Febelfin and the BVB appoint a new CEO
30 March 2020 - 2 min Reading time
Karel Baert succeeds Karel Van Eetvelt
From 15 April 2020, Karel Baert will be the new CEO of Febelfin and the Belgian Association of Banks and Stock Exchange Companies (BVB). As the new CEO of Febelfin and the BVB, his task will be to further realize and propagate the federation's vision and strategy in these particularly turbulent times.
The financial sector is currently facing enormous challenges, not least as a result of the corona crisis, and important processes of change. The federation must pay attention to the changing regulatory framework and strive for an efficient working environment for the members.
Karel Van Eetvelt, CEO Febelfin, announced on 14 January 2020 his intention to resign as CEO on 31 March and to take on a new challenge as CEO of RSC Anderlecht from 1 April 2020.
Karel Baert, today Partner at Egon Zehnder, has decided to take a new step in his career and take up the challenge within Febelfin and BVB.
Karel Baert (born 29 February 1960) is a Master of Law (KU Leuven 1983) and in 1984 participated in the Foreign Lawyers Program in German Law of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) in Tübingen, Düsseldorf and Munich. In 1989 he obtained a Master's degree in Financial Management at KU Leuven (Vlekho).
In 1985 he started his career at Braun, Claeys, Verbeke (now Allen & Overy) as a lawyer at the Brussels bar. He then worked for 10 years at Deutsche Bank in Belgium and Germany where he held various management positions in corporate, retail and private banking. From 1992 to 1995 he was regional director for South Lower Saxony. In 1995 he moved to bpost, where he was one of the founders of bpost bank, of which he became a member of the Board of Directors and in 1999 Managing Director. Between 1996 and 2000, as Retail Director of bpost, he was in charge of the general management of bpost's retail network with 1,380 branches (10,000 employees).
Since 2000 he has worked for Egon Zehnder, a global management consulting and executive search firm, where he has been a Partner since 2006. Within Egon Zehnder he is active in the Financial Services and Public Sector where he provides advice and carries out projects for national and international companies, regulators, governments and multilateral organisations. Karel gained extensive experience in advising boards of directors and executive committees on governance, succession planning for CEOs and management positions, organizational issues and assessment and development.
Karel is married to Fabienne Dhooghe, general practitioner. Together they have three children.
