Felix Van De Maele

Cofounder, Collibra

Search every verified Felix Van De Maele interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Felix Van de Maele, co-founder and CEO of Collibra, appeared in two interviews in August and September 2026 to discuss the company's recent product announcements and his views on enterprise AI challenges. At the Neo4J GraphSummit NYC 2026, he discussed the launch of new capabilities within Collibra's AI Command Center suite, including "Guardian Agents" designed to enforce governance boundaries for AI agents. He described the concept of an "Agent Contract" to define what agents are permitted to do, and emphasized the importance of observability, lineage, and impact analysis for tracing AI agent drift and root causes of failures. In a separate episode of the Machine Dreams podcast, Van de Maele elaborated on what he calls the "hallucination tax," which he described as the cost organizations incur when employees must double-check AI outputs and correct mistakes. He cited a Harris Poll survey of over 300 business leaders, noting that more than three-quarters reported AI initiatives falling short and many faced roadblocks moving use cases from testing to production. He argued that data relevance, not just volume, is critical for AI success, and compared advanced AI models to highly educated employees who still require oversight. He also mentioned Collibra's continued interest in acquisitions and partnerships within the evolving AI ecosystem.