Umicore - Notice of ordinary and special shareholders’ meetings

Umicore invites its shareholders to participate in the ordinary and special shareholders’ meetings which will be held on Thursday 29 April 2021 at 17:00 CET at the registered office of Umicore, Broekstraat 31 rue du Marais, Brussels.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Umicore’s priority remains keeping its shareholders, employees and other stakeholders safe. To that end and taking into account sanitary measures taken by the authorities restricting group gatherings, the shareholders’ meetings will be held remotely without possibility to physically attend. The meetings will, however, be broadcasted by means of a live webcast, accessible to all shareholders via the website of Umicore () or via the Lumi AGM+ platform (). Shareholders will be able to exercise their voting rights through digital voting during the live webcast, by correspondence or via proxy voting. Although the webcast will allow for live interaction, shareholders are strongly encouraged to submit their questions in writing prior to the shareholders’ meetings, so that any answers provided at the meetings can be as comprehensive and as accurate as possible.

Please click the following link for more details regarding the agenda, the admission conditions and voting methods for these shareholders’ meetings:

Announcement of a change to the Supervisory Board

Umicore also announces a change to the composition of its Supervisory Board to be approved at the ordinary shareholders’ meeting.

The Supervisory Board has decided to propose the appointment of Birgit Behrendt as a new Supervisory Board member, to replace Liat Ben-Zur who wishes to retire from the Supervisory Board due to other professional commitments.

Mrs. Birgit Behrendt, who is 61 and of German nationality, is currently member of the Supervisory Boards of thyssenkrupp AG, KION Group AG and Ford Werke GmbH. She is also member of the Board of Directors of Infinium Holdings, Inc., member of the Administrative Board of Stulz Verwaltungs GmbH and member of the Advisory Council of Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies GmbH.

Mrs. Behrendt started her professional career at Ford Motor Company in various leadership positions in Europe and the US. In 2004, she became vice president Purchasing, Ford of Europe, and served on the Supervisory Board of Ford Werke GmbH, as well as the Advisory Board of Ford Getrag Transmission (GFT) GmbH. In 2010, she was appointed executive director Global Programs & The Americas Purchasing and in 2013 she was elected vice president Global Purchasing for Ford Motor Company in which position she was responsible for leveraging global, regional and local scale to improve costs and operational efficiencies across all regions. She became vice president Joint Ventures, Alliances & Commercial Affairs and member of the Board of Ford Europe GmbH in 2018 and since 2020, Mrs. Behrendt is Venture Partner and Board representative at AP Ventures, the world’s largest venture capital fund focused on the hydrogen value chain. Mrs. Behrendt holds a business degree from the Administration and Business Academy (Verwaltungs und Wirtschaftsakademie) in Cologne, Germany.

Thomas Leysen, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, commented: “On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to express my gratitude to Liat Ben-Zur for her valuable contribution and the unique perspectives she brought in the Supervisory Board since 2017. We will miss her sharp insights and, on behalf of the Supervisory Board,  I wish her well in her future endeavours. At the same time, I am pleased to propose Birgit Behrendt for appointment to the Supervisory Board and am confident that her extensive experience and knowledge of the automotive industry will prove highly valuable and further strengthen the Supervisory Board.”

For more information

Investor Relations

Saskia Dheedene                                 

Eva Behaeghe                                     

Aurélie Bultynck                                   

Media Relations

Marjolein Scheers                                

About Umicore

Umicore is a global materials technology and recycling group. It focuses on application areas where its expertise in materials science, chemistry and metallurgy makes a real difference. Its activities are organised in three business groups: Catalysis, Energy & Surface Technologies and Recycling. Each business group is divided into market-focused business units offering materials and solutions that are at the cutting edge of new technological developments and essential to everyday life. 

Umicore generates the majority of its revenues and dedicates most of its R&D efforts to clean mobility materials and recycling. Umicore’s overriding goal of sustainable value creation is based on an ambition to develop, produce and recycle materials in a way that fulfils its mission: materials for a better life. 

Umicore’s industrial and commercial operations as well as R&D activities are located across the world to best serve its global customer base. The Group generated revenues (excluding metal) of € 3.2 billion (turnover of € 20.7 billion) in 2020 and currently employs 10,800 people.