Curriculum Vitae Board of Directors

Count Maurice Lippens (chairman) (1943, Belgian nationality)

Graduated in law from Brussels University (1967) and gained an MBA from Harvard Business School (1972).

Between Brussels University and military service, went to South Africa to assist with reorganisation of the Maatschappij voor Zeevisserij (five months), followed by traineeships at the Banque de Paris et des Pays Bas (financial analysis) and the Société Générale de Banque (financial management). After Harvard Business School (MBA), held management positions at Scienta S.A., Société Européenne de Venture Capital (shareholders: Agnelli Group and Rothschild Group), Société Générale de Belgique, Robert Bosch and Paribas (France). Then took over a company in Brussels on his own account, the main department of which was resold in 1979.

Joined AG Group in 1981, later becoming Managing Director (1983) and then Chairman / Managing Director (1988). Chairman of Fortis since 1990.

Fortis Director since 1981; term of office runs until 2012.

Positions held with other listed companies: Director GBL (Group Bruxelles Lambert), Director Belgacom
Other positions: Chairman Companie Het Zoute, Director Iscal Sugar, Director Finasucre, Director Groupe Sucrier, Member Trilateral Commission, Member Insead Belgium Council, Chairman of Belgian Governance Institute, Chairman of Corporate Governance Committee (Belgium)

Herman Verwilst, executive member (1947, Belgian nationality)

Herman Verwilst has a Master's Degree in Economics from the University of Ghent (1970), and a Ph.D. in Monetary Economics from the Johns Hopkins University, USA (1974).

Prior to his career in the financial sector, Herman Verwilst gained experience in both the academic sphere and public service. After working as an economist with the IMF for two years, he joined the University of Ghent as Professor of Economics. He then moved on to public life, first as Head of the Private Office of the Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning from 1988 to 1991 and then as a Senator in the Belgian Federal Parliament from 1991 to 1992.

Herman Verwilst moved to Banking in 1992 when he was appointed Chairman of ASLK-CGER Holding, then a state-owned company. Upon the acquisition of ASLK-CGER by Fortis in 1993, he became Managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Committee of ASLK-CGER Bank (1993-1996) and joined the Board of Directors of Fortis (1993-1996).

Herman Verwilst went on to serve Fortis in several other capacities. He was Managing Director of AG 1824 (now Fortis Insurance Belgium) from 1997 to 1998; CEO of Fortis Belgium from 1997 to 1998; and Managing Director of Fortis (B) from 1997 to 2000. After Fortis acquired Générale de Banque in 1998, he headed Banking activities as Chairman of Fortis Bank.

As Chief Operating Officer (appointed 2004), Herman Verwilst has Fortis-wide (Banking and Insurance) responsibility for Human Resources, Risk, Information Services & Technology, Operations, Legal & Compliance, and Facility & Purchasing. In addition to his responsibilities as COO, Herman Verwilst has also been Fortis’s Deputy CEO since 2000 and Chairman of the Management Committee of Fortis Bank since its creation in 1998.

As of 11 July 2008 Herman Verwilst is CEO of Fortis.

Fortis Director since 2007; term of office runs until 2010.
 

Baron Philippe Bodson (1944, Belgian nationality)

After three years with McKinsey in Paris and four years with Daus Bank, first in Germany, then in the USA, Philippe Bodson joined Glaverbel in 1977 to become its CEO in 1980 until 1989. Between 1989 and 1999 he was CEO of Tractebel.

From September 1989 to December 1998 he was member of the Board of Directors of Fortis, participating in its foundation and actively contributing to its development. From 1999 to 2003, Philippe Bodson was Senator in Belgium.

Fortis Director since 2004; term of office runs until 2010.

Positions held with other listed companies: Chairman Board of Directors Exmar
Other positions: Director Ashmore Energy (USA), Director CIB, Chairman Floridienne, Member CSFB Advisory Board Europe, Director Hermes Asset Management Europe Ltd., Director Cobepa/Cobehold

Louis CHEUNG Chi Yan (1963, Chinese nationality)

Louis CHEUNG Chi Yan has been an Executive Director of Ping An since May 2006 and has been serving as Group President and Chief Financial Officer since October 2003 and February 2003 respectively. He joined Ping An Insurance Company in February 2000 and previously served as Senior Advisor to the Chairman, Chief Information Officer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. From 1993-2000, Mr. Cheung was a management consultant and later became a global partner of McKinsey & Company, advising mainly financial services clients throughout Asia. Mr. Cheung has a Ph.D. degree in Business Information Systems from the University of Cambridge.

Fortis Director since 2008; term of office runs until 2011.

Richard Delbridge (1942, British nationality)

Richard Delbridge graduated from the London School of Economics and has an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley.

From 1963 to 1976, he was with Arthur Andersen, where he became Partner in 1974. In 1976, he joined JP Morgan as Vice President, responsible for international operations and systems based in London. In 1980, he was appointed Senior Vice President and Comptroller of JP Morgan and Co and Morgan Guaranty Trust Co and was based in New York. In 1985 he returned to the United Kingdom, first as a Deputy General Manager UK and then as Managing Director and General Manager UK. In 1989, he joined Midland Bank PLC as CFO and Main Board Director. After the acquisition in 1992 of Midland Bank PLC by HSBC, he became Group Finance Director of HSBC Holdings PLC, a position he retained until the end of 1995. In 1996 he became CFO and a Director of National Westminster Bank PLC, and held this role until the sale of Natwest to Royal Bank of Scotland in 2000. Since then Richard Delbridge has focused on his career as a Non-Executive Director.

Fortis Director since 2004; term of office runs until 2009.

Positions held with other listed companies: Non-Executive Director Tate & Lyle PLC
Other positions: Non-Executive Director JP Morgan Cazenove Holdings, Council Member and Treasurer The Open University, Trustee The Wordsworth Trust

Clara Furse (1957, British and Canadian nationality)

Clara Furse holds a Bachelor’s degree from the London School of Economics.

She began her career as a commodity broker at Heinold Commodities Ltd, where she worked from 1979 to 1982. After a brief stint with Dean Witter Reynolds Overseas, she joined Philips and Drew – later UBS – where she was promoted to Director in 1988, Executive Director in 1992, Managing Director in 1995 and head of the UBS Global Futures and Options business worldwide in 1996. She also served as a Board member and Deputy Chairman of Liffe from 1990 to 1999.

Mrs Furse left UBS in 1998 to become Group Chief Executive at Credit Lyonnais Rouse, where she implemented a major reorganisation and infrastructure change and was in charge of integrating the Rouse product lines into Credit Lyonnais UK.

Fortis Director since 2006; term of office runs until 2009.

Positions held with other listed companies: Chief Executive and Director London Stock Exchange
Other positions: Director Euroclear PLC, Director LCH.Clearnet Group Ltd., Member Advisory Council of the Prince’s Trust, Member CBI President’s Committee, Member Court of the Guild of International Bankers

Reiner Hagemann (1947, German nationality.)

Reiner Hagemann studied Economics in Kiel and Freiburg and holds a PhD in Public Finance from the University of Freiburg (Germany).

He started out as a management consultant at McKinsey in 1976. In 1977 he joined Allianz, where he initially focused on property insurance, becoming head of the property department of Allianz Frankfurter Versicherungs-AG in 1979 and director of the property division of Allianz Versicherungs-AG (München) in 1982. In 1987 he was appointed to the Management Board of this firm, bearing responsibility for property, marine and engineering insurance. Mr Hagemann was appointed head of sales in 1991, leading Allianz’s distribution network of over 10,000 agents and brokers in life and non-life insurance in Germany. From 1995 until his resignation in 2005, he was CEO of the non-life business and a member of the management board of the Allianz AG holding company. Reiner Hagemann has also been a member of the supervisory board of several companies, gaining extensive experience as a non-executive director.

Fortis Director since 2006; term of office runs until 2009.

Positions held with other listed companies: Member Supervisory Board of Bayer Schering Pharmaceutical AG, Member Supervisory Board Wüstenrot & Württembergische AG
Other positions: Member Supervisory Board E.ON Energie AG, Member Supervisory Board Hochtief Facility Management GmbH,  Chairman Advisory Board Cerberus Germany, Member Advisory Board AON Jauch & Hübener, Member Advisory Board Steag GmbH

Jan-Michiel Hessels (vice-chairman) (1942, Dutch nationality)

Jan-Michiel Hessels studied at the Universities of Leiden (1966, Master of Law), London School of Economics (Labor Economics) and The Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania (1969, Masters Degree in Finance and Business Administration).

1967-1973 S.G. Warburg & Co. in London, Overseas Development Bank in Genève, McKinsey & Co.Inc. in New York and Amsterdam,
1973 Corporate Treasurer with Akzo NV,
1977 President of Akzo Ltda. (Brazil and Argentina), Sao Paulo,
1982 Executive Vice-President of Akzona Inc., Asheville NC, USA,
1985 Chief Executive Officer of NV Deli Universal, Rotterdam,
1990-2000 Chief Executive Officer of Vendex International NV/Royal Vendex KBB NV.

Fortis Director since 2001; term of office runs until 2010.

Positions held with other listed companies: Chairman Supervisory Board NYSE Euronext Group, Member Supervisory Board Heineken N.V., Member Supervisory Board Royal Philips Electronics N.V.
Other positions: Member International Advisory Board Blackstone Group, Chairman Supervisory Board SC Johnson Europlant N.V.

Jacques Manardo (1946, French nationality)

Jacques Manardo holds a Masters’ degree in Private Law and is a Chartered Accountant.

From 1968 to 1981, he was an Auditor with Coopers Brothers, then Coopers & Lybrand, of which he became Partner in 1972. In 1981, he was co-founder of the French Audit and Consulting Firm, associated with Touche Ross, which merged in 1989 with Deloitte to form Deloitte & Touche. J. Manardo was CEO of the French firm from 1981 (200 people in 1981), and then of the Franco-Spanish firm until 2000 (5,000 people). Within Deloitte & Touche, he was, from 1985 to 1997, Chairman of the European region, from 1998 to 2000, Global Managing Partner Strategic Clients, and from 1984 to 2001 Member of the Worldwide Executive Committee. He has been also Chairman of the Big 6 European “Contact Group” and Member of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), “Strategy Working Party”.

After leaving Deloitte & Touche in 2001, he was retained by the same firm as Advisor for worldwide missions, following the disintegration of Andersen and the spin off of non audit businesses of Deloitte & Touche. Jacques Manardo is a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.

Fortis Director since 2004; term of office runs until 2011.

Positions held with other listed companies: None
Other positions: Director MCG PLC parent of Ineum Consulting (ex-Deloitte consulting), Director BLB, Director French Institute Alliance Française - New York (Member Finance Committee), Member Le Siècle (Paris) 

Aloïs Michielsen (1942, Belgian nationality)

Aloïs Michielsen qualified as a civil engineer (UCL – Belgium) and has a degree in Applied Economic Sciences.

He began his career in 1969 at the Markets Division of the Solvay Group in Brussels. Then he was successively in charge of various missions for the Corporate Secretariat (1973), Managing Director of the subsidiary Sociedas General de Hules in Spain (1977-1978), Business Manager for Industrial Sheets at the Central Management Processing in Brussels (1979), before becoming General Manager of the Processing Sector (1982). In May 1990 he was appointed Member of the Board of Directors and Member of the Executive Committee of Solvay, before being appointed Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee in June 1994 and Chairman of the same Committee in June 1998 (until May 2006).

Fortis Director since 2006; term of office runs until 2009.

Positions held with other listed companies: Chairman Board of Directors Solvay, Board Member family business Miko N.V.
Other positions: None

Ronald Sandler (1952, German nationality)

Ronald Sandler has an MA in engineering from Cambridge University and an MBA from Stanford University (USA).

He started his professional career in 1976 in management consultancy with The Boston Consulting Group, initially in London and subsequently in California. In 1984, he was appointed Managing Director UK of Booz Allen & Hamilton. He subsequently became Chief Executive of Exco PLC, leading the flotation of this company on the London Stock Exchange in 1994. He was Chief Executive of Lloyd’s of London from 1995 until 1999, playing a key role in Lloyd’s reconstruction.
In 1999 and 2000, he was Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of National Westminster Bank.

In 2001, he was appointed by the British government to conduct a review of the UK long-term savings industry. His report was published in 2002.

Fortis Director since 2004; term of office runs until 2010.

Positions held with other listed companies: Executive Chairman Computacenter PLC
Other positions: Chairman Kyte Group, Chairman Oxygen Group PLC, Advisor Palamon Capital Partners, Chaiman Paternoster Ltd.

Rana Talwar (1948, Indian nationality)

Rana Talwar is based in London. He graduated in Economics, History and Psychology from Delhi University.

From 1969 until 1997 he worked with Citibank. From 1969 until 1977 in India, then in Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong and from 1988 in Singapore, as Division Head Asia Pacific. In 1991, he became Executive Vice-President Asia Pacific and Middle East and Member of Citicorp/Citibank Policy Committee. From 1995 until 1997 he was Executive Vice President, North America and Europe, based in Brussels and Chicago. R. Talwar left Citibank in 1997 to become Group Executive Director of Standard Chartered PLC, London, of which he became Group Chief Executive from 1998 until 2001. In 2002, R. Talwar set up Sabre Capital Worldwide, a private equity business, aiming at the acquisition of financial institutions, with a focus on emerging markets.

Fortis Director since 2004; term of office runs until 2011.

Positions held with other listed companies: Non-Executive Director Pearson PLC, Non-Executive Director Schlumberger Ltd.
Other positions: Chairman Sabre Capital Worldwide, Chairman Centurion Bank Ltd., Director Indian School of Business

Klaas Westdijk (1941, Dutch nationality)

Klaas Westdijk graduated with a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Utrecht and with Master’s degrees in Law and Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

From 1965 to 1967, worked as a lawyer in the USA and the Netherlands. Then became a Business Consultant with Booz & Hamilton in Chicago. In 1971, joined Horringa & De Koning, becoming a partner in 1975. In 1979, moved to Furness N.V., becoming a Director in 1986 and Chairman in 1986. In 1990, appointed as Director of Koninklijke Pakhoed N.V., becoming Chairman in 1992. From 2002 to August 2003, Chairman of Connexxion N.V. In April 2004, appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Connexxion Holding N.V.

Fortis Director since 1996; term of office runs until 2009.

Positions held with other listed companies: Vice-chairman Supervisory Board VastNet Retail N.V.
Other positions: Chairman Supervisory Board Connexxion Holding N.V., Chaiman Supervisory Board ENECO Energie N.V., Member Supervisory Board FD Media Groep B.V.