Founder & Executive Director
VonGSTAAD — Remote | Brussels, Belgium
About VonGSTAAD
VonGSTAAD is being built as an independent research and institutional organisation focused on quantitative research, mathematical modelling, empirical investigation, data, computational systems, knowledge and institutional development.
Our long-term architecture connects:
Research → Data → Technology → Knowledge → Institution → Community → Commerce
The objective is to build an organisation capable of producing rigorous research, developing durable intellectual and technical infrastructure, forming meaningful institutional relationships and transforming valuable research capabilities into sustainable activity.
The Position
VonGSTAAD is seeking a Founder & Executive Director to lead the organisation through its formation and long-term development.
This is not a conventional management position.
The Founder & Executive Director will establish the institutional direction of VonGSTAAD, coordinate its major functions and ensure that research, technology, knowledge, institutional development and commercial activity develop as parts of one coherent organisation.
The role combines strategic leadership, institutional design, research governance, organisational development and long-term execution.
Key Responsibilities
- Define and protect VonGSTAAD's institutional mission and long-term direction.
- Establish the organisation's research and institutional priorities.
- Build the organisational structure required to execute those priorities.
- Recruit and coordinate senior research, technical, knowledge, institutional and commercial leadership.
- Establish standards for research quality, methodological integrity and documentation.
- Ensure that research remains independent from commercial pressure.
- Develop relationships with universities, research organisations, technology companies and other institutions.
- Guide the development of VonGSTAAD's data and computational infrastructure.
- Oversee the transformation of research capabilities into institutional programmes and sustainable business activity.
- Establish appropriate governance, processes and accountability.
- Represent VonGSTAAD with senior external stakeholders.
- Allocate organisational resources according to strategic priorities.
- Develop the next generation of researchers, engineers and institutional professionals.
- Build an organisation capable of operating beyond the founder's direct involvement.
What We Are Looking For
We are looking for an individual capable of building an institution, not simply managing a company.
You should combine strategic vision with intellectual discipline and practical execution.
The ideal candidate can move comfortably between:
- Research and strategy
- Mathematics and empirical reasoning
- Technology and data
- Institutional relationships
- Organisational design
- Commercial development
- Communication and leadership
You do not need to be the deepest technical specialist in every discipline.
You must, however, be able to understand specialists, challenge weak reasoning, make difficult decisions and create an environment in which excellent specialists can work effectively.
Leadership Principles
VonGSTAAD is intended to be built around several principles:
Rigour over appearance.
Claims must be supported by evidence.
Research before promotion.
Communication must not outrun the underlying work.
Reproducibility over opacity.
Important work should be documented and traceable.
Long-term institution over short-term activity.
The objective is to build durable capabilities.
Intellectual independence.
Commercial interests must not dictate research conclusions.
Execution with accountability.
Ideas matter only when they can be developed into functioning systems, programmes or outputs.
What Kind of Person We Want
We are looking for someone who thinks in systems and time horizons.
Someone who can ask:
What should this organisation become?
What capabilities must exist for that to happen?
Which people should build them?
What standards must govern them?
What should VonGSTAAD refuse to do?
How does today's decision affect the institution five or ten years from now?
The Founder & Executive Director must be comfortable with uncertainty while remaining rigorous about what is known, what is assumed and what remains to be demonstrated.
Organisational Architecture
The organisation is being developed through seven connected functions:
RESEARCH
Quantitative research, methodology and scientific investigation.
DATA
Data architecture, engineering, integrity and research datasets.
TECHNOLOGY
Research software, computational infrastructure and systems.
KNOWLEDGE
Research editing, documentation and institutional knowledge.
INSTITUTION
Partnerships, programmes and external institutional relationships.
COMMUNITY
Researchers, contributors, professionals and structured programmes.
COMMERCE
Business development, client solutions and sustainable institutional activity.
The Founder & Executive Director provides the strategic coherence connecting these functions.
Development Opportunity
This position offers the opportunity to shape an organisation from an early stage rather than inherit an established structure.
The successful candidate will have substantial influence over:
- Institutional strategy
- Organisational design
- Research priorities
- Leadership recruitment
- Governance
- Partnerships
- Technology development
- Commercial strategy
- Long-term institutional positioning
The role is therefore suited to someone motivated by building something durable, rather than simply occupying an executive title.
Working Model
Remote position
VonGSTAAD's institutional base is Brussels, Belgium.
The role requires significant independence, strong written and verbal communication, disciplined decision-making and the ability to work across multiple functions.
Why VonGSTAAD?
VonGSTAAD is being built at the intersection of research, technology and institution-building.
The opportunity is to help establish the foundations of an organisation whose ambition extends beyond individual projects: a durable platform for research, knowledge, technical capability, institutional collaboration and sustainable development.
If you are interested in building an institution from its foundations—and believe that intellectual ambition must be matched by methodological discipline and execution—we would like to hear from you.
Website: VonGSTAAD.com
VonGSTAAD — Remote | Brussels, Belgium
About VonGSTAAD
VonGSTAAD is being built as an independent research and institutional organisation focused on quantitative research, mathematical modelling, empirical investigation, data, computational systems, knowledge and institutional development.
Our long-term architecture connects:
Research → Data → Technology → Knowledge → Institution → Community → Commerce
The objective is to build an organisation capable of producing rigorous research, developing durable intellectual and technical infrastructure, forming meaningful institutional relationships and transforming valuable research capabilities into sustainable activity.
The Position
VonGSTAAD is seeking a Founder & Executive Director to lead the organisation through its formation and long-term development.
This is not a conventional management position.
The Founder & Executive Director will establish the institutional direction of VonGSTAAD, coordinate its major functions and ensure that research, technology, knowledge, institutional development and commercial activity develop as parts of one coherent organisation.
The role combines strategic leadership, institutional design, research governance, organisational development and long-term execution.
Key Responsibilities
- Define and protect VonGSTAAD's institutional mission and long-term direction.
- Establish the organisation's research and institutional priorities.
- Build the organisational structure required to execute those priorities.
- Recruit and coordinate senior research, technical, knowledge, institutional and commercial leadership.
- Establish standards for research quality, methodological integrity and documentation.
- Ensure that research remains independent from commercial pressure.
- Develop relationships with universities, research organisations, technology companies and other institutions.
- Guide the development of VonGSTAAD's data and computational infrastructure.
- Oversee the transformation of research capabilities into institutional programmes and sustainable business activity.
- Establish appropriate governance, processes and accountability.
- Represent VonGSTAAD with senior external stakeholders.
- Allocate organisational resources according to strategic priorities.
- Develop the next generation of researchers, engineers and institutional professionals.
- Build an organisation capable of operating beyond the founder's direct involvement.
What We Are Looking For
We are looking for an individual capable of building an institution, not simply managing a company.
You should combine strategic vision with intellectual discipline and practical execution.
The ideal candidate can move comfortably between:
- Research and strategy
- Mathematics and empirical reasoning
- Technology and data
- Institutional relationships
- Organisational design
- Commercial development
- Communication and leadership
You do not need to be the deepest technical specialist in every discipline.
You must, however, be able to understand specialists, challenge weak reasoning, make difficult decisions and create an environment in which excellent specialists can work effectively.
Leadership Principles
VonGSTAAD is intended to be built around several principles:
Rigour over appearance.
Claims must be supported by evidence.
Research before promotion.
Communication must not outrun the underlying work.
Reproducibility over opacity.
Important work should be documented and traceable.
Long-term institution over short-term activity.
The objective is to build durable capabilities.
Intellectual independence.
Commercial interests must not dictate research conclusions.
Execution with accountability.
Ideas matter only when they can be developed into functioning systems, programmes or outputs.
What Kind of Person We Want
We are looking for someone who thinks in systems and time horizons.
Someone who can ask:
What should this organisation become?
What capabilities must exist for that to happen?
Which people should build them?
What standards must govern them?
What should VonGSTAAD refuse to do?
How does today's decision affect the institution five or ten years from now?
The Founder & Executive Director must be comfortable with uncertainty while remaining rigorous about what is known, what is assumed and what remains to be demonstrated.
Organisational Architecture
The organisation is being developed through seven connected functions:
RESEARCH
Quantitative research, methodology and scientific investigation.
DATA
Data architecture, engineering, integrity and research datasets.
TECHNOLOGY
Research software, computational infrastructure and systems.
KNOWLEDGE
Research editing, documentation and institutional knowledge.
INSTITUTION
Partnerships, programmes and external institutional relationships.
COMMUNITY
Researchers, contributors, professionals and structured programmes.
COMMERCE
Business development, client solutions and sustainable institutional activity.
The Founder & Executive Director provides the strategic coherence connecting these functions.
Development Opportunity
This position offers the opportunity to shape an organisation from an early stage rather than inherit an established structure.
The successful candidate will have substantial influence over:
- Institutional strategy
- Organisational design
- Research priorities
- Leadership recruitment
- Governance
- Partnerships
- Technology development
- Commercial strategy
- Long-term institutional positioning
The role is therefore suited to someone motivated by building something durable, rather than simply occupying an executive title.
Working Model
Remote position
VonGSTAAD's institutional base is Brussels, Belgium.
The role requires significant independence, strong written and verbal communication, disciplined decision-making and the ability to work across multiple functions.
Why VonGSTAAD?
VonGSTAAD is being built at the intersection of research, technology and institution-building.
The opportunity is to help establish the foundations of an organisation whose ambition extends beyond individual projects: a durable platform for research, knowledge, technical capability, institutional collaboration and sustainable development.
If you are interested in building an institution from its foundations—and believe that intellectual ambition must be matched by methodological discipline and execution—we would like to hear from you.
Website: VonGSTAAD.com