ANNOUNCEMENT
Ghent, Belgium, 20 May 2025 – ONTOFORCE, a leader in semantic technology for the life sciences industry, today announced the appointment of Brecht Claerhout as Chief Executive Officer.
Brecht brings over two decades of experience in the life sciences industry, with a strong background in data integration and innovation. He previously served as CEO of Custodix and held leadership roles at TriNetX, where he focused on building real-world data networks on a global scale. His expertise in semantic data integration and background in healthcare and life sciences align with ONTOFORCE’s mission to transform siloed data into actionable insights through its flagship knowledge discovery platform, DISQOVER.
“We are happy to welcome Brecht to ONTOFORCE,” said Annie Vereecken, founding partner at Heran Partners. “His deep experience with driving data-driven approaches in the life sciences industry, coupled with his proven leadership in scaling and expanding data innovation make him the ideal person to lead ONTOFORCE into its next phase of growth. We are confident that under his guidance, ONTOFORCE will continue to scale DISQOVER’s impact and deliver exceptional value to the life sciences community.”
“I am honored to join ONTOFORCE at such an exciting time,” said Brecht. “With knowledge graphs and semantic technologies gaining ground as essential components for successful AI adoption, ONTOFORCE is uniquely positioned to help life sciences organizations unlock the full potential of their data. I look forward to working with the talented team to enhance our offerings and support our clients in accelerating scientific discovery and improving patient outcomes.”
Brecht assumes the role of CEO this month. He succeeds Valerie Morel, who has led ONTOFORCE since early 2021 and played a key role in expanding the company’s global presence and product capabilities.
About ONTOFORCE
ONTOFORCE helps life sciences organizations accelerate research and drug development by unlocking hidden insights from data. Founded on semantic technology and an ontology-based knowledge graph, their flagship product, DISQOVER, is a knowledge discovery platform developed specifically for the life sciences industry. DISQOVER seamlessly connects an organization’s internal, siloed data with licensed data and public data in one easy-to-use, customizable platform.
DISQOVER is deployed by many leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Users include scientific researchers, bioinformaticians, data scientists, and many other roles.
ONTOFORCE is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium and has a secondary office in the United States in Boston, Massachusetts.
