Herman Wielfaert (°1966), CEO

Through Freshwater Bay Management BV

Herman.Wielfaert@creafund.be  - +32(0)9 272 62 00

Herman joined Creafund as CEO mid 1999 and is board member at VHC, Beddeleem, Aalterpaint & Purna. Herman has been previously involved as board member at Ghistelinck Group, Transics International & IBt.

Herman started his career in 1988 as corporate finance specialist at ALSK (now BNP Paribas Fortis). Herman subsequently worked from 1991 till 1999 for the Daimler-Benz Group, during which he took up the CEO role for Daimler-Chrysler Capital Services Belgium and The Netherlands, active in alternative financing techniques (tax lease and rentals) for the Daimler-Benz products in shipping, aircraft, and railway assets. 

In addition to this activity, Herman has been a director with the Belgian Venturing Association for a number of years and he is active as an independent director at the Desimpel family holding, at NV Biobest (Biofirst Group) as well as the Floridienne Group and at NV De Bree. As from Sept 2012 he is a member of the Advisory Board of the Swedish W-Family Office.

Kenneth Depuydt, CFA (°1981), Partner

Through Defiman GCV

Kenneth.Depuydt@creafund.be - +32(0)477 86 80 39

Kenneth joined Creafund end 2018. Kenneth obtained his master's degree in applied economic sciences at UGent in 2003. He completed in 2004 the masters program in financial management at Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School.  In 2008, Kenneth became CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charterholder. 

Kenneth gained private equity experience since 2005 for both Fortis Private Equity and Buysse & Partners, for which he successfully cooperated in closing several private equity transactions and he managed diverse portfolio-companies in realising their growth plans.  Kenneth gained operational and financial experience as a financial manager at a Belgian group of SME's during 2009 - 2012.

Kenneth is guest lecturer at Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School since 2013 on the topic of financial modelling and for the Belgian Venturing Association Academy on the topic of valuation. Kenneth completed both the Guberna courses Director Effectiveness and Board effectiveness in 2017.  

Ruth De Wulf (°1982), Partner

Through Octolon BV

Ruth.Dewulf@creafund.be - +32(0)468 11 60 41

Ruth De Wulf obtained a Master’s degree in Applied Economics from University Ghent and Sorbonne University Paris after which she worked in the finance industry in New York, Luxembourg, Paris and London. In the UK, whilst working in investment banking, she also attended London Business School, co-founded her own property development company and brought 2 daughters into the world. Having spent 15 years working for J.P. Morgan, followed by RBS and ultimately HSBC, Ruth returned to Belgium at the end of 2019.

She joined Creafund, both as a shareholder and investment director. As part of her role, Ruth is constantly searching for target companies to establish a stake in, negotiate strategic partnerships with its leaders and steer those businesses to success via active board involvement.

Ruth completed both Guberna courses Director Effectiveness and Board Effectiveness in 2020 and is currently a board member at Purna Female Healthcare and chairwoman of both Sofics and Coeman Packaging.

Jan-Willem Callewaert (°1992), Investment Manager

Jan-Willem.Callewaert@creafund.be - +32(0)490 65 03 71

Jan-Willem obtained a master’s degree in applied economics from the University of Ghent. He took his first steps in his professional career within the M&A teams of PwC in Brussels and Hamburg, after which he gained private equity experience with M80. Having enjoyed a two-year in-company M&A role within the Reynaers Group, Jan-Willem decided to return to the PE industry by joining Creafund in October 2023. 

Next to his professional ambitions, Jan-Willem is an avid runner and a great sports enthusiast in general. 

Stefanie Destoop (°1972), Finance Manager

Stefanie.Destoop@creafund.be - +32(0)479 91 14 49

Stefanie has been part of the Creafund team since February 2024. 

After studying Business Administration, she built a career of almost 30 years in various financial positions at Belgian SMEs such as Fabrimode, Stadsbader Flamand and Artex Reclambureau. At her last employer Ghistelinck, she advanced to Group Financial Manager.

Stefanie loves travelling, cooking and socialising. She is an avid cyclist and the proud mum of 3 children.

Brenda Knockaert (°1965), Executive Assistant

assistant@creafund.be  - +32(0)9 272 62 00

Brenda joined Creafund in 2021. For 21 years she worked in an international environment. During 14,5 years she handled, often complex, shipping files in the maritime sector. In 2002 she joined the e-commerce sales department of the Thomas Cook Belgium group for nearly 6 years. Looking for a change, she started working at a law firm specialised in assisting high net worth clients. For 11 years she guaranteed that all non-legal matters ran as smoothly and efficiently as possible.