We believe that materials have been a key element in furthering the progress of mankind, that they are at the core of today’s life and will continue to be enablers for future wealth creation. We believe that metal-related materials have a vital role to play, as they can be efficiently and infinitely recycled, which makes them the basis for sustainable products and services. We want Umicore to be a leader in providing and creating material-based solutions to contribute to fundamental improvements in the quality of life.
Our Horizon 2020 economic growth ambitions are tied to the megatrends of resource scarcity, clean air and vehicle electrification. The social and environmental objectives are clustered in three themes: Great Place to Work, Eco-efficiency and Value Chain and society. These objectives reflect our operational excellence and the aspects of our products and services that we can further improve to turn sustainability into a greater competitive edge.
Download the report to read more about our Management Approach and Governance.
Board of directors
Standing left to right:Marc van Sande (Board Advisor), Géraldine Nolens (Board Secretary), Mark Garrett, Ines Kolmsee, Marc Grynberg, Laurent Raets, Liat Ben-Zur, Françoise Chombar, Koenraad Debackere, Thomas Leysen, Eric Meurice, Gérard Lamarche.
Not pictured: Karel Vinck (Honorary Chairman).
About the board
The board’s cumulative industry experience is broad, covering automotive, electronics, chemicals, metals, energy and finance sectors in addition to the fields of academia and science. It also includes people experienced in the public and private sector and members with experience in the different regions in which Umicore is active.
Collectively, the board possesses strong experience of managing industrial operations and counts 8 active or former CEOs in its ranks. The board also has collective experience in disciplines that are specifically relevant to Umicore’s non-financial Horizon 2020 goals such as health and safety, talent attraction and retention and supply chain sustainability
Belgian, 59
Date appointed to Board
10 May 2000 (date appointment Chair: 19 November 2008)
Education
Law – KU Leuven, Belgium
Experience
Thomas Leysen became Chairman of Umicore in November 2008 after serving as Chief Executive Officer of Umicore since 2000. During this mandate, he transformed the former Union Minière, a non-ferrous company in an international materials technology group called Umicore. He joined Umicore in 1993 as member of the Executive Committee, and successively managed several industrial divisions.
External appointments
- Chair, KBC Group, banking and insurance group, Belgium
- Chair, Mediahuis, a major newspaper publishing group in Belgium and The Netherlands
- Chair, King Baudouin Foundation, Belgium
Belgian, 54
Date appointed to Board
19 November 2008
Education
Commercial Engineering – Solvay Brussels School of Economics & Management, Belgium
Experience
Marc Grynberg was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Umicore in November 2008 after heading the Automotive Catalysts business unit from 2006 to 2008 and serving as CFO of Umicore from 2000 until 2006. He joined Umicore in 1996 as Group Controller. Prior to joining Umicore, Marc worked for DuPont de Nemours in Brussels and Geneva.
External appointments
- Non-Executive Director, Nexans SA, France
American, 43
Date appointed to Board
25 April 2017
Education
Electrical engineering – UC Davis, USA
Business Administration – UCLA Anderson, USA
Experience
Liat Ben-Zur has been Corporate Vice President for Modern Life and Devices Product Marketing Management at Microsoft since September 2018. Prior to joining Microsoft, she was SVP and Digital Technology Leader at Royal Philips where she was responsible for driving the connectivity and digital strategy, since 2014. She served previously in several leadership positions at Qualcomm, a US wireless telecommunications company, and was cofounder and Chairwoman of the AllSeen Alliance, a consortium for an open source, common language for the Internet of Things.
Belgian, 57
Date appointed to Board
26 April 2016
Education
Dutch, English, Spanish Interpretation & Honorary Ambassadorship for Applied Language Studies –
Ghent University, Belgium
Experience
Françoise Chombar is co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Melexis, a producer of smart sensor and driver semiconductors for automotive, industrial and durable consumer applications. She served previously as planning manager at Elmos GmbH and operations manager and director at several companies within the Elex group. Françoise was a mentor in the Belgian women’s network Sofia for 17 years and is committed to STEM and gender balance advocacy, for which she received a Flemish Community Honour in 2019. In 2018, she received the title of Science Fellow by the VUB, University of Brussels.
External appointments
- CEO and Director, Melexis NV, Belgium
- Chairwoman, Flemish STEM Platform, an independent advisory group to the government of Flanders
Independent Director, Soitec S.A., France
Belgian, 58
Date appointed to Board
26 April 2018
Education
Engineering – Ghent University, Belgium
Management – Ghent University, Belgium
Management – MIT Sloan School of Management, USA
Experience
Prof. Dr. Ir. Koenraad Debackere has been with KU Leuven since 1995, where he teaches Technology & Innovation Management and Policy. He has won numerous awards for his research, and in 2010 was awarded a Francqui Lecture Chair in economics and business. Since 2005 he is the general manager of KU Leuven and member of the Board of KU Leuven.
External appointments
- Non-Executive Director, Cera Beheersmaatschappij NV, Belgium
- Non-Executive Director, KBC Group NV, Belgium
- Non-Executive Director, Group Joos NV, Belgium
- Non-Executive Director, LRM (Limburgse Reconversie Maatschappij) NV, Belgium
- Member Board of Governors, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
- Non-Executive Director, Televic Group NV, Belgium
Australian/Swiss, 57
Date appointed to Board
28 April 2015
Education
Economics – University of Melbourne, Australia Applied Information Systems – Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia
Experience
Mark Garrett has been Chief Executive Officer at Marquard & Bahls AG, a Hamburg-based leading independent energy supply, trading and logistics company, since August 2018. Before joining Marquard & Bahls AG, he served as Chief Executive Officer at Borealis AG, Austria, a position he had held since 2007. Prior to that, he built an extensive career in the chemical industry working with companies such as Ciba-Geigy and DuPont.
External appointments
- CEO, Chairman of the Executive Board, Marquard & Bahls AG, Germany
- Non-Executive Chairman, Board of Directors, Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., USA
German, 49
Date appointed to Board
26 April 2011
Education
Process and Energy Engineering – Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
Industrial Engineering – École nationale supérieure des Mines de Saint-Étienne, France
Business Administration – INSEAD Business School, France
Experience
Ines Kolmsee has been Chief Executive Officer of Services & Solutions at Aperam since October 2017. She previously served as CEO of SKW Stahl- Metallurgie Group, a specialty chemicals company with operations worldwide, COO and CTO at German utility EWE AG and CFO at Arques Industries AG.
External appointments
- CEO of Services & Solutions, Aperam SA, Luxembourg
Belgian, 58
Date appointed to Board
25 April 2017
Education
Economic Sciences – Louvain, Belgium
Advanced Management Program for Suez Executives - INSEAD Business School, France
Experience
Gerard Lamarche built an extensive career, starting at Deloitte Haskins & Sells in Belgium, then Société Générale de Belgique as Investment Manager, Controller and Advisor to the Strategy and Planning Department, and Suez, as Secretary of the Executive Committee, then SVP in charge of Planning, Control and Accounting. In 2000, Gérard Lamarche joined NALCO as General Managing Director. He was appointed CFO of the Suez Group in 2003. In 2012, he joined Groupe Bruxelles Lambert as Co-CEO until April 2019. He currently serves as a senior advisor to corporations, families and their related entities.
External appointments
- Non-Executive Director, Audit Committee, SGS, Switzerland
- Non-Executive Director, Standing Committee, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, Belgium
French, 63
Date appointed to Board
28 April 2015
Education
Economics – Sorbonne, France
Mechanical Engineering – École Centrale Paris, France
Business Administration – Stanford Graduate School of Business, USA
Experience
Eric Meurice was formerly President and Chief Executive Officer of Netherlands-based ASML Holding, a major provider of advanced technology systems for the semiconductor industry. He was previously EVP in charge of Thomson Multimedia TV Division and held senior positions in several technology groups such as Intel, ITT, and Dell Computer.
External appointments
- Non-Executive Director, Global Blue Group S.A., Switzerland
- Non-Executive Director, IPG Photonics Corp, USA
- Non-Executive Chairman, Board of Directors, Soitec S.A., France
Belgian, 40
Date appointed to Board
25 April 2019
Education
Commercial Engineering – Solvay Brussels School of Economics & Management, Belgium
Experience
Laurent Raets joined Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) in 2006 and became Deputy Head of Investments in 2016. He began his career in 2002 as an M&A consultant at Deloitte Corporate Finance, where he was involved in buy and sell mandates, due diligence and valuation assignments.
External appointments
- Censor of the Board of Directors of Imerys S.A., France
Belgian, 68
Education
Physics – University of Antwerp, Belgium
Business Administration – Antwerp Management School, Belgium
Experience
Marc Van Sande was appointed Executive Vice- President Energy & Surface Technologies in June 2010, after serving as CTO from 2005 to 2010 and as EVP Advanced Materials from 1999 to 2005. Marc joined Umicore in 1980, and held several positions in research, marketing and production. He was also responsible for the Energy & Surface Technologies business group and China.
Belgian, 48
Belgian
