Board of Directors

Luc Bertrand (º1951, Belgian)

• Chairman of the board of directors
• Non-executive director
• Mandate ends 2027

Experience/Career

• Luc Bertrand began his career at Bankers Trust as Vice-President and Regional Sales Manager, Northern Europe. He has been a Director at
  Ackermans & van Haaren since 1985, joined as Financial Director in 1986, and was Chairman of the Executive Committee from 1990 to 2016.
  
  

Other management duties

•  Chairman of the board of directors of DEME Group, CFE, SIPEF and JM Finn
• Member of the board of directors of Delen Private Bank and Verdant Bioscience
• Founding member of Guberna, the Belgian Institute of Directors promoting good governance in all organizations
• Chairman of the Duve Institute and Middelheim Promoters
• Member of several other boards of directors of non-profit associations and public institutions, such as Museum Mayer van den Bergh and Europalia

ESG-specific qualifications

• Expertise in corporate governance and principles.
• Having served on various audit and risk committees, he is well-versed in risk management and
  internal control systems.

Sonali Chandmal
(°1968, Belgian and Overseas Citizen of India)

• Independent director (since 2023)
• Non-executive director (since 2023)
• Mandate ends 2027

 Education

• MBA (1997), Harvard University
• BA in Economics (1992), University of California, Berkeley

Experience/Career

• Sonali Chandmal was an investment banking associate at Robertson Stephens & Co (1992-1995) and a management consultant, then senior manager at Bain & Company (1997-2017) in London, San Francisco, and Brussels.

Other management duties

• Partner at A. Lamot & Company
• Member of the board of directors at Ageas SA/NV, Ageas Portugal Holdings SPGS S.A., BW LPG Pte Ltd.and Medicover AB.

ESG-specific qualifications

• Member of the board of directors of Chapter Zero Brussels (2021-2025), a collaboration with the World Economic Forum’s Climate Governance Initiative.

Marion Debruyne BV
Permanently represented by Marion Debruyne (°1972, Belgian)

• Independent director (since 2016)
• Non-executive director
• Mandate ends 2028

Education

• Degree in Civil Engineering (1995), UGent
• PhD in Applied Economic Sciences (2002),
  UGent

Experience/Career

• Professor Marion Debruyne has lectured at Wharton School, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and Goizueta Business School (USA). Appointed Dean of Vlerick Business School
  in 2015.

Other management duties

• Member of the board of directors of Guberna and ‘Kom Op Tegen Kanker’.

ESG-specific qualifications

• As Dean of Vlerick Business School, she leads initiatives to integrate sustainability (ESG) into education 
  and research.

Venatio BV
Permanently represented by Bart Deckers
(°1978, Belgian)

• Independent director (since 2022)
• Non-executive director (since 2022)
• Mandate ends 2026

Education

• Bioengineer (2001), KU Leuven
• Doctor of Applied Biological Sciences (2005), KU Leuven
• MBA (2006), Vlerick Management School

Experience/Career

• Managing Director of Invale, a family-owned private equity fund providing growth capital to Belgian SMEs since 2013. Previously at Aveve (2008-2013) as Business Unit Manager Plant
  Nutrition, and at McKinsey & Co as a management consultant (2006-2008).

Other management duties

• Member of the board of directors of Vanbreda Risk & Benefits, UTB, Elnor Motors, Stoffels Tomaten and Op de Beeck Boomkwekerijen

 ESG-specific qualifications

• Academic background as a bioengineer and professional experience in land- and forest management.

Jacques Delen
(º1949, Belgian)

• Non-executive director (since 1992)
• Mandate ends 2027

Education

• Degree of Stockbroker (1976)

Experience/Career

• Under his leadership, Delen Private Bank grew from a brokerage firm to Belgium’s leading private bank. Jacques Delen served as CEO of Delen Private Bank from 1975 to 2014, then as
  Chairman of the Board of Directors from 2014 onwards.
• Former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ackermans & van Haaren (2011-2016).

Other management duties

• Chairman of the board of directors of Delen Private Bank
• Member of the board of directors of Bank Van Breda (until May 2026) and Scaldis Invest

SG-specific qualifications

• 50 years of expertise in the banking sector, with emphasis on sustainable wealth management and a long-term perspective.

Deborah Janssens
(°1975, Belgian)

• Non-executive director (since 2023)
• Mandate ends 2027

Education

• Master of Laws (1998), KU Leuven
• LLM (1999), New York University School of
  Law

Experience/Career

• Partner and Global Co-Head of the Industrials Group at Freshfields, Brussels, specializing in M&A, public capital market transactions, and corporate and financial law. Guest lecturer in company
  law at KU Leuven, University of Antwerp, and University of Ghent.

Other management duties

• Member of the board of directors of the Foundation Kick Cancer

ESG-specific qualifications

• Regularly advises on ESG aspects in M&A and
  corporate law.

De Lier BV
Permanently represented by Frank van Lierde (°1963, Belgian)

• Independent director (since 2023)
• Non-executive director (since 2023)
• Mandate ends 2027

Education

• Master in Bioengineering (1989), KU Leuven

Experience/Career

• Held several leading roles at Cargill, including member of the Global Executive Team and Chairman of the Food Ingredients and Bio Industrials Enterprise (2015-2021).

Other management duties

• Member of the board of directors of Apix Biosciences, Protealis and Protix

ESG-specific qualifications

• Contributing to the ESG agenda at Cargill, focusing
  on energy an

Julien Pestiaux
(°1979, Belgian)

• Non-executive director (since 2011)
• Mandate ends 2027

Education

• Electromechanical Civil Engineering, specialisation Energy (2003), Université Catholique de Louvain
• Master in Engineering Management, (Cornell University, USA), with a focus on financial and economic analyses.

Experience/Career

• Partner at Climact, an ESG consultancy advising on energy and climate themes to governments and businesses. Former consultant and project leader
  at McKinsey & Co, where he became acquainted
  with various aspects of accounting. 

ESG-specific qualifications

• Experience in analysing and modelling climate strategies and energy transition of EU Member States, cities, and businesses.

Thierry van Baren
(°1967, French / Dutch)

• Non-executive director (since 2006)
• Mandate ends 2026

Education

• Master’s degree and teaching qualification in Philosophy
• MBA, specialization in Marketing (Solvay
  Business School)

Experience/Career

• Independent consultant. Worked for 13 years in MarCom as an executive at TBWA Belgium and BDDP Belgium, and in management functions at Ammirati Puris Lintas, Ogilvy Brussels, and DDB.

ESG-specific qualifications

• Expertise in risk management and internal control systems

Menlo Park BV
Permanently represented by Victoria Vandeputte
(°1971, Belgian)

• Independent director (since 2018)
• Non-executive director (since 2018)
• Mandate ends 2026

Education

• Civil Engineer in Electromechanics (1995), KU Leuven
• Master in Risk Management (1996), École Supérieure de Commerce de Bordeaux

Experience/Career

• Member of the executive committee and Chief Innovation & Marketing Officer of Diversi Foods (Oetker Collection).

Other management duties

• Member of the board of directors of Acomo (until 1 January 2026)

ESG-specific qualifications

• Coordinates ESG and sustainability at Diversi Foods, completed Chapter Zero board climate training, and actively drives ESG initiatives at executive level.

Frederic van Haaren
(°1960, Belgian)

• Non-executive director (since 1993)
• Mandate ends 2029

Education

• Independent entrepreneur

Experience/Career

• Independent entrepreneur and honorary alderman of the municipality of Kapellen, responsible for public works, environment, green spaces, and cemeteries until December 2024.
• Chairman of Bosgroepen Antwerpse Gordel.
• Volunteer at Kamiono, Antwerp-based organization to support homeless and less fortunate people.

Other management duties

• Member of the board of directors of Belfimas

ESG-specific qualifications

• Experience in environmental management and public works, with (previous) board roles in water utilities and forest groups, focused on local sustainability and governance.

Pierre Willaert
(°1959, Belgian)

• Non-executive director (since 1998)
• Mandate ends 2028

Education

• Master in Commercial and Financial Sciences
• Degree of the Belgian Association of Financial
  Analysts (ABAF-BVFA)

Experience/Career

• Former managing partner and member of the audit committee at Bank Puilaetco.
• Served 20 years as chairman of the audit committee of AvH.

Other management duties

• Member of the board of directors of Tein
  Technology

ESG-specific qualifications

• Well-versed in risk management and internal control
  systems.