Mathieu Cilissen (1960) specialises in construction law and liability law. Since 1992, he has been a partner in the law firm Gilkens-Panis, which has grown into the Adlex advocaten & bemiddelaars of today. After completing his humanities studies (Greek-Latin) at Sint Jan Berchmanscollege in Genk, he obtained his law degree at the Catholic University of Leuven.

In addition to his activities as a lawyer, he is closely involved in a number of professional associations in the construction sector and is also active in various school courses and associations. He is a former lecturer in general, social and labour law at the Katholieke Hogeschool voor Verpleegkunde (Catholic Nursing School) and teaches contracting law and business law at Syntra.

As a sports, and more specifically football enthusiast, Mathieu Cilissen has been a member of the General Assembly of KRC Genk football club since 2001, where he has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2009 and has also held the position of Vice-Chairman since 2017. He is a former member and chairman of the Young Economic Chamber of Genk (Jaycees) and former chairman of Kiwanis Genk ‘De Heimaaier’, of which he is still a member.