Interview with Lifelines' general director Kaat van de Vyver
After an impressive career in healthcare, the new managing director of Lifelines, Kaat van de Vyver, has taken on the challenge of becoming Lifelines' brand new general director. We ask her a whole series of questions to find out: what drives her, what are her plans and how does she view the future of Lifelines and our participants? Let's start at the beginning.
What has shaped you in your career in healthcare?
"What has always stayed with me is the tension between wanting to contribute to health and the reality of how healthcare is organised. In healthcare, the revenue model is still often focused on treating illness rather than preventing it. Yet prevention can ultimately mean so much to people and to society. But it is less easy to recoup the investment. I noticed this tension myself when I led a medical start-up in 2014 that developed motion sensors. These sensors had a lot of potential: they could be used in rehabilitation after surgery, but also to promote recovery at home. It was strong in terms of content, but difficult from a business perspective. Continuing to believe in the good, finding the right partners, and switching between healthcare content and revenue models taught me to remain creative within a system that does not yet automatically reward prevention."
Why did you choose Lifelines?
"Prevention is an important part of what we do at Lifelines, and that appealed to me immediately. How can we contribute to more healthy years of life? What motivates me is building bridges: between science and policy, between idea and practice. At Lifelines, I see the opportunity to really give scientific knowledge a place in society."
How did you like your first few weeks at Lifelines?
"My impression is very positive. I see a team that is extremely driven and passionate. These are people who want to make a difference in society. I really applaud that."
What do you think is the biggest challenge for Lifelines at the moment?
"The world is changing rapidly, think of the rise of AI. The question is: how does Lifelines remain relevant and agile in such an ecosystem? How do we maintain our place and added value? That requires us to move with the times."
What is your vision for Lifelines in five or ten years?
"In five or ten years, I see a strong and future-oriented Lifelines that is more relevant than ever. We will continue to engage with all our stakeholders about where we want to go, as one community. We will continue to build a solid, data-driven foundation — because our data is extremely valuable. At the same time, we will never lose sight of what makes Lifelines unique: the personal connection with our participants. They have been at the heart of what we do for almost twenty years, and even in a future with AI, that human connection will remain irreplaceable."