Stef Coninx joined the newly founded Flanders Arts Institute in 2015, where he is responsible for classical music at the national and international level.
Always having been active as an amateur singer and musician, he also holds a degree in musicology. After a few years of working as a music teacher and programmer at several cultural institutions, he joined the company PolyGram (later Universal Music Group). As Marketing Manager Classic & Jazz he had the privilege to work for world-class labels such as Philips, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, ECM, Verve and Impulse.
In his capacity of Managing Director of the Flanders Music Centre (2000-2015) he participated in many international music conferences and events such as Midem, Eurosonic, Waves Vienna, Reeperbahn, Visa for Music, Womex, ISCM-World New Music Days, Classical Next etc. as a speaker, panellist or moderator. He has been active in the European and international music scene by holding key positions in music networks such as the International Association of Music Information Centres (IAMIC), the European Music Office (EMO) and the International Music Council. As former Chairman of the European Music Council he was actively involved in the process of developing a European Agenda for Music.