Laurens Goormachtigh

Laurens Goormachtigh is Head of Product at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, where he leads the Artemis team's product function and oversees the strategy, development and delivery of AI-enabled digital platforms that support crop breeding and agricultural research across Sub-Saharan Africa.

His work focuses on translating scientific research into scalable digital products that accelerate phenotyping, improve data-driven decision making, and strengthen the impact of breeding programs. Working at the intersection of agriculture, artificial intelligence and software engineering, he collaborates closely with scientists, designers, engineers and breeders to develop technologies that are both scientifically robust and practical for use in low-resource environments.

Before joining the Alliance, Laurens held product leadership roles in the EdTech sector at StudySmarter, ChessMinds and Chessable and in the AgriTech sector at Onside. He lead product strategy and the development of SaaS platforms serving both business and consumer markets.

Laurens holds an MSc in Bioscience Engineering from Ghent University, an MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology, and an MSc in Software Engineering. His work focuses on applying AI, software engineering, and product management to accelerate agricultural research and deliver digital innovation for international development.