Mortsel (Belgium), February 3, 2005 – Ludo Verhoeven, CEO of Agfa-Gevaert, welcomes three new members to the Board of Management:
Philippe Houssiau as President, HealthCare Business Group
Stefaan Vanhooren as President, Graphic Systems Business Group
Marc Olivié as Executive Vice President
The new members join current Board of Management members Ludo Verhoeven, Chief Executive Officer, Albert Follens, Chief Operating Officer, and recently appointed Chief Financial Officer Anne Vleminckx.
Ludo Verhoeven, CEO: "These appointments are a logical step after having completed important divestitures and freeing up resources for focused growth. The new leadership will create an even more customer-oriented and flexible organization and further increase the strategic autonomy of the two business groups. To achieve this we are launching a major company-wide transformation project to structure the organization along the two key businesses: HealthCare and Graphic Systems."
"Over the past year we focused our portfolio of businesses and refined the strategy of our two business groups. In both businesses, we will consolidate our strong positions in imaging and will build new growth platforms – industrial inkjet for Graphic Systems and IT in HealthCare – leveraging our customer intimacy and worldwide distribution channels.
We are introducing an organizational approach which will enable us to successfully implement these strategies. Our intent is to set up the Graphic Systems and HealthCare business groups as independently operating divisions within Agfa with full Profit & Loss (P&L) responsibility. This company-wide transformation project will take approximately two years, thus we are targeting completion by the end of 2006. This transformation will allow the businesses to better pursue their own distinct strategies with sufficient independence and support."
New Board of Management members:
Philippe Houssiau (42) obtained a diploma in chemical engineering and medical biotechnology at the University of Brussels (VUB/ULB) (Belgium) and a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmaceutical sciences. He followed management training at the Vlerick School in Ghent (Belgium) and at the University of Stanford (US). Before he began working for Agfa in 2002, he was senior partner and a member of the executive board with PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He also held management positions at Baxter and Raychem Corporation. He began as Head of Sales and Services for HealthCare. In 2003, he was appointed as President HealthCare.
Stefaan Vanhooren (40) studied Applied Economics and obtained an MBA from the UFSIA University of Antwerp (Belgium). He began his career in 1989 with Agfa's Medical Systems Division in Mortsel. After implementing specific mergers & acquisitions programs for the Group in the United States, he returned in 1991 to the head office to join the Non-Destructive Testing Division (NDT) where he held various senior management positions in finance and marketing. In 1999, he became General Manager Sales & Marketing for NDT. In 2002, he was appointed Managing Director for the Asia Pacific Region, based in Hong Kong. He became President of the Graphic Systems business group in 2004.
Marc Olivié (51) has a Masters of Science in engineering and management from the University of Antwerp (RUCA) (Belgium). After his studies he worked in Europe, the Middle East and the United States for several companies including McKinsey & Co, Midas and Sara Lee Corporation. From 1996 to 2001, he worked for Armstrong Holdings in the United States, first as president and CEO of Armstrong Building Products and later as CEO of Armstrong Flooring. In 2001, he became president of American Standard Bath and Kitchen. He joined Agfa-Gevaert in 2004. As Executive Vice President, Marc Olivié will be in charge of the Agfa transformation project, the regional organizations and mergers & acquisitions.
Werner Vanderhaeghe, Agfa General Counsel, was also appointed Secretary of the Board.
Werner Vanderhaeghe (53) has a law degree from the State University of Ghent (Belgium), a masters degree in law from the University of Texas at Austin and studied management at INSEAD. He began his career in 1975 as Teaching and Research Assistant at the University of Ghent. He has been in private practice in New York and Brussels with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and with White & Case. He worked in various in-house legal functions for Merck Sharp & Dohme, Sidmar, Generale Bank, Bekaert Group and Ameritech/SBC International. He has been General Counsel to Agfa-Gevaert since 2001.