Overview
Matthias Geeroms is the financial architect behind Lighthouse, Ghent's hotel revenue management platform that became Belgium's fifth Unicorn in November 2024 after raising USD 370M led by KKR at a USD 2.4 billion valuation.
Before founding Lighthouse, Matthias worked as a transfer pricing specialist at FOD Financiën (Belgian federal finance authority) from November 2009 to August 2015, though his founding work at Lighthouse overlapped from September 2012. His legal background, with a Master of Laws from Ghent University, complements his commercial science degree from the European University of Applied Sciences in Brussels.
Matthias co-founded Lighthouse in September 2012 alongside Gino Engels and Adriaan Coppens. While Gino leads customer relationships and Adriaan handles operations, Matthias has served as Chief Financial Officer from the start, managing the company's financial strategy through multiple major funding rounds including:
- Series A from Spectrum Equity
- Series B from Eight Roads Ventures
- A landmark USD 370M raise from KKR (2024)
By late 2024, Lighthouse employed 700 people globally, with 270 still based in Ghent. The company serves hotel revenue managers across every country in the world.
Matthias represents a different archetype from most Ghent founders: a legally trained financial professional who co-founded a deeply technical product company. His FOD Financiën background in transfer pricing gave him an unusual command of complex financial structures that proved valuable as Lighthouse scaled internationally and navigated multi-jurisdiction operations.
Career history
- Co-Founder & CFOSeptember 2012 - presentLighthousehotel revenue management platform, Belgium's fifth Unicorn
- Head of Corporate DevelopmentLighthousetitle evolution alongside CFO role
- Transfer Pricing SpecialistNovember 2009 - August 2015FOD Financiën
Education
Master of Laws2009Ghent University
- Master in Commercial Science and International Relations2008European University of Applied Sciences Brussels
In the news
- WE RAISED €1,5M. WE. DID. THAT. (YES THIS DESERVES ALL CAPS) 1,5 miljoen euro opgehaald in onze allereerste fundingsronde ooit, insane. Thanks to all our investors 🙏 Jullie zorgen ervoor dat we kunnen blijven groeien en het grootste probleem van deze generatie kunnen aanpakken: de skillskloof. Want deze treft namelijk iedereen op hun eigen manier, of je nu werkgever, werknemer, of bijna/net afgestudeerd bent. → Werkgevers: geen idee welke skills er al zijn binnen hun team. → Werknemers: geen idee waar ze zelf in uitblinken en
- WE. DID. THAT. (YES THIS DESERVES ALL CAPS) 1,5 miljoen euro opgehaald in onze allereerste fundingsronde ooit, insane. And even better: chances are this money is about to fix a problem you have right now. De skillskloof van vandaag raakt namelijk iedereen op hun eigen manier, of je nu werkgever, werknemer, of bijna/net afgestudeerd bent. → Werkgevers: geen idee welke skills er al zijn binnen hun team. → Werknemers: geen idee waar ze zelf in uitblinken en hoe ze daarin groeien. → Onderwijs: loopt gewoon achter op de snel
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