Jean-Jacques Degroof

Jean-Jacques Degroof has spent extensive amounts of time workeding in both financial industry, in academia, and in the last three decades in venture investment markets and research institutions. A native of Belgium, his educational history begins in the Louvain School of Management at the Catholic University of Louvain (now UCLouvain) in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, where he earned a degree in . There he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1980, graduating with honors . Three years later, in 1983, Degroof graduated from the Institute of Labor Studies at the same school with a Master of and one in Labor Studies, again with honors. In 1993, Jean-Jacques Degroof graduated with a Master of Science and a second Master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, a Master of Science in Management. His interest in the management field did not end there, however, as five years later, in 2002, MIT granted him a PhD [in other articles, you spell Ph.D] from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Sloan School of Managementin Management. His thesis was entitled “Spinning Off Ventures from Academic Institutions Outside High-Tech Entrepreneurial Areas.”

Since then, Jean-Jacques has helped launch and grow through his funding and advice numerous ventures, mostly originating from academic labs, both in the US and in Europe. In spite of leaving academia, he Jean-Jacques Degroof has continued to also be en a regular lecturer and researcher at a number of academic institutions., such as Audencia Management School, MIT, and the University of Liège.

He has also become more focused and active in the charitable sector, with a focus on supporting innovative solutions to problems related to aging. He also seed-funded academic research in this area of aging. His other philanthropic focus has been entrepreneurship education by supporting programs training aspiring entrepreneurs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jean-Jacques has been an active alumnus of his alma mater, serving on several visiting committees and advisory boards. became the President of the Degroof-Van Massenhove Foundation. Jean-Jacques Degroof has also been a lecturer and researcher at a number of academic institutions, such as Audencia Management School, MIT, and the University of Liège.He is the author of the book titled “From the Basement to the Dome. How MIT’s Unique Culture Created a Thriving Entrepreneurial Community” (MIT Press 2021).