Maarten Leyts is founder and CEO of Trendwolves, a European trend agency specialising in early stage trends and cultural youth research. Within the organisation, he leads the department that translates trends into products, services and marcom strategies. Driven by his passion for trend and youth research, Maarten initiated the postgraduate course in Trend-watching and Future Studies at HoGent. He is also a member of the advisory board of US cultural strategy firm Sparks & Honey, where he advises on youth culture and trends. Maarten was president of La Futura, the global trend association.