Michael Anseeuw, current head of the retail division, will become chairman of the bank’s management committee on January 1, 2023.
Several names had been circulating for several months for succeed Max Jadot at the head of BNP Paribas Fortis. Those of the HRD Sandra Wilikens, Stéphane Vermeire, director of the private banking division, Didier Bauvois, head of corporate banking, as well as that of Michael Anseeuw, head of all the bank’s retail activities (including Hello bank! and Fintro).
The suspense is over. It was ultimately the latter who was chosen to succeed Max Jadot at the head of the country’s leading bank. At 50, the man will become chairman of the bank’s management committee on January 1.
This rise to the top of the bank, this civil engineer from the University of Ghent, father of two, owes it in particular to his career of more than 20 years, including seven years as a member of the management committee, within of the house in the rue Royale.
As for Max Jadot, twelve years after taking the reins of the bank as CEO, he will succeed Herman Daems as Chairman of the Board of Directors, also from January 1, 2023.
A Fortis boy
He joined Fortis in 2001, thanks to a mission as an internal consultant, he knows the house and its various professions well. He has indeed assumed responsibilities in areas as varied as consumer credit, local banking services and even within the finance department. For example, he was involved in a series of integration projects following the takeover of Générale de Banque, he was also a close collaborator of the former financial director of the Fortis group Gilbert Mittler. As for the 2008 crisis, he obviously experienced it closely with the break-up of the former rue Royale group. “As with most people who worked at Fortis at that time and who had a strong emotional and professional connection with the group, this leaves you with a bitter memory. It was a delicate and painful period. On the other hand, we can be proud of the progress made by BNP Paribas Fortis since 2008.” In fact, this difficult period did not prevent our interlocutor from continuing to climb the ladder. In the wake of the fall of Fortis, in 2009 he became head of alternative brands at BNP Paribas Fortis (Fintro, bpost bank and Alpha Card). A mission he assumed until September 2014, when he became head of the BNP Paribas Fortis branch network and its 6,000 employees, before then joining the executive committee at the end of last year.
From Aalst to Chicago
At the start, however, nothing predestined this civil engineer, passionate about cosmology, to pursue a career in finance. What first interested Michael Anseeuw when he left Ghent University in 1996 was to “discover the world”. Rather than embark on the path of an academic career that promises him, he chooses to turn to the world of consulting. Here he is at Andersen Consulting. Good pick. Paris, Singapore, Frankfurt, Chicago: the young Aalst sees the country. His consulting assignments take him to the four corners of the planet. “Working abroad was a very enriching experience, both professionally and in terms of personal development”, he recalls, delighted.
The experiment lasts three years. We are then at the end of the 1990s. Back in Belgium, Michael Anseeuw sets out to create his own company, Smartizens.com. The start-up develops educational communities for European universities. Due to a lack of financial means, the adventure unfortunately turns short on the background of the bursting of the internet bubble.
Numerical revolution
Even today, the Internet and new technologies are still an integral part of Michael Anseeuw’s daily life. And for good reason. Apps, fintechs, big data, etc. : the digital tsunami is not sparing the world of finance. Far from there. He’s really messing with dad’s bank.
We must therefore constantly adapt the model to the exponential increase in technology and the behavior of our customers. We are also planning to launch the flying banker concept, a banker who travels when and where the client wishes, and who enters into this vision of a hybrid model, with more digital in the physical network and more human in our digital network”, adds Michael Anseeuw, also referring to the bank’s brand new ultra-modern flagships, such as the one it has just opened in Ghent and the one it is about to inaugurate in Brussels.
Garden side
For the rest, Michael Anseeuw enjoys living in his house near Aalst. It must be said that this former tennis player has a rather simple hobby. Married to a Romanist who speaks Italian and plays the violin, this happy father of two daughters tries to spend as much time as possible with his family. He devotes himself to the joys of reading, appreciating more particularly works of fiction. Without forgetting everything related to his training as an engineer (physical specialization), such as articles devoted to the discovery of the Brout-Englert-Higgs boson, of which he says he is amazed by the beauty. Like that of the sun, which he likes to see rising over his minimalist garden, just made of a lawn and a few trees. Like what we can very well be a connected man and not lose the sense of relativity.
Several names have been circulating for a few months to succeed Max Jadot at the head of BNP Paribas Fortis. Those of the HRD Sandra Wilikens, Stéphane Vermeire, director of the private banking division, Didier Bauvois, head of corporate banking, as well as that of Michael Anseeuw, head of all the bank’s retail activities (including Hello bank! and Fintro). The suspense is gone. It was ultimately the latter who was chosen to succeed Max Jadot at the head of the country’s leading bank. At 50, the man will become chairman of the bank’s management committee on January 1. This rise to the top of the bank, this civil engineer from the University of Ghent, father of two, owes it in particular to his career spanning more than 20 years, including seven years as a member of the management committee, within the house on rue Royale. to Herman Daems as Chairman of the Board of Directors, also from 1 January 2023. He joined Fortis in 2001, following an assignment as an internal consultant, he knows the house and its various businesses well. He has indeed assumed responsibilities in areas as varied as consumer credit, local banking services and even within the finance department. For example, he was involved in a series of integration projects following the takeover of Générale de Banque, he was also a close collaborator of the former financial director of the Fortis group Gilbert Mittler. As for the 2008 crisis, he obviously experienced it closely with the break-up of the former rue Royale group. “As with most people who worked at Fortis at that time and who had a strong emotional and professional connection with the group, this leaves you with a bitter memory. It was a delicate and painful period. On the other hand, we can be proud of the progress made by BNP Paribas Fortis since 2008.” In fact, this difficult period did not prevent our interlocutor from continuing to climb the ladder. In the wake of the fall of Fortis, in 2009 he became head of alternative brands at BNP Paribas Fortis (Fintro, bpost bank and Alpha Card). A mission he took on until September 2014, when he became head of the BNP Paribas Fortis branch network and its 6,000 employees, before joining the executive committee at the end of last year. nothing predestined this civil engineer passionate about cosmology to pursue a career in finance. What first interested Michael Anseeuw when he left Ghent University in 1996 was to “discover the world”. Rather than embark on the path of an academic career that promises him, he chooses to turn to the world of consulting. Here he is at Andersen Consulting. Good pick. Paris, Singapore, Frankfurt, Chicago: the young Aalst sees the country. His consulting assignments take him to the four corners of the planet. “Working abroad was a very enriching experience, both professionally and in terms of personal development”, he recalls, delighted. The experiment lasts three years. We are then at the end of the 1990s. Back in Belgium, Michael Anseeuw sets out to create his own company, Smartizens.com. The start-up develops educational communities for European universities. Due to a lack of financial means, the adventure unfortunately turns short on the background of the bursting of the internet bubble. Even today, the Internet and new technologies are still an integral part of Michael Anseeuw’s daily life. And for good reason. Apps, fintechs, big data, etc. : the digital tsunami is not sparing the world of finance. Far from there. He’s really messing with dad’s bank. We must therefore constantly adapt the model to the exponential increase in technology and the behavior of our customers. We are also planning to launch the flying banker concept, a banker who travels when and where the client wishes, and who enters into this vision of a hybrid model, with more digital in the physical network and more human in our digital network”, adds Michael Anseeuw, also referring to the bank’s brand new ultra-modern flagships, such as the one it has just opened in Ghent and the one it is about to inaugurate in Brussels. remains, Michael Anseeuw likes to live in his house located near Aalst. It must be said that this former tennis player has a rather simple leisure. Married to a Romanist who speaks Italian and plays the violin, this happy father of two girls tries to spend as much time as possible with his family. He indulges in the joys of reading, particularly appreciating works of fiction. Without forgetting everything related to his training as an engineer (specialization in physics), such as arti keys dedicated to the discovery of the Brout-Englert-Higgs boson, whose beauty he says he marvels at. Like that of the sun, which he likes to see rising over his minimalist garden, just made of a lawn and a few trees. Like what we can very well be a connected man and not lose the sense of relativity.
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