Fortis replaces chief exec
BELGIAN Insurance group Fortis, yesterday announced the departure of its chief executive Karel de Boeck, after just seven months at the helm.
The group named insurance veteran Bart De Smet, as his successor. He will become the fifth new chief executive at Fortis in under a year.
It is understood that De Boeck was ousted because his banking profile does not fit well with the new and dramatically slimmed-down Fortis, which has essentially become an insurance group. Fortis was carved up by Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments after an €11.2bn (£9.5bn) cash injection failed to halt the decline in the value of its shares.
De Boeck guided Fortis through the controversial sale of Fortis assets to France’s BNP Paribas.
The sale was approved by a stormy investor meeting in April when a shoe and coins were thrown at the chairman.