Candidates

Harvey Nash Belgium, the leading global technology recruitment business has named Laurence Bauwelinckx, the winner of its second Contractor of the Year Award in recognition of her exemplary performance in an administrative role, highlighting unparalleled customer service, remarkable flexibility in handling diverse tasks, creative problem-solving skills, and outstanding multitasking abilities, all of which significantly enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of the workplace. Laurence will now automatically be entered into the Global Contractor of the Year process, along with all other winners from Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, and the UK. Working with over 11,000 active contractors each year Harvey Nash has established this award and the Global Contractor of the Year Award to recognise the value these individuals deliver to businesses and economies across the world, using their skills and experience to deliver vital projects for organisations. Laurence was selected as the country winner for Belgium from a pool of highly qualified and passionate nominees. At the age of 42, boasts a robust 16-year career as a freelancer. Prior to embarking on this journey, she immersed herself in office management roles within various corporate landscapes, often navigating the intricacies of large organizations where individuals could easily feel like mere statistics. Placing a profound emphasis on human interaction, Laurence finds that receiving recognition not only validates her efforts but also fuels her enthusiasm. The diversity inherent in her work is a cornerstone of her professional identity. Her decision to transition into freelance office management was fuelled by a desire to engage in a spectrum of tasks and connect with diverse individuals and personalities. As a freelancer, she recognizes the significance of infusing a personal touch into her work, ensuring that she offers something extra and unique. Having traversed through various industries such as accounting, real estate, consulting, IT, architecture, pharmaceuticals, and more, Laurence's professional portfolio is enriched by her ownership of management and real estate companies. This entrepreneurial venture provides her with a profound sense of fulfilment, continually presenting opportunities to learn and innovate with each project. The expertise cultivated in one company consistently proves valuable, either by infusing creativity into new client projects or offering additional insights. Intriguingly, the scrutiny faced by someone with a diverse job history, often encountered in the traditional employment sphere, becomes a testament to Laurence's strength and creativity as a freelance office manager. Her adaptability and multifaceted experience only serve to fortify her professional capabilities. As she navigates her current role, Laurence collaborates with multiple clients, experiencing a role that dynamically evolves. A typical day for her begins with the anticipation of unpredictability. Following a wholesome breakfast, she delves into a spectrum of communication channels, managing emails, WhatsApp messages, Teams notifications, Messenger, and LinkedIn—acknowledging the ease of communication in today's interconnected world. Prioritizing based on the day's urgencies; she addresses the most pressing issues first. In her capacity as an executive assistant, Laurence's responsibilities span booking travel arrangements, managing diverse agendas, scheduling appointments, orchestrating events, budgeting, occasional recruitment tasks, team support, and aiding EU or US teams as needed. This diverse array of responsibilities ensures that no two days are the same. Simultaneously, in her role as an event and finance manager for Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, Laurence takes charge of financial operations, coordinates both internal and external events, supports the sales department, handles HR matters, manages payroll, and tackles a substantial administrative workload. Post-client work, Laurence turns her attention to overseeing her four companies. This involves financial stewardship, payment management, administrative duties (claiming the top position in Belgium), customer relations, and the management of her real estate business. This glimpse into her professional life is juxtaposed with her commitment to quality time during weekends, where Laurence prioritizes moments with her family, friends, and beloved pets—a pair of dogs and a cat. “I am delighted to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Laurence as she embarks on her new mission as COTY Belgium. Her dedication, expertise, and unwavering commitment have been instrumental in our success. Wishing Laurence continued success on her journey to the global title. Let us rally behind her and celebrate this remarkable achievement together!” - Ronny Lommelen, Managing Director Harvey Nash Belgium. Commenting on being named the 2024 Contractor of the Year for Belgium, Laurence added, “I am deeply honoured and humbled by this recognition. It symbolizes not merely a moment of achievement but rather a culmination of dedication, hard work, and collaboration. This award serves as a reminder of the trust and confidence vested in me by my colleagues, customers, and family, propelling me to persist in striving for excellence in every small action I undertake. This award is not just a personal achievement but also a recognition for all freelancers in my sector. The role of an all-around assistant is notably demanding in terms of time and energy. Our availability, responsiveness, and capacity to handle last-minute tasks constitute significant facets of our professional personality. These aspects contribute to the excitement and diversity inherent in our profession.” Laurence will now go through as a finalist for the Global Contractor of the Year Award, the winner of which will be announced in April. For more information about the Harvey Nash Contractor of the Year award please contact Rachel.Watts@HarveyNash.com

Harvey Nash, the global technology recruitment company has announced the launch of its second Global Contractor of the Year Award. Following on from the success of the inaugural award in 2023, Harvey Nash is extending this award to include even more geographies including Germany, Switzerland, Ireland and Australia. Working with over 11,000 active contractors each year, the award recognises the value these individuals deliver to businesses and economies across the world, using their skills and experience to deliver vital projects for organisations. Last year’s Harvey Nash Global Contractor of the Year Winner, Meisha Millwee was selected from an extremely strong pool of finalists from across the UK, USA, Netherlands, Poland and Belgium for her outstanding performance and commitment as a Harvey Nash contractor. Meisha then went on to be named American Staffing Association's 2024 National Staffing Employee of the Year for the Engineering, Information Technology, and Scientific Sector in the USA. Reflecting on the award Meisha said “Receiving this award was a wonderful surprise and I am truly humbled. I also recognise the importance of this award, not just for me, but also for my fellow contractors around the globe who make such an important contribution to businesses every day.” Nominations for the 2024 award will be sourced from existing Harvey Nash clients across the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Poland and Australia. This year’s award will also see contractors able to nominate themselves. All nominations will be judged by a panel comprised of global clients and the Harvey Nash leadership team before a winner for each country is named. Winners of the local country Contractor of the Year Award will then be entered into the Global Award with the overall Harvey Nash Global Contractor of the Year being announced in early 2024. Commenting on the launch of the second Global Harvey Nash Contractor of the Year Award, Bev White CEO of Nash Squared, Harvey Nash’s parent company said:“One of our core values is that we are human, and we understand the value each individual, whether a candidate, contractor or employee brings. This award not only allows us to recognise our talented contractors, it also allows us to say thank you publicly to them for all the value and skills they bring to organisations across the globe. Speaking personally to each of our finalists was a great honour and I’m very much looking forward to being part of the judging panel this year.” "The Contractor of the Year Award is a testament to our commitment to recognizing and celebrating the remarkable contributions of contractors in the tech industry. It's not just an event; it's a platform where dedication, skill, and innovation come to life. At Nash Squared our people have always been at the center of our attention. This is also the same for our employed contractors and freelancers. With the Contractor of the Year Award we want to provide them the platform they deserve." - Ronny Lommelen, Managing Director Harvey Nash Belgium For more information about the Harvey Nash Contractor of the Year award please contact Rachel.Watts@HarveyNash.com

Our CISO, Jim Tiller, answers a question he is asked often, and looks at the biggest cyber threats of the future. This article first appeared on ComputerWeekly.com. As a CISO and cyber specialist, I am often asked what I see as the big cyber threats of the future. Whilst I’m not a fan of crystal ball gazing for its own sake, nevertheless it can be helpful to think about what may be coming – and what we can do about it. So here are my four big threats – or what we may more colourfully term the four ‘horsemen of the apocalypse’ – together with some thoughts how we can prepare for them so that it doesn’t actually turn into the end of the world! 1 Virtual Humans With the advent of AI, especially natural language algorithms like ChatGPT, and their access to everything on the internet, combined with the ability to create essentially AI plug-ins for text-to-speech and imagery, very soon we’ll have more virtual humans online than real ones. Today we have botnets: networks of robots that were surreptitiously installed through malware onto computing systems around the world doing the bidding of cybercriminals. With the power of millions of computers at their disposal, industrious hackers can do everything from mine crypto to offer ransomware as a service to other criminals. Moving forward, cybercriminals and even nation states will have the ability to mobilize huge swaths of digital people seemingly operating independently but aligned with a larger mission. We see tiny examples of this today with virtual interviews resulting in unintentionally hiring a hacker or spy. Real humans are and will remain victims to fraud and confidence schemes. Even to this day, email borne attacks, such as phishing, are highly effective. Imagine a world where parents are having interactive video calls with their children asking for money. But what if that child is actually a digital fake? Given how much information there is about you as an individual, thanks to data breaches and social media posts, very rapidly there will emerge virtual replicas. Versions of you designed to leverage you for a greater gain by crossing ethical boundaries you are not willing to take. 2 Super Computing Quantum computing has leapt off the pages of sci-fi into reality and has been actively processing data not just for a few years now, but decades. Many companies have developed quantum computers, but the reason we have yet to see something dramatic is, in many ways, because they all use a different architecture. It’s like Apple and Microsoft in 1986, separate and completely incompatible. Moreover, thanks to the nuances of quantum mechanics, networking quantum computers has proven to be difficult. Nevertheless, both these barriers are diminishing rapidly. Soon the race for processing the most qubits will be shortened and accelerated as scientists solve the networking challenge. Overnight, the global human race will have access to thousands if not tens of thousands of qubits. From a cybersecurity perspective, most encryption will instantly be rendered useless. All of a sudden, your secure transaction to your bank or all the data transmitted over you VPN are no longer protected. In fact, every secure interaction you’ve ever made is likely to have been collected, allowing adversaries to go back and decrypt all those communications. The underlying basis of blockchain crumbles, permitting the ability to rewrite financial history. 3 The Expanding Ecosystem As we delve into the world of digital transformation and Web 3.0, the ecosystem of technology is becoming increasingly complex and layered. In the early days computers existed in a single room. Soon, individual computers were able to communicate. As networks expanded, along with processing speeds and availability of cheap storage, computer applications began to interact, requiring less and less standardization across platforms. With this evolution has come more points of interaction and the ability to leverage specific capabilities from a wider range of technologies, and at different layers of computing. Today, cybersecurity is just coming to grips with the challenges of third-party and supply chain risk in computing. Companies that are currently undergoing digital transformation will likely not simply have three or four layers of suppliers, but that rather closer to twenty. Moving forward the combined demand for pace, growth and innovation will require more and more from the computing ecosystem. These pressures will result in greater degrees of specialization in the supply chain causing it to expand rapidly. As such, it will be a primary target of cybercriminals because its manipulation can undermine trust in surface-level computing, permitting hackers to take control of any system without detection. 4 Smart Systems The role of technology and its importance in the physical world is increasing exponentially and will soon reach a point where computer-related issues, including everything from errors to hackers, will have a tangible impact in the real world. Today, we’re exploring self-driving vehicles, intelligent power distribution, and automation in industrial control systems, all of which have direct physical interactions with people and places. As we evolve, increasingly sophisticated technology will not only be embedded into everything from the mundane toaster to the most complex infrastructure but will also be interconnected and operated across a set of automated systems. For example, smart medical devices will become increasingly common and will quickly move beyond tactical monitoring to automated delivery of off the shelf medication, prioritization of emergency services, and even control access to various facilities. While these capabilities will greatly enhance human services, improve healthcare, and reduce accidents, cyberthreats will target these systems to perform everything from theft to terrorism. Instead of your data being held ransom, hackers may hold your car for ransom, withhold access to your home for money, or deny you medication or emergency services without payment. Getting Ahead of the Future In the face of these seemingly insurmountable challenges, is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Thankfully, I believe there is. For example, many companies are now developing quantum-resistant technologies, such as encryption algorithms, blockchain technology, and communication networks. These may help nullify some of the cyber risks of quantum computing – the challenge will be to develop the strength of the defenses in proportion to the magnitude of the risks as quantum computing takes off. In relation to the expanding ecosystem, although the supply chain is growing beyond comprehension, there are efforts such as Software Bill of Materials (SBOM), enhanced software updating and patching standards, and even IoT product labeling is being explored. Active expert thinking is being applied to the issue.  When dealing with the future related to smart devices and now, with ChatGPT and its ilk, smart AI, I think we have to change our perspective of how we coexist as companies and individuals with technology. It’s less about being a hard target with strong defenses, and rapidly becoming all about being a resilient target rather than a victim. With solid planning and preparation, resilience is possible. Be aware of the risks and think ahead of them. Focus on having alternatives, out-of-band options, and, critically, awareness of potential threat capabilities so that your plan B and even plan C aren’t rendered useless. The cyber future may sound worrying – but at the same time, human ingenuity will also find ways to build new protections and mitigations.

In today's digital age, job hunting has moved online, making it convenient yet leaving job seekers vulnerable to a new kind of threat: phishing scams disguised as enticing job opportunities. These scams are designed to steal personal information, financial data, and even infect your devices with malware. At Harvey Nash we take these scams extremely seriously and want to provide you with advice on how to spot these fake opportunities. How to spot a potential recruitment phishing scam. Often using a reputable company's name, brand, logo and tone of voice these recruitment scams may on the surface seem authentic, but the following checks and tips will help you to protect yourself. If in doubt, contact the company. Do not respond to the message directly, this goes for email as well as WhatsApp messages. Go to the company’s website and contact them from there to check the validity of the offer. Too good to be true. If an offer seems too good to be true it usually is, so trust your instincts. Examples can include seemingly attractive salaries for little work, promise of earning a lot of money quickly. Relevancy. If the job opportunity you are being contacted for has no relevancy to your skills it is likely to be a scam. Upfront payment requests. Harvey Nash will never ask you for any payment to get a job, nor will other reputable recruitment agencies. Unprofessional communication. Poor grammar, spelling mistakes, unprofessional email addresses or overseas phone numbers are all tell-tale signs of a scam. Urgency of response. If the offer insists on an immediate response without giving you enough time to think or research, be cautious. Unsolicited links or attachments. Never click on a link or open an attachment that you suspect to be a scam. What to do if you suspect a job scam using the Harvey Nash name or logo? If you are unsure if a Harvey Nash communication or job offer is genuine, please contact Harvey Nash directly by emailing info@harveynash.com.   If contacted through WhatsApp we would also suggest blocking the sender and reporting the account.