company, with BrightWolves as our operational consultancy arm, and we continue to build our investment activities, which we aim to expand further in the coming years.”
How did the focus on sustainability and impact develop within Quanteus Group?
Joachim Vansanten: “My father has always had a passion for renewable energy – he even studied electrical engineering for that reason back in 1983. However, sustainability wasn’t initially the core focus of our group. The real turning point was the Nyrstar case. Nyrstar, a Belgian publicly listed company, underwent a restructuring in 2019 where all its assets were transferred to its reference shareholder Trafigura for zero consideration. My father, who was a private shareholder at the time, conducted extensive analysis and concluded that what was happening was unfair.
We decided to take up the case on behalf of a group of minority shareholders who essentially lost everything. This experience opened our eyes on the negative consequences of running a business solely for the benefit of a single stakeholder. It strengthened our belief that we wanted to create win-win situations where all stakeholders truly benefit. This philosophy has since become deeply ingrained in our approach, leading us to prioritize sustainability and social impact in our investments.”
Is this also what is referred to as the ‘Conscious Capitalism Movement’? Could you explain that?
Joachim Vansanten: “Absolutely. Our philosophy is that a company must be profitable to be sustainable – that’s a prerequisite. However, we also believe that profitability can be achieved in a way that benefits all stakeholders. When it comes to sustainability, we see real, pressing problems in the world today. By addressing these issues, we can create both societal and financial value in the long run.
Conscious Capitalism isn’t about extracting the last dollar or euro at the expense of others. Instead, it’s about doing business in a way that makes everyone better off. We believe this approach is more sustainable in the long term because it fosters stronger relationships and trust. That’s the essence of Conscious Capitalism: making a profit while doing good for people, the planet, and society.”
"The essence of Conscious Capitalism is making a profit while doing good for people, the planet, and society.”
Are there specific sectors that Quanteus Group focuses on when making investments?
Joachim Vansanten: “We don’t have a predefined sector focus. Currently, we don’t have external investors, which gives us the freedom to be sector agnostic while focusing on our key allocation criteria as explained above . That said, in practice, we have invested mainly in professional service providers, due to our background and experience.
Within these sectors, we look for companies that play a role in the transition toward a stronger Europe and a more sustainable economy. Take LiveCycle, for example: this platform helps companies measure and manage their environmental impact on a product level. Often, the biggest impact isn’t where you’d expect – whether it’s water usage, land use, or CO₂ emissions. LiveCycle helps businesses make these trade-offs transparent. Additionally, BrightWolves acts as our advisory partner, helping companies at a strategic level with digital transformation and sustainability. So, we don’t just look at the sector – we also consider how a company contributes to a better future.”
You position yourselves as ‘hands-on’ investors. What does that look like in practice?
Joachim Vansanten: “We are entrepreneurs at heart. That’s what sets us apart. We don’t invest from a distance; we’re actively involved with our portfolio companies, assist with strategic decisions, and leverage our knowledge and network to help companies grow. A great example is LiveCycle, which we initially developed within BrightWolves. When we saw a unique market need for our LCA platform, we decided to spin it off as a separate company. We brought in a founder, attracted another impact investor, and have been actively working on its growth since. Today, we’re still on the board, helping to steer it toward success.”
What are the most important considerations when evaluating an investment, particularly regarding impact and sustainability?
Joachim Vansanten: “We look at three main criteria. First: impact fit. We don’t follow formal ESG frameworks, but we do assess whether a company contributes to a stronger Europe, a more sustainable economy, a safer society, or healthier people. If a company wants to move all its assets outside the EU, we won’t invest. If it doesn’t contribute to sustainability or societal progress, it’s also not an option for us.
Second: we want to add value ourselves. We’re not passive investors who just write a check. We want to actively contribute to resource allocation, strategy, and the company’s transformation or growth. This means we need to understand the business well and see where we can add value. In sectors where we lack expertise, we’re less likely to invest.
Finally: it must be a good investment. Impact investing is not philanthropy. The companies we invest in, must be profitable or have a clear road to profitability, with a strong economic moat, providing pricing power.”
Originally, you focused on distressed assets. Does that mean you’re still actively seeking such situations, or has your focus shifted?
Joachim Vansanten: “We don’t actively seek out distressed companies anymore, but we aren’t afraid to look at them either. For instance, investing for impact also means we consider companies that may not be sustainable today but have the potential to become so with our knowledge and experience. If we see a company with potential, even if it’s in a difficult situation, we’re willing to take the leap. Our experience with turnarounds, has taught us that we can add significant value in such cases.”
Do you find that your profile – hands-on, with a clear vision on impact – gives you a competitive edge in the market?
Joachim Vansanten: “Absolutely. We’ve noticed that when we engage with potential targets, they appreciate our operational expertise and entrepreneurial mindset as well as our willingness to look beyond just profit. We also think long-term. While many private equity firms have a ‘bag of money’ they need to deploy quickly, we are family-owned which allows us to be more patient and think over generations. This makes us attractive to entrepreneurs seeking a partner who is truly committed for the long-term.
"We are family-owned which allows us to be more patient and think over generations."
We see this also interests investors. While we did not accept external capital in the past, we consider to selectively open our capital to a limited group of investors who align with our vision. Not in the form of a traditional fund, but in an evergreen setting as partners who think and grow with us. This allows us to scale our impact without losing our independence.”
How do you implement impact goals within your portfolio companies?
Joachim Vansanten: “We don’t yet have official ESG frameworks in place, but we regularly discuss in board and management meetings what we want to achieve and what the impact of our decisions is. At BrightWolves, for example, we’ve turned down clients because they didn’t align with our vision. We make decisions based on our gut feeling and values. If all three partners agree that something ‘feels right’, we go for it. We also take responsibility for our choices and if we believe in something, we stand by it.”
Where do you see the most promising opportunities in the Belgian and international markets in the coming years?
Joachim Vansanten: “We strongly believe that we can strengthen Europe by investing in three themes: a more sustainable economy, a safer society, and healthier people. Additionally, we see enormous potential in AI and the convergence of professional services and technology. We think AI-native service models will be the unicorns of the future.
There’s also still a lot of work to be done in energy. Sustainability and strategic independence go hand in hand here. Look at China: they’re massively electrifying and investing in renewables, not necessarily for moral reasons, but to achieve energy independence. We see similar opportunities in Europe.
We also believe that smaller players now have a chance. AI makes it possible to achieve a lot with a small team. We’re heavily investing in this, for example, by using smart tools for target sourcing and due diligence. It’s never been easier to start a company and develop a first MVP, but scaling and creating a sustainable solution is another challenge entirely.”
How do you view the current state of the private equity market in Europe? Do you see any trends or opportunities?
Joachim Vansanten: “I think long-term vision is becoming increasingly important. We’re seeing funds start to invest more with a long-term horizon. Another trend is that the market is currently less focused on sustainability than it was a few years ago, but we believe this will return.
The way we live and do business today has external costs that aren’t reflected in companies’ financial statements – what economists call externalities. But these costs are real. Climate change, environmental pollution, and social inequality have a price, and at some point, that bill will come due.
"Climate change, environmental pollution, and social inequality have a real price, and at some point, that bill will come due."
What are your personal ambitions for the coming years?
Joachim Vansanten: “I want to focus on further expanding Quanteus Group as an investor. We started as entrepreneurs, but now we want to grow Quanteus Group into a mature investment group. This can be achieved by raising additional capital and investing in the themes we care about: a stronger Europe, sustainability, a safe society, and improved health & well-being. I believe Europe is a strong economic power, and if we pool our resources, we can achieve great things. Look at quantum computing in Ghent or the major investments in the Port of Antwerp. If we continue to invest in these hubs, we can make a real difference.”
