Kris Achten leads the international marketing team at Karel de Grote (KdG) University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Antwerp, Belgium. In this role, Kris helped build and align KdG's international marketing, admissions, and student services efforts and teams. In 2025, KdG was awarded ‘best European university of applied sciences’ as reviewed by students, and won the Global Student Satisfaction Awards in the category Diversity. As a freelance marketing strategist and fractional Chief Marketing Officer, Kris helps startups and scaleups develop their marketing and teams - focusing on sustainable, long-term and story-driven strategies.