Pygargue SRL is a consultancy company providing services and support to Startup companies and more mature businesses.

From time to time, it also invests in new projects, for instance, in the fields of new technologies or renewable energy.

Pygargue is managed by Dr. Pierre De Muelenaere, a Belgian scientist and entrepreneur (Click here for Linked In profile). 

Pierre has an Electronic Engineering Degree and a PhD from the Université Catholique de Louvain. He started his own company, IRIS, in 1987, to commercialize the results of his   Ph.D. with the financial support of Ackermans & van Haaren.

IRIS, based in Louvain-La-Neuve (Belgium) is a pioneer in Artificial Intelligence in the field of Intelligent Document Recognition (IDR). IRIS has become an international success, worldwide leader in its field and was introduced on Euronext in 1999.

Pierre has been leading IRIS through all its development steps from University Spin-off to the status of listed company. He is named inventor for more than 40 granted patents.

In 2012, a friendly Takeover was negotiated by Pierre De Muelenaere with Canon, who was already an important customer of the company. 

Pierre remained on Board as President & CEO of the company until the end of 2015, then, 3 years after the takeover by Canon, he decided to leave IRIS and Canon to start new projects in the fields of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Education.

He has received a number of awards, including the “2001 Manager of the Year” award from Trends-Tendance, the “2002 Entrepreneur of the Year” award from EY, and the “2008, ICT personality of the Year” award from Data News.

He is currently Director of the Board for several companies and Invited professor at the UCLouvain to teach “Operations ad management of entreprises“.

Besides his activities with IRIS, Pierre was also a seed investor and Director of the Board for 23 years in Pairi Daiza. He has been for 12 years Director of the Board of Proximus, the biggest telecom operator in Belgium and of Guberna, the Belgian Institute for Corporate Governance. For 2 years, he was President & CEL ad interim of EVS Broadcast Equipment. Pierre was also a seed investor and Director of the Board of the Venture Fund E-Capitalfor more than 10 years.

A 33-years story on Entrepreneurship – Watch this TED-X Video on successful innovation

After a few years of preparation, Pierre De Muelenaere founded the belgian company IRIS in 1987, to commercialize the results of his PhD.

Since then, and for 33 years in a row, Pierre was leading IRIS through all development steps, from a university spin-off to a listed company and finally for its integration into Canon.

The IRIS Book (1982-2015) (see the cover and back pages) captures that unique experience and is designed as a Road Book that illustrates and reflects on the key concepts of Entrepreneurship.

The IRIS Book 1982-2015  is intended to share real-life experience with young or confirmed entrepreneurs, managers willing to grow internationally, professors in innovation, marketing, governance, etc.

“A very innovative management tool” Benoit Bolle, Operations Manager, HMS

It is organized around topics, such as,Strategy & Management, Technology & Innovation, Partnership & Culture, Crisis & Disruption and Fun & People.

Each topic is divided in different sections that relate to a specific question or subject. The reader can select a section of interest from theTable of orientation and access it directly to learn more about the IRIS story and the more generalLessons Learnedon that subject.

Easy to access Table of Orientation

“The IRIS Book is an excellent guide for the journey of the young entrepreneur and a  ‘must read’ for them” Sophie Neu, Managing Director Yncubator

Its original format that allows an easy selection of the subject matter and proposes many pictures and cartoons should make it accessible to a wide audience, especially to the new generation.

The IRIS Book covers the 9 phases of development of the IRIS company, from a university spin-off to a listed company and finally to its integration into Canon.

“IRIS Can inspire our new generation of entrepreneurs. It shows that the once famous, Belgian entrepreneurship spirit is still alive” Christian Boon Falleur (ex-director Ackermans & van Haaren)

The Preface is written by Eric Domb (Founder of Pairi Daiza) and the Baron Luc Bertrand (Chairman of Ackermans & van Haaren), who have both been key actors in the IRIS development.

To summarize some of the key elements of the IRIS Book:

• The IRIS Book is written in English for a more international distribution.
• It is designed to share experience with the new generation.
• The format of the book is 17 cm x 24 cm
• It contains 474 full-color pages and 642 pictures or cartoons
• It has benefited from 63 contributors from Europe, USA and Japan who have directly been involved in this project (design, pictures, cartoon, review, proofreading, etc.)
• There are 162 Lessons Learned proposed and 19 statements from key personalities
• The IRIS Book project has been supported by 16 partners
• The price of the IRIS Book is €45 (including VAT), excluding shipment
• It is available on international basis (Go to contact us for all information)
• It has generated many positive press reviews (see In the News)
• It has been the basis of a cycle of conferences in Belgium and abroad (see Conferences)

“A recommended reading to all founders of start-ups” Olivier Bonaventure, Professeur UCLouvain

Download the quick user guide to learn more about the organization of the IRIS Book: IRIS Book Quick User’s Guide

Watch the IRIS Book gallery to get a better feeling on the content and look and feel of the book.

Useful Links

• Other publications and press articles

If you want to contact us for Consultancy services, please send your request to the following e-mail: pierre.pygargue@icloud.com

If you are interested to order an IRIS Book, the easy steps are the following:

• Fill the following order form and return it to Pygargue
• Wire the amount to the bank account of Pygargue
• The package will be delivered to your place after payment