Jozef De Mey steps down as Chairman of the Board of Directors of ageas SA/NV as of 22 October 2020

Jozef De Mey has decided to step down as Chairman of the Board of Directors of ageas SA/NV as of 22 October 2020, at the Shareholders’ Meeting. The decision to anticipate his departure is a personal decision taken by the Chairman. His current mandate was foreseen to expire on 19 May 2021.  

Mr De Mey joined the Group in 1990. He served as General Manager of Fortis International, CEO of AG, and was appointed member of the Executive Committee of the Group in September 2000, where he was responsible for the Belgian and international insurance activities and the true inspirer behind our Asian activities. In February 2009, he became non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors and steered Ageas out of the aftermath of the Fortis break-up.

At this occasion, Ageas takes the opportunity to thank Jozef De Mey for his leadership and achievements as Chairman of Ageas over the past 12 years.

In terms of succession planning, the Board of Directors of Ageas is well prepared and the process is already underway to ensure a smooth transition. Ageas will communicate further on the proposed candidate at the appropriate time.

Ageas CEO Bart De Smet said: “Under Jozef’s chairmanship, Ageas evolved towards a self-confident and profitable insurance company that left all Fortis legacies behind, while further developing its presence in Europe and strengthening its geographical footprint in Asia via successful partnerships. The efforts and vision of Jozef De Mey have helped shape the Ageas we know today.”    

Ageas Chairman Jozef De Mey said: “It has been an incredible honor for me to have had the opportunity to contribute over a period of 30 years to the development of this international insurance group. First as an Executive and for almost 12 years as Chairman of the Board. Successes should be credited to the Executive teams which I had the chance to lead and to the Board which I had the privilege to chair. I wish Ageas and my successor continued success in the future.”

Ageas is a listed international insurance Group with a heritage spanning almost 200 years. It offers Retail and Business customers Life and Non-Life insurance products designed to suit their specific needs, today and tomorrow. As one of Europe's larger insurance companies, Ageas concentrates its activities in Europe and Asia, which together make up the major part of the global insurance market. It operates successful insurance businesses in Belgium, the UK, France, Portugal, Turkey, China, Malaysia, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, and the Philippines through a combination of wholly owned subsidiaries and long term partnerships with strong financial institutions and key distributors. Ageas ranks among the market leaders in the countries in which it operates. It represents a staff force of over 45,000 people and reported annual inflows close to EUR 36 billion in 2019 (all figures at 100%).

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