Accomplished international investor, researcher and educator
Investor and academic Jean-Jacques Degroof maintains affiliations with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Belgium's Catholic University of Louvain, where he conducts research. Jean-Jacques Degroof's work extends beyond the academic sphere, however: in addition to his work with several universities, Degroof invests privately in various ventures individually and through Hub Angel Group LLC as an angel investor and mentor for entrepreneurs in their early stages of their work.
When he is not engaged with his academic or financial work, Degroof serves on the editorial board of the French Journal Revue Entreprendre & Innover. In his editorial capacity, Jean-Jacques Degroof continues the trajectory of his academic studies, which he conducted at the Catholic University of Louvain and at MIT's Sloan School of Management. During his tenure at MIT, he earned first an M.S. in Management and then a Ph.D. in the same discipline, after completing a bachelor in Management and a Master of Labor Studies in Belgium.
In his academic research, Jean-Jacques Degroof looks closely at the relationship between universities, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Specifically, his work explores how academic institutions employ their resources to support technological innovation that has its basis in academic research. In his doctoral thesis, "Spinning off New Ventures from Research Institutions in Regions Outside High-Tech Entrepreneurial Areas," Degroof used this lens to examine current trends in his native Belgium. Since earning his Ph.D., he has published a number of other academic papers that address topics of innovation, entrepreneurship, and the role of the university in facilitating both.
Today, Jean-Jacques Degroof lives in Brussels, after spending several years studying and working in the United States. He serves as President of the Board of the Jean Degroof-Marcel Van Massenhove Foundation, a charitable organization that assists the elderly with housing-related challenges. In his leisure time, Degroof enjoys playing tennis and reading.