Hi, I’m Frans.

Product-minded builder with a soft spot for companies, teams and products that make complex things feel simple.

My career started in finance and later took me through Ghent-based companies Engagor, PieSync and HubSpot, teaching me plenty about launching products in growing teams. Outside of work, I enjoy music and photography and have my hands full raising three kids.

Portrait of Frans Leys

Career built through change.

A career shaped by growing products, evolving teams and companies becoming part of something bigger.

Explore the timeline
  1. Fortis Bank BNP Paribas Fortis 2006–2013
    01

    Starting out in financial technology

    I began my career where finance, software and large-scale operations meet. Fortis became BNP Paribas Fortis along the way — a first acquisition story I can’t claim much credit for.

  2. Engagor Clarabridge Qualtrics 2013–2016
    02

    Learning how a scale-up grows

    At Engagor, a social media engagement SaaS company, I worked across customers, solutions and the product itself. Engagor was acquired by Clarabridge, later Qualtrics. I started out as a somewhat naive account executive and eventually moved into solutions engineering.

  3. PieSync HubSpot 2017–2026
    03

    From integration startup to product management

    PieSync’s 2019 acquisition brought me to HubSpot. I stayed for the next chapter, moving from SE to GTM Specialist, Product Manager and Senior Product Manager — deepening my craft as an individual contributor inside a global product team.

  4. And then ... who knows?
    04

    Next chapter still to be written

    I am interested in the right problem, the right people and the opportunity to keep learning. If that sounds like something you’re working on, reach out.

    Reach out

How I work

Connecting product, technology and people.

I tend to work where those worlds overlap — helping each understand the others and turning complexity into something teams can act on.

01

Product thinking

Turning complex customer problems into clear product choices, and helping teams move from an idea to something people can actually use.

02

Technical fluency

Comfortable between customers, product and engineering — especially where APIs, integrations, ERPs, CRMs and customer data meet.

03

Go-to-market perspective

Bridging what a product can do, what customers need and what a commercial team can successfully bring to market.

04

Languages & communication

Languages are keys to other cultures. They help me understand different perspectives and make ideas travel across borders.

  • Dutch · native Nederlands is mijn moedertaal.
  • French · near-native On me prend parfois pour un francophone.
  • English · fluent My English is fantastic.
  • Italian · conversational Ho imparato l’italiano in Erasmus.
  • Spanish · working knowledge Una buena base.
  • German · working knowledge Ein bisschen besser als Jean-Marie Pfaff.

Beyond work

Things worth keeping, collecting and learning.

Outside product work, I make time for photos, music and learning instruments—small ways of paying attention and staying curious.

01

Photography

I shoot with a Fujifilm X-T30 III, usually paired with old Nikon lenses. It’s really my way of paying closer attention to places, people, atmosphere and rhythm. These images were all taken over the past six months.

Explore photography
A selection of Frans's short album reviews on Instagram
02

Collect & pass it on

In our house, we keep the music that shaped us in a “platenkast”, a record collection to share with our children. Every now and then, I record a short review: a small time capsule made for my kids to discover 15 or 20 years from now.

Frans playing guitar by the sea Frans playing guitar beside a child at a small keyboard Frans playing piano
03

Play & learn

Guitar, piano and now bass. I enjoy playing them, but perhaps even more than that, I enjoy the never-ending process of learning them.

Contact

Let’s talk.

You can find me on LinkedIn and Bluesky. Feel free to reach out about product, technology, photography or anything worth exploring.