PIA Group has appointed Tom Verhaegen as its new Group CEO, marking an important milestone in the group’s evolution from a Benelux success story into a broader European platform.
The appointment comes as founder Steven Brouckaert steps out of the CEO role to focus fully on mergers and acquisitions across the Benelux, Germany, France and beyond.
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Verhaegen, 53, will be responsible for further developing PIA Group’s distinctive operating model, which combines strong local entrepreneurship with the scale and capabilities of an international group. His mandate spans strategy setting, leadership of the senior management team, and oversight of operational and financial performance, all aligned with PIA Group’s ambitious growth objectives.
An experienced leader with an international track record
Verhaegen brings more than 3 decades of leadership experience from organisations such as AB InBev, SABMiller and Agilitas Group. Throughout his career, several themes have consistently shaped his approach: a strong customer and service mindset, long-term investment in people, and the creation of high-performance cultures built around values such as passion, ownership and entrepreneurship. Internationalisation and the rollout of best practices across borders have also been recurring elements.
Those themes align closely with the direction PIA Group is now taking. After a period of rapid expansion in the Benelux – where 63 office brands have joined the group – PIA is moving decisively into new core markets, with Germany and France identified as the first priorities. Verhaegen will guide this international rollout while safeguarding a consistent, yet locally anchored, approach.
PIA Group’s continuing buy-and-build strategy
While Verhaegen takes the operational helm, Steven Brouckaert will concentrate on what he arguably does best: shaping PIA Group’s buy-and-build strategy. As Executive Chairman, he has long championed a contrarian view on consolidation in professional services.
In an industry where post-acquisition integration often means heavy centralisation, Brouckaert deliberately chose a different path. His philosophy – summed up as “don’t fix what’s not broken” – rejects the idea that scale must come at the expense of proximity to clients. Drawing lessons from highly centralised sectors such as banking, he has repeatedly warned that over-standardisation risks eroding trust and client connection.
PIA Group’s strategy reflects that belief. Rather than absorbing acquired firms into a single monolithic brand, the group preserves their names, cultures, working methods and specialisations. Even offices located just a few kilometres apart are allowed to coexist if their teams, client bases and ‘DNA’ differ. For Brouckaert, these nuances are not inefficiencies to be eliminated, but sources of value to be protected.
Trust as a strategic asset
In accountancy, audit and advisory services, relationships are the core of the business model. Brouckaert often stresses that people are the product: losing a partner means losing not only revenue, but also client trust, institutional knowledge and cultural continuity. PIA Group’s decentralised approach is designed to prevent exactly that.
By keeping client-facing teams stable and allowing offices to retain their own invoicing methods and local practices, transitions are experienced as enhancements rather than disruptions. Clients gain access to broader expertise – peer advisory, specialised services, advanced technology – without losing the people and environment they trust. According to Brouckaert, this is why PIA Group has been able to grow without client flight or partner attrition.
Selective growth through entrepreneurial partners
Another cornerstone of PIA Group’s strategy is disciplined target selection. Brouckaert is explicit that PIA is not looking for firms whose owners want to sell and retire. Instead, the group targets what he calls “future-proof offices”: practices with entrepreneurial partners, strong teams, quality clients and a willingness to keep building.
The median age of PIA’s partners is 43, reflecting a focus on long-term collaboration rather than short-term exits. These entrepreneurs are attracted by growth capital, broader capabilities and a stronger platform – not just a payout. That alignment makes integration smoother and ensures that the brand equity of acquired firms remains intact.
Technology, but with a human core
PIA Group’s decentralised model does not mean a lack of ambition on technology. On the contrary, the group invests heavily in digital tools, artificial intelligence and training. A dedicated international AI team evaluates and implements best-in-class solutions across offices, ensuring that technology genuinely adds value rather than becoming an end in itself.
Crucially, Brouckaert insists that technology should enhance human relationships, not replace them. From digital onboarding tools for start-ups to advisory services powered by data and AI, the emphasis remains on enabling professionals to give better advice while staying close to their clients.
A complementary leadership duo
The appointment of Tom Verhaegen formalizes a division of roles that reflects PIA Group’s next phase. Brouckaert will continue to drive acquisitions and safeguard the group’s DNA, while Verhaegen brings the experience, seniority and international mindset needed to align activities across countries and scale the organization responsibly.
Together, they embody a leadership model that mirrors PIA Group’s broader philosophy: growth without losing soul, scale without sacrificing trust, and international ambition built on strong local foundations. As PIA Group moves into Germany and France, that balance may prove to be its most important competitive advantage.
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