Business News
New Agfa-Gevaert Board members proposed to Shareholders Meeting
Thursday 20. March 2008 - Agfa-Gevaert today announced that the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of April 29, 2008 will be asked to approve the appointments of Michel Akkermans, Horst Heidsieck and Roland Junck as members of the Board of Directors, the re-election of Karel Van Miert and the extension of the mandate of Willy Duron.
All of the new members have an exhaustive international experience which will bring an important added value to the company.
Michel Akkermans, Horst Heidsieck and Roland Junck will be proposed to succeed Messrs. Ferdinand Chaffart, André Oosterlinck and Ludo Verhoeven. Ferdinand Chaffart has reached the age limit for reelection as stipulated in the company’s Corporate Governance Charter. André Oosterlinck and Ludo Verhoeven announced that they will not seek reelection for a new term in the Board of Directors.
Michel Akkermans (°1960 – Belgian) holds an M.Sc. in electronic engineering and computer sciences and a degree in economics and finance from the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium). He held management positions in a series of international banks and consulting companies before founding FICS, a leading software provider in the field of online banking and regulatory financial reporting, in 1989. In 1999, FICS, together with Edify and Vertical One, merged with Security First Technologies, creating S1 Corporation, the market leader in internet banking with Michel Akkermans as its Chairman. In 2002, Michel Akkermans became Chairman and CEO of Clear2Pay, an innovative e-finance company focused on delivering globally applicable solutions for secure electronic payments.
Horst Heidsieck (°1947 – German) holds a PhD in physics. During his studies at the University of Bonn (Germany) and the Technical University of Aachen (Germany), he focused on solid state physics, solid state electronics as well as metal science. From 1980 to 1991, he held various managerial positions – including a position in the Executive Board – within the Degussa Group. In 1990, he became CEO of the Leybold technology group and from 1995 to 1998 he successfully integrated the former competitors Leybold and Balzers into the newly established Balzers und Leybold Group. In the following years, Horst Heidsieck was a member of the Advisory Board and later CEO of Heraeus Holding, a highly diversified technology group. From 2003 to the end of 2006, he was CEO of Demag Holding, a portfolio of 7 companies which had been acquired from Siemens by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 2002. As from January 2007, he is a managing shareholder of the newly founded consulting company Value Consult, acting as a member of advisory boards, helping senior management to materialize improvement potentials in their companies.
Roland Junck (°1955 – Luxembourger) graduated from the Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich (Switzerland) and earned an MBA from Sacred Heart University of Luxembourg. He started his career with Arbed. At TrefilARBED Bissen he was named General Manager in 1993 and Managing Director in 1996. After having held various other managerial positions at Arbed, he became Senior Vice President of Acelaria (Spain) in 1998. He was a member of the Arbed Group Management Board from 1999 to 2002, when he was appointed Senior Executive Vice President of the newly created Arcelor after the merger of Aceralia, Arbed and Usinor. In August 2006, he became CEO of Arcelor Mittal and a member of the Group’s Management Board. Following the reorganization of the company’s senior management structure in November 2006, he became an advisor to the CEO while he remained a member of the Board until July 2007. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Arcelor Mittal China Holding.
The Board of Directors and the Executive Committee wish to thank Ludo Verhoeven for his dedication and commitment throughout his entire career at Agfa-Gevaert. They also thank Ferdinand Chaffart for his efforts and his dedication as director and Chairman of the company’s Audit Committee and André Oosterlinck for his efforts and dedication as director and member of the Audit Committee.