Tom de Block is an IT Quality & Governance professional who advises Ecoheart on data interoperability and sustainable technology initiatives. He serves as Vice-Chair of the Alliance for AI, IoT and Edge Continuum Innovation (AIOTI) Steering Board and leads task forces on Testbeds and Experimentation Environments.
Tom pioneered the AIOTI High-Level Architecture for IoT-enabled data markets, a blueprint for sustainable data sharing in federated data spaces. This work evolved into The Blue Dataverse, which has achieved international and academic recognition. His publications are used in multi-million EU-funded Smart Energy, Mobility, and Agriculture programs.
As co-founder and steward of The Blue Pulse, Tom helps accelerate ocean-based climate action enabled by people and technology. The Blue Pulse empowers communities with verified, real-time tools to protect marine life and scale climate solutions, grounded in science, stewardship, and shared responsibility.
Tom's career began in 1999 with software testing on R&D projects with Japanese engineers from Panasonic (Matsushita). He has gathered in-depth multi-sector insights during QA consultancy positions across banking, medical services, public services, and Schengen Homeland security.
He contributes to the EU-OS Technical Working Group on Data Interoperability and is a co-founder of ALGAE Alpha. By passion and family heritage, Tom is also a beer sommelier and co-founder of the Belgian Barrels Alliance, supporting and maintaining the UNESCO-recognized Belgian beer culture.
At Ecoheart, Tom brings his expertise in data governance, IoT architecture, and ocean conservation to support our mission of community-driven, data-enabled environmental action.