At KMSKA, people find connection with one another. This is also Circet’s mission.

Circet, a new partner of KMSKA, shares at least one trait with the museum: the company’s Benelux headquarters is located in a protected and iconic monument, the famous ‘floating’ BP building designed by architect Léon Stynen. Circet is a French group that builds telecom networks, including mobile infrastructure. Its ultimate goal: to keep everyone permanently connected to the fastest internet. Circet also focuses on the energy transition, with charging stations, digital meters, and the much-needed upgrade of the electrical grid… A conversation with Bavo De Cock, CEO of Circet Benelux.

Circet engages in social partnerships. What motivates your company to do so?

We have several objectives regarding ESG: Environment, Social, and Governance. Our social engagement as a service-oriented company is built on these principles. After all, for us it’s also about 'for people, by people': we aim to literally connect people with one another. This can go beyond traditional charitable initiatives, which we have also supported for some time. For example, through our philanthropic program Circet for Communities, our employees can volunteer during working hours. At the same time, we want to enrich the lives of our own people.

This naturally brings us to KMSKA: why did Circet choose KMSKA as a partner?

First and foremost, our headquarters are in Antwerp, which naturally creates a connection. I met Carmen Willems during a charity dinner, where she spoke passionately about the renewed KMSKA. I had already visited the museum a few times and was charmed, certainly also by its mission, where connection is a central word: people find a sense of connection with one another. That is precisely our mission as well. We want to bring our employees—there are roughly 2,000 of them in Belgium—together physically at KMSKA. And of course, we also want to involve our clients and partners. Through this partnership, we aim to make the museum accessible to them as well.

There is a positive vibe at KMSKA. I notice it at events I sometimes attend, where I meet quite a few familiar entrepreneurial faces. You see each other in a different atmosphere. It’s a pleasant way to network. And for a company, being able to give back to society through such a partnership is, of course, an added bonus.

What does Circet expect from the partnership?

I’ll pick up from the previous question: networking, of course. But as Circet, we also genuinely want to broaden our employees’ perspectives. Visiting a museum is, after all, a very different experience than receiving tickets to a football match. We therefore intend to organize special evenings and targeted events in the unique setting of KMSKA, for both our staff and our clients and partners. The museum stands for creativity and is constantly evolving, you can feel it. Creativity and new solutions are also expected from us, and I see a clear connection there.

You signed the new partnership for a futuristic painting by Jules Schmalzigaug: 'Speed'. In Circet’s case, that surely can’t be a coincidence… Is he your favorite painter? 

Carmen indeed suggested taking a partner photo in front of that work by Jules Schmalzigaug. It’s visionary, and I do identify with that. At Circet, we are focused on building vital networks and connecting as many people as possible: working on tomorrow, in a way. You could call it a form of futurism: literally helping shape the future.

At the same time, I am also a fan of Fouquet’s work. That may be over 500 years old, but even for its time, it carries a sense of futurism. It is both fragile and intense, radiates light, and the red breathes fire and passion. In other words, it embodies a love for the craft that we also want to convey. That painting immediately resonated with me.

In that way, old and new are connected with each other!