The Chief Executive Officer is charged by the Board of Directors with the day-to-daymanagement of the company and leads the Executive Management Committee (Exco) within the framework established by the Board of Directors and under its ultimate supervision.
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Pieter Loose
(through his management company Pilovan), Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since 2013 following 3 years as sales engineer at the company. Master industrial civil engineering (HoGent, Ghent university/KULeuven). Prior to Ekopak, Pieter held various management roles at Hertel. He is also vice-chairman of Watercircle, an interest group for water technology companies in Belgium. Belgian nationality.
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Franky Cosaert
(through his management company Cospil BV), Chief Executive Officer Ekopak France since November 2022. Therefore more than 25 years of national and international experience in the energy- and water sector as General Manager Gaz de France Belux, Senior Vice President Marketing & Sales Europe at Engie, President LNG China at Engie and 7 years CEO at water-link. Belgian nationality.
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Els De keukelaere
(through her management company EDK Management BV ), Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since 2020 . Master in applied economics (UGent, Ghent university), MBA in financial management (Vlerick Business School), Registered Accountant since 2004. Previous career roles include: auditor at KPMG (last function : Audit Director) and chief financial officer of Concordia Insurances (Ghent). Belgian nationality.
Lieve Delrue
HR Director since May 2022 (member of the EMC since January 2023). Master in Psychology, option Industrial & Organisational Psychology (KU Leuven, Leuven University). Previous experience in international HR roles within the water industry and European companies, including Waterleau Group, SKF Belgium and Panasonic Energy Europe. Belgian nationality.
Tim De Maet
Chief Operating Officer (COO) since 2020 following 9 years as operation manager with the company. Master industrial engineering chemistry with a specialization in environmental biotechnology (HoGent, Ghent). Over 15 years of experience in the water solutions industry, including Entaco NV and Micron NV. Belgian nationality.
Niels D’Haese
Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) since the beginning of 2022. Master in Environmental Engineering from the University of Ghent. Prior to joining Ekopak mid-2021, Niels was General Manager of the water division at DEME Environmental Contractors. He has 14 years of experience and held various positions at Epas (Veolia), Suez (Benelux, International). Belgian nationality.
Ulrich (Uli) Ombregt
(through his management company Ombregt Consultancy BV) Chief Executive officer GWE, who joined the executive management committee since 14 September 2023 following the acquisition of GWE. Degree in Environmental Technology and a Master’s degree in Applied Economics at the University of Ghent. Uli has over 20 years of experience in the wastewater solutions industry and has executed various roles within GWE. Belgian nationality.
Patrick Parfondry
(through his management company iPure BV), site head H2O Production. Master industrial engineering chemistry with a specialization in environmental biotechnology (HEPL, Liège). Former founder of the company iServ BV acquired by Ekopak NV in 2021. Over 27 years of experience in the water solutions industry, including Degrémont (SUEZ) and Veolia Water. Belgian nationality.
Joost Van Der Spurt
Chief Technology Officer (CTO) since 2014. Master in Chemical Engineering from the University of Leuven. Eight years of experience in the water industry, focusing on process management, research and development, as well as automation. Belgian nationality.
Anne-Mie Veermeer
Chief Disinfection Officer (CDO) since 2006. Master of Engineering with a specialization in Chemistry and Biochemistry (KULeuven, Campus Ghent). Before joining the Company, Anne-Mie worked for four years as a quality manager in R&D at a company specialized in the preparation of ready-to-eat vacuum-packed dishes and meal components. Belgian nationality.
Risk Management
Ekopak’s business is subject to a number of risks. If one or more of these risks arise, Ekopak may be unable to execute its strategy and implement its business plan.
Risk Management Process
Ekopak’s Executive Management Committee is responsible for the identification, the assessment and the prioritization of key risk factors as well as for the development and implementation of programs for risk prevention, risk mitigation and risk coverage.
Therefore, the company has installed a process to manage the key risk factors that it may be confronted with. For each risk category, the Executive Management Teams assesses the likelihood of occurrence as well as the magnitude of impact should they actually occur. Based on this in-depth assessment, the risk categories are plotted on a grid that indicates how these risk categories should be prioritized.
Taking the risk prioritization into account, the Executive Management Team identifies how the related risk can be prevented, how the impact can be mitigated when a risk actually occurs, and whether the impact can be covered by an insurance policy.
Throughout the year, the Executive Management Team reports on a quarterly basis to Ekopak’s Audit Committee, who supervises the company’s entire risk management process.
At least once a year, but in practice on a continuous basis, the Audit Committee conducts an in-depth review of all potential risk factors in concertation with the Executive Management Team. At such occasion, new risk factors may be formally identified and included in the program. Subsequently, the Audit Committee presents the mutually agreed plan to the Board of Directors for formal approval. Upon the Board’s decision in this respect, the Executive Committee is commissioned to implement the corresponding action plan and to report on its status on a regular basis to the Audit Committee.
2023 Risk Management review
Each risk factor is described in more detail in the Corporate Governance Statement, they are simply listed here.
For more information with regards to Risk Management we refer to the Corporate Governance Report chapter 6 Risk Management