Who is the man behind Odoo? That is Fabien Pinckaers, the Belgian entrepreneur and software developer who founded Odoo in 2002 and is still the CEO and even the managing director!
During his study of Computer Science at UCLouvain, Fabien developed TinyERP.
This package turned out to be the basis for growth. However, since the broad functionality - even then - no longer matched the term ''tiny'' - TinyERP was renamed to OpenERP. Because ERP also no longer covered it - Odoo is much more than ERP, it is a platform - OpenERP was renamed to the current name: Odoo.
Why did Fabien Pinckaers start Odoo?
Fabien Pinckaers saw that many companies were unnecessarily wasting time due to inefficient processes and complicated software. His goal became to build software that allows you to work more simply and efficiently.
His vision is therefore very clear: "business software must be affordable, user-friendly, and integrated. Users should be happy using Odoo software". Entrepreneurs should be able to focus on their business, not on managing various separate systems.
Fabien Pinckaers is still closely involved with Odoo.
Despite the enormous growth of Odoo (in 2026 more than 8,000 employees and 28 million users worldwide), Fabien Pinckaers is still actively involved in the company. As CEO, he is engaged in the development of the software, marketing, and customer experience.
That makes his story so special. Fabien Pinckaers is not only the founder of Odoo; he is still the key driving force behind the vision and further development of Odoo as a platform. We at dooIT still find it remarkable that Fabien presents and demonstrates the latest version of Odoo himself on the first day of Odoo Experience (the largest annual IT event in Europe with more than 35,000 visitors at Brussels Expo halls).
From a young programmer with a passion for technology to the founder of a global software company: the story of Fabien Pinckaers shows how a good idea, entrepreneurship, and a clear vision can grow together.
And the Netherlands? is becoming increasingly enthusiastic about Odoo. Our goal: to make the Netherlands Odoo purple!
