Gilles Samyn is an accomplished business leader and experienced board member. He holds a Commercial Engineering degree from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) – Solvay Business School, where he also held academic and scientific roles from 1969 to 2016. He joined Groupe Bruxelles Lambert in 1974 where he successively held several financial positions until 1982. In 1983, after one year of independent entrepreneurship, he joined Groupe Frère Bourgeois and Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille where he was active as Managing Director until May 2019. He currently holds several non-executive board mandates.

Gilles Samyn: “I am greatly honored to be appointed as the chairman of the Board of Directors of Degroof Petercam. Degroof Petercam’s rich history built over the last 150 years sets it apart as one of the most highly regarded financial institutions in Belgium. I look forward to working closely with my fellow board members and the CEO to ensure the independent growth of the company and its leadership in its business activities”.  

Bruno Colmant, CEO: “Ludwig Criel has served four years as chairman of Petercam, followed by five years as board member of Degroof Petercam, of which two years as its chairman. Together with the board of directors, the executive committee and the members of the staff, I want to express to Ludwig our deepest gratitude for his contribution and the leadership that he brought to the organization. We are looking forward to welcoming Gilles as our new chairman and leveraging his significant professional experience and impressive track record”.