Team
It always starts with passion
Cognizone is a team of exceptionally talented people working from all around the globe.
We’re a team of people who love collaborating to create well-crafted, delightful products.
With a passion for Semantic Solutions.
Since 2015, we support organisations to maximise their unique set of data by providing IT and Data Management services with a focus on Semantic and Knowledge Graph technologies, Linked (and Open) Data Integration and Publishing, Metadata, Thesauri and Controlled Vocabulary Management.
Over the years, we engaged in projects dealing with Legislative, Labour Market and Enterprise Semantic Interoperability and successfully implemented industrial-strength solutions for a wide range of clients – from private companies to public stakeholders (the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Service central de législation of Luxembourg or the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland).
We stay driven by innovation!
The world moves on, technology follows closely and as organisations scale up in size, so does their data.
With our latest endeavour, Hanami, we aim to provide a self-adapting data editor supported by automation algorithms. We wanted to “taste” AI, especially on the implementation level, to simplify the understanding and use of knowledge graphs, making the power of semantics more accessible.
Our partners
Meet the management
Working with Cognizone gives you access to an extended team of specialists managed by a team of managers involved in applying agile values in the best possible way. Our managers are proud to assert their reliability and their craftsmanship in innovation for nearly 15 years.
Agis Papantoniou
CEO
Agis is a data fusion evangelist and proud ambassador of linked and open data. With his passion for technology and obsession of challenges, Agis drives every day the Cognizone team into innovation and co-creation.
Before founding Cognizone, Agis Papantoniou worked as a senior researcher and visiting lecturer at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), after the completion of his PhD thesis in 2003.
At the university’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Agis made Linked Open Data his passion and participated as a project manager and senior consultant in IT projects worldwide.
From September 2012 until February 2013 Agis was an invited expert in the W3C Government Linked Data Working Group and a co-editor of the W3C Registered Organization Vocabulary.
For the past five years, Agis has been involved in the European Skills, Competencies and Occupations (ESCO) framework as a project, program manager & senior consultant.
His research Interests: Knowledge Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Semantic Web technologies, Linked, Open Data, Data Visualization, Labour Market Analysis, and Ubiquitous Computing.
Natan Cox
CTO
Natan is the data guru. In all of human history, his technical knowledge finds no compare.
Natan is an experienced and hands-on Java software architect who has been building IT applications for more than 15 years.
His experience as a senior developer shines when coaching and leading development teams: driving us to take the most efficient technical decisions while keeping in mind the general requirements.
Natan has a deep understanding of business processes and development practices. He has a pragmatic view on implementations of standards, automation and modelling in helping businesses to achieve the project’s objectives.
He is knowledgeable in common technologies: databases, web and messaging but also keeps an eye on innovative areas such as NoSQL databases, micro-service architectures, cloud technologies, and Linked Open Data.
Dominique Vandensteen
Head of Development
Dominique is Cognizone’s lightning bolts – his coding speed is electrifying!
He is a Java lover, a SPARQL champion and UX nerdy.
Dominique is a senior application architect and developer with over 15 years of experience. He has extensive knowledge of web application development, JAVA programming, and JAVA architectures.
He has developed and implemented solutions on different infrastructures from classic servers to handheld devices.
Dominique steadily investigates how to optimize existing tools and resources to support our development process through the latest available technologies. At the same time, he knows what it takes to write rock-solid code for reliable applications.
He is a firm believer in agile methods and supports the team every day in using sprints, stand-up, daily builds, demos and automated unit tests.
Gregory De Backer
Program Manager
Gregory is the swiss knife of Cognizone. If provided with good coffee, he will always find the best and cost-efficient approach to fulfil and lead your needs! Get settled in your chair, Greg will figure out what to do!
Gregory De Backer started his career at Cognizone as Project Leaders and Business Analyst and participated actively in its growth.
Today, as program manager and founder, he’s a specialist in qualifications and their implementation within Europe.
He’s deeply involved in the elaboration of the Qualification Metadata Schema which is going to be implemented EU-wide.
Gregory also participated in the presentation of the project to 15 Member States (at least that is what he told us but we are pretty sure he only went sightseeing).
We are adventurers, volunteers, music lovers, cooks, tailors, mothers & fathers, and much more…
Sometimes I start to watch one of the Lord Of The Rings movie, extended edition (of course) while I’m on lunch break… and I don’t resume work until the movie is ended.
I experienced several times, apple juice leaking through my nose because of too much laughter.
I was a pro fashion model for 10 years but that… it stays between us of course.
Before joining Cognizone I used to be an adventurer but took an arrow in the knee.
Everybody at Cognizone thinks I’m the funniest member of the team (but I guess Domi would disagree)
I graduated last of my class in Master in Computer Science…
It’s just a living proof that I was lazy as shit.
I have a million hair
I am a self made millionaire, with no money.
One time when I was a kid, I fell into Richard Gere at the opening of his photo exhibition (like BAM-oups-sorry)
Luckily for me, I’m better at coding than at finding funny quotes.
When in the office I eat pastries in the mornings so if you shake my keyboard you might get a croissant.
I’m pro at casually taking naps on my desk. Also that blanket in the closet is mine.
I once dreamt I was eating a cotton candy and when I woke up my pillow was gone.
I start classical dance evening classes.
When I was a child, I always thought that eating fried chicken would give me supernatural energy.
When I was a child, I always thought that eating fried chicken would give me supernatural energy.
I have the enthusiasm of a puppy but the attention span of a goldfish. I encounter a potential hobby or an interesting topic, I obsess over it for two weeks, hear about something new and repeat. Safe to say I’m cursed.
My cat shat on every vinyl LPs my schoolmates offered me on my birthday.
Probably because the night before, end of the 70s, official school party – big event, I had my first getting “totally pissed drunk”, and coming home I shooed him off, quite wildly.
Every time some form of chocolate land on my desk, it disappears within minutes. To this day, experts are still trying to figure out how it happens. The most promising lead is that its made from recycled wood that comes from a ship that disappeared in the Bermuda triangle.
I hate mornings and naming variables.
I would have been a pirate but then engineering stole me…and my super power is that I can make a tank of coffee disappear.
Add your own quote, join the team!
We are looking for passionate and curious people to join us. We value clear communication, creativity, full ownership and responsibility.