Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and member of the Fortis Board
Jean-Paul Votron graduated from ICHEC College in Brussels in 1973 with a Master’s degree in
Commercial and Financial Sciences, followed by a special degree in Business
Strategies and International Management.
Jean-Paul Votron started his career in 1975 at Unilever, where he had management responsibilities in international sales, marketing and general management. Between 1991 and 1997 he served in different positions with Citibank in Europe and the US. He was President of Citibank Belgium and Marketing Director for Europe, Director of Marketing and technology US and Europe Consumer Bank, Director Insurance in the US, Head of US Investment Business (Chicago), and Chairman and CEO of Citibank FSB, a branch network in the US.
After working for ABN-AMRO as Senior Executive Vice-President
International Consumer Banking and E-Commerce from 1997 until 2001,
Jean-Paul Votron rejoined Citigroup, where he was appointed a member of the Management Committee of Citigroup in 2002. Until 2004,
he was Citigroup’s CEO Retail Bank for Western Europe, Central Europe, Russia, Middle East and Africa.
Since October 2004 Jean-Paul Votron has been CEO of Fortis and responsible for the day-to-day management of the group, as well as for formulating strategic proposals for discussion and decision-making in the Fortis Board.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Deputy CEO) and member of the Fortis Board
Herman Verwilst has a Master's degree in Economics from the University of Ghent (1970),
and a Ph.D. in Monetary Economics from 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 Belgian 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, Chairman of the
Management Committee of Fortis Bank from its creation in 1998
until 31 December 2007 and Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Fortis Bank since 1 January 2008.
Member of the Group Executive Committee responsible for Finance, Risk and
General Counsel
Gilbert Mittler graduated as a Commercial Engineer from the
Université Libre de Bruxelles, Ecole de Commerce Solvay (Belgium)
in 1974.
He began his career as an accountant at Arthur
Andersen (1974) and subsequently worked for Belgian holding
company Sofina as Senior Officer (1976 - 1988).
In 1988 Gilbert Mittler was
recruited by the AG Group for the position of Head
Corporate Development. When Fortis first came into being he became
Director of Fortis Group Finance & Development and Secretary of
the Executive and Supervisory Board of Fortis. In these positions
he acquired an in-depth knowledge of the group and
contributed actively to its development.
In 1993 he became Managing Director of ASLK-CGER Bank and a member
of its Executive Committee, responsible for Finance & Control and
Foreign Operations. In 1997 he was appointed Vice-Chairman
of the Executive Committee of ASLK-CGER Bank.
In 1998 Gilbert Mittler became a member of the Executive Committee of Fortis and since 2000 he has been Fortis Chief Financial Officer.
Member of the Group Executive Committee responsible for Merchant Banking Chairman of Fortis Bank
Filip Dierckx has a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Antwerp (1978), a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from UCL and a Master of Law degree from Harvard Law School (1980).
Filip Dierckx began his career as a lawyer with De Bandt, van Hecke & Lagae.
He joined Generale Bank in 1983 as International Legal Counsel and as General Manager quickly became involved in general administration (Planning and Control, Accounting, Economic studies, Fiscal Affairs, Asset and Liability Management etc.). In this capacity he was project manager during the takeover of Crédit Lyonnais Bank Nederland. In 1997, he was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board of Belgolaise.
In 1998, he was appointed to the Executive Board of Fortis Bank with overall responsibility for retail banking. Since 2000, he has been a member of the Fortis Executive Committee with CEO responsibility for Merchant Banking.
In January 2008, Filip Dierckx was appointed Chairman of Fortis Bank. In his capacity as Chairman of the Fortis Bank Executive Board, he oversees and leads the overall integration of ABN Amro acquired activities.
Member of the Group Executive Committee responsible for Private
Banking, Asset Management, Investor Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility
Lex Kloosterman, was born in Schiedam in the Netherlands. He holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Leiden.
At 1 October 2006 Lex Kloosterman joined Fortis from ABN AMRO where he served most recently as CEO of the business unit Europe – Private Clients. He started his career with ABN as a management associate in the US in 1983. He rose rapidly through the ranks, holding international senior management positions in a variety of banking activities (treasury, corporate credits, structured finance, private clients, consumer finance, cards business, etc.), involving highly diverse roles (business restructuring, leading acquisitions and divestitures, executing mergers, and organising country management).
At Fortis, Lex Kloosterman is responsible for Private Banking, Asset Management, Investor Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility.
Member of the Group Executive Committee responsible for Retail Banking and
for Global Branding and Communications
Camille Fohl gained a Masters in Economics from the University of Louvain (Louvain-la-Neuve) and has completed the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD.
Camille Fohl worked for Lux-Development, the Luxembourg agency for development cooperation, before joining Banque Générale du Luxembourg in 1986.
In 2000, he became a member of both the management team of Fortis Bank Luxembourg and of the management team of Fortis Commercial Banking, responsible for Commercial Banking in Luxembourg / Grande Région. He joined the Retail Banking management team in 2003, with responsibility for the retail network outside the Benelux countries. He was appointed CEO of Commercial Banking in 2005.
In January 2008, Camille Fohl was appointed member of Fortis’s Group Executive Committee.
Member of the Group Executive Committee responsible for Insurance and
for Real Estate
Peer van Harten holds a degree in Business Administration and Philosophy
from Utrecht University.
Peer van Harten started his career at Lantor International as an area
sales manager. He then joined AKZO where he was export manager responsible
for Africa and Asia Pacific. His next assignment was with Nedlloyd, where
he was marketing and sales manager and finally became Group Commercial
Manager. His first steps in insurance came with his next assignment with
Aegon, where he became manager for marketing and underwriting. Two
years later he was promoted Vice-President of the Business-to-Business
Insurance division.
In 1998 Peer van Harten joined AMEV as Managing Director Accidents and
Health. In 2003 he became a member of the ASR Management Team
responsible for Operations. He is responsible for the integration of the
former AMEV, Stad Rotterdam and Woudsend operations (Life, Non-life,
Health and Banking). His ‘Back-to-Basics’ policy at Operations has resulted in a very strong bottom
line improvement.
In January 2005, Peer van Harten was appointed member of Fortis’s Executive Committee.
Member of the Group Executive Committee responsible for Technology
and Information Services, Operations, Facility, Purchasing and Process Improvement
Alain Deschênes has a BSc in Computer Science from Université de Montréal and has completed the London Business School’s Executive Management Development Programme.
Prior to joining Fortis, he was Vice-President and Director at Boston Consulting Group in Paris and London, having previously
worked for Alcatel as CIO, and for Group BNP Paribas as Deputy CIO in charge of IT Operations and Global Infrastructure.
Alain Deschênes joined Fortis as Chief Information Officer in 2005. He was appointed member of the Fortis Bank Management Committee in 2006 and took on responsibility for
Technology, Operations & Process Services in 2007.
In January 2008, Alain Deschênes was appointed member of Fortis’s Group Executive Committee.
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About Fortis
