Gillis Lien
IT Project Manager – AE
Lien Gillis (1992), IT Program Manager at AE, has spent a decade evolving from a functional analyst into a strategic advisor for major organizations. When she joined AE as a tester and functional analyst, Lien Gillis had only limited it knowledge but a deep curiosity for complex systems and a genuine desire to connect people and technology. As her career evolved, she realized how much energy she draws from creating structure in complexity and helping people grow and succeed in that environment. Currently acting as the right hand to the IT Director at GS1, she exemplifies how IT consulting can mature into structural leadership.
Gillis builds her case for Rising Tech Star on substantial operational transformations. At Fluxys, she led the Truck Self-Loading project, a complex automation initiative that increased the operational capacity from 4,000 to 20,000 truck loading slots annually. This ability to translate IT projects into measurable business scaling is central to her profile. Currently, she leads AE’s internal AI program, defining how the consultancy positions artificial intelligence to create market value. Her role at GS1 involves shaping the IT project roadmap and professionalizing the portfolio organization, demonstrating her capacity to operate at a governance level.
Parallel to her client work, Gillis is deeply invested in the inclusivity aspect of the tech sector. She collaborates with AE’s HR team on workplace policy and volunteers as a project manager coach for Hack Your Future, an organization aiding refugees in starting IT careers. Her ambition is to address the foundations of inclusivity, ensuring that future generations—including her own daughters—encounter a sector free from ingrained bias. ‘As a mother of two young daughters, I see how early bias and inequality are learned in society. I want future generations to grow up with an inclusive mindset, in every aspect of life. In addition, I want to be a role model for all young girls and boys, to show them that they can achieve anything they set their minds to’, Lien Gillis states.