Tinne Mertens
Immersed in her element
As a child, Tinne Mertens pictured herself later working in accounting. She never expected to end up in IT. Today she works as a functional analyst on Kate Coin at KBC, where she moves daily between business, technology and end users. What began as a chance encounter with programming grew into a job where she found exactly the combination that suits her: technology, collaboration and helping people move forward.
An unexpected turn
“That I would ever end up in IT? No, that was absolutely not the plan.”
Tinne can’t help laughing when she thinks back to her school years. At twelve, she deliberately chose a business/commercial track. She pictured herself later working in accounting or at a secretarial desk, behind a desk full of paperwork.
When she turned 15, in her third and fourth years of secondary school, that picture began to change: IT started taking up more and more space in her curriculum. “At first it was very dry and dull,” she says. “But then we started automating things in Excel, and later programming in Visual Basic. I simply loved that.”
While her accounting balances would regularly be off by a few cents - sending her hunting for rounding errors - programming gave her something completely different: immediate feedback and satisfaction. “You made something and it worked. I’d come home and say: ‘Look mum, look what I made now!’”
Her final project in secondary school sealed the deal. In it, she combined an accounting analysis with the development of a simple webshop. “For the IT part, we built a webshop where you could order products. That tangible result gave so much more satisfaction.”
After secondary school, Tinne went on to study a bachelor’s in Applied Informatics - a choice her parents fully supported, given her enthusiasm.
Two different lenses, one complementary duo
Something else happened during her studies that gave her life another turn: she met the love of her life, her husband. Strikingly, he came from a completely different background. Where Tinne came from accounting and IT, he had studied humanities in secondary school.
That difference turned out to be no drawback - quite the opposite. “He always sat down next to me to do the exercises together,” Tinne says, laughing. “He played the helpless student a little: ‘I don’t quite get this, could you explain it to me?’”
What began as studying together grew into a close team, both in and outside the classroom. Tinne helped him get to grips with the technical concepts. “In the first year he had five resits. We practised together the whole summer. After that, he never had a resit again,” she laughs.
Today they both still work in IT, though each evolved in a different direction. Tinne grew into a functional analyst, her husband towards product owner. “I have more of a technical lens, he has much more of a human one.” That’s exactly why they complement each other perfectly, she says. “If I have to give a presentation, he sometimes helps me deliver my message differently. He’ll say: ‘If you approach it this way, it will stick better.’” She smiles: “Our desks at home stand right next to each other. We still help each other all the time.”
A backpack full of experience
Her studies first led Tinne into roles as a Java developer, after which she moved into consultancy. For eight years she worked for various companies and sectors, from logistics and retail to the financial world. “Every company works differently. Everywhere you come across things you think, ‘that really works well here,’ but also things you think could be better.”
She still reaps the benefits of that broad experience every day. “You build up a well-stocked backpack. When you start somewhere new, you can often say: ‘On a previous project we tackled it this way - maybe that’s an option here too.’”
Still, over time the consultancy world started to suit her less. Projects became shorter, uncertainty grew and the travel became more and more of a burden. On top of that, she noticed that just as she was really getting to know a product, she’d already have to start a new project.
“By the time I, as a consultant, could really help people, the project would end. As a functional analyst, your strength lies exactly in that product knowledge. You need time to fully get up to speed,”
Building Kate Coin at KBC
The move to KBC was a deliberate choice. Tinne was looking for stability and an environment where she could keep developing, while continuing to work on something innovative. She found that combination at KBC, a major IT player that places innovation high on its agenda while also strongly investing in continuous learning and growth. At KBC, Tinne works on Kate Coin, KBC’s digital reward currency, through which KBC customers can enjoy exclusive benefits and discounts with many of KBC’s partners. Kate Coin is meanwhile being rolled out in other countries and banks that are part of KBC Group, such as ČSOB in the Czech Republic. That international dimension makes it extra exciting.
“It was something new, something big and something innovative. Kate Coin plays an important role in KBC’s vision for the future,” she says. “Besides that, I knew that if I ever wanted a different challenge, within such a large company I’d also easily be able to move in another direction.”
Today she works as a functional analyst on the project - a role that fits her interests perfectly. “Essentially, you’re the bridge between the business and the developers,” she explains. “We get the questions from the business and translate them into concrete assignments for the developers.”
A functional analyst therefore not only needs to understand what the business needs, but also how the technology behind it works. “My technical background is a big asset there,” says Tinne.
“You need to be able to hold your own with the developers, while also keeping sight of the bigger picture.”
Her energizers
Although Kate Coin is an innovative project, Tinne’s greatest satisfaction doesn’t come from the technology alone. “If I can help colleagues, my day is a success,” she says. “When someone comes to me with a question and I can explain how something works, or help think through a solution, that gives me energy.”
That collaboration reached a high point last year in the run-up to the release of the renewed Kate Coin. “The release itself was fun, of course,” she looks back. “But I actually found the days beforehand even more enjoyable. Everyone helps each other. Developers, business and analysts search for solutions together, you test everything thoroughly once more… That was even better than the end result itself.”
Tinne notices that team spirit not only during busy releases. During her pregnancy too, and the challenges brought on by her hip problems, she feels supported by her colleagues. “If things aren’t going well, they simply say: ‘Work from home today. Take the rest you need.’ That human side is really built in, even though we’re a large company.”
For Tinne, that trust matters at least as much as the content of her job.
“I always try to do my very best for my projects and colleagues. But it’s good to know that, if something really doesn’t work out, that understanding is there from the other side too.”
Ready for a new chapter
In her personal life, Tinne standsat the start of a special new chapter. She’ll soon become a mother for the first time - a dream she long didn’t dare say out loud. “Because of all the medical issues and the medication, it was always a question mark: would it even work? Would I be able to get pregnant? Would I be able to carry the pregnancy to term? Because of that, we didn’t talk about it much. Once you say it out loud, expectations come with it right away.”
Today she looks ahead mainly with a lot of gratitude and curiosity. How do you combine a job you love with motherhood? “We have a plan,” she says, laughing. “But how it will actually work out in practice, we’ll just have to see.”
Professionally, she feels no urge for now to chase the next role or a management position as quickly as possible. Quite the opposite - she’s completely in her element today. “Functional analyst is really a job that gives me an enormous amount of satisfaction.”
That contentment shines through the whole conversation. Along the way, Tinne found her own direction. From a girl who once thought she’d end up in accounting, she grew into someone who, every day, builds the bridge between business and technology - and above all, between people.
A warm note
Is a young woman today unsure whether a career in IT is for her? Then Tinne doesn’t need to think for long.
“Go for it. Don't let anything hold you back. It’s a sector that’s genuinely changing. I’ve never felt I got fewer opportunities because I’m a woman. And if you find the right employer, you end up in an environment where you can be yourself and get every chance to grow. If this is truly your dream, it would be a shame to pass up a great job out of fear of what might possibly happen.”
Thanks to KBC for supporting women in tech and making this story possible.
Check out their website here!
Curious about other stories at KBC? Read them all here!
Stories like Tinne's don't happen by accident.
They happen when companies like KBC build spaces for women to grow.
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