Thomas Walgraffe

Thomas Walgraffe is a Belgian investor and operator based in the Brussels/Perwez area. He trained as a Civil Mechanical Engineer at UCL (Université catholique de Louvain) and later completed an Executive MBA at INSEAD. Before moving into investment, he spent roughly 20 years in international operational roles across major industrial groups — including Umicore, Paul Wurth and CMI — with about 11 of those years spent as an expatriate, plus a period of interim management inside SMEs. His operational expertise centers on change management, scaling growth, downsizing and reorganizations, and post-acquisition integration. He also holds a Board Effectiveness certification from Guberna, the Belgian institute for directors.

In 2017, Thomas co-founded Profinpar's fund alongside firm founder Pierre Robin and Dimitri de Failly, helping launch a first vehicle of roughly €38 million backed by a collective of Belgian entrepreneur-investors. Profinpar itself traces its roots to 1997 as an investment firm supporting SME succession, restructuring and growth across Belgium, Luxembourg and Northern France. Thomas serves as a partner and co-manager of the fund; the fund-management and advisory relationship is structured through his vehicle LMcV.

Today Profinpar operates as a distinctive "entrepreneurs' fund," pooling the capital, sector expertise and networks of about 45 investor-entrepreneurs to actively support portfolio SMEs at board level. The management team alongside Thomas includes Dimitri de Failly and, since around 2024, Rodolphe Blondiau (a former partner at M&A firm Merodis), with Pierre Robin transitioning into a senior advisor role. Profinpar deliberately positions itself to fill a gap in the French-speaking Belgian market, where — unlike Flanders — few funds serve the mid-sized SME segment.

• Stage & style: Active, hands-on private equity for established, profitable SMEs — growth capital, succession/buyout and reorganization situations — rather than early-stage venture or seed.
• Check size: Typically €2–6 million per investment.
• Target companies: SMEs/family businesses with 10–200 employees, EBITDA of €0.5–4M, positive cash flow, and enterprise value of ~€5–25M, frequently led by a single shareholder-manager.
• Value-add "why yes": Profinpar's differentiator is combining capital with the operational and sector expertise plus networks of its ~45 entrepreneur-investors — offering "differentiated equity capital that leverages investor expertise and active partnership," board-level support, and help professionalizing and structuring businesses.
• Complementary to public money: In Thomas's words, *"There is a real need for private investors willing to actively support SME growth in Belgium… our approach is often complementary to that of public investors."*
• Geography: French-speaking Belgium, Luxembourg and Northern France — a market Profinpar describes itself as "almost alone" in serving.