Brigitte Grouwels breathes Brussels. She has lived and worked there since her graduation and has been working on a variety of public functions throughout her career, focusing on social aspects and crafting a multicultural capital where Flemish people are welcome. From 2009 until early 2014 she was the Brussels minister of transport.

In 2013 she was at the forefront of the discussion whether or not to allow the taxi service Über which is one of the example organisations from the "sharing economy". Taking a stance in favour of the traditional taxi industry, she received a lot of criticism for being "old-fashioned" and cramping down on innovation.

Mrs. Grouwels is joining the TEDxLeuven debate on the sharing economy to share her view on Über, AirBnB and other tech innovators.