Jan De Witte resigns as CEO

Kortrijk, Belgium, 16 July 2021, 19.00 hrs - Jan De Witte has decided to step down as CEO, with effect as from 1 September 2021.

As CEO, Jan De Witte has played a crucial role in the turnaround of Barco since 2016. He has brought focus to the company, strengthened the leadership team, streamlined the portfolio towards a solutions strategy, strengthened the digital capabilities, and further internationalised and activated the company with a more performing and resilient culture. He also steered the company through the difficult Covid-19 period.

To replace Jan De Witte, the Board of Directors has appointed Charles Beauduin and An Steegen as co-CEOs. They will start respectively on 1 September and 1 October. With his years of experience as a business leader at Van de Wiele NV and with her years of experience as a technology and innovation leader at IBM, imec and Umicore, and with their backgrounds as members of the Board of Directors of Barco, Charles and An form a perfect tandem to lead Barco in the coming years. With this choice, Barco is more than ever committed to innovation, growth and entrepreneurship. Moreover, the focus remains on the further internationalisation of the company in view of worldwide commercial and technological leadership in the various markets.

Furthermore, the Board of Directors has appointed Frank Donck, independent director at Barco since April 2015, as Chairman of the Board of Directors with effect as from 1 September.

Quote from the Chairman, Charles Beauduin

“Together with the Board of Directors, I would like to thank and express my gratitude to Jan for all the changes he has realized at Barco during his 5 years of leadership. With his management experience, he was the driving force for more focus and for a more professionally managed and international organisation. We are also very pleased that Jan has agreed to advise us in the transition until the end of 2021.”

Quote from the CEO, Jan De Witte

“I am proud of what we have achieved together with the leadership team and the entire organisation over the past 5 years, with the support and trust I have enjoyed from Charles and our board members. During the Covid-19 period, Barco has been able to strengthen its resilience and growth opportunities, and is in a position to fully maximize these in the next chapter under the leadership of Charles and An. “

Quote from future co-CEO, An Steegen

“Digitalisation is changing our society at a rapid pace. New experiences, more insights and more connectedness are at the centre. This is a great opportunity for Barco, already a world leader in visualization and collaboration technologies, to differentiate and grow more than ever through its breakthrough innovations. I look forward to working with Charles and the entire team to build a promising future for Barco.”

Short bio:

Since 1993, Charles Beauduin (°1959) is CEO and owner of Michel Van de Wiele NV, an international technology company and market leader in applications for the textile industry. He holds a master’s degree in law from KU Leuven and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Barco NV since January 2015.

Since April 2017, An Steegen (°1971) is a member of the Board of Directors of Barco NV. She holds a Phd in materials science and electrical engineering from KU Leuven, in collaboration with Belgian imec. In 2000, Mrs. Steegen joined IBM Semiconductor R&D in Fishkill, New York. As head of R&D and a senior executive at IBM’s International Semiconductor Alliance, she was responsible for the development of IBM’s advanced logic semiconductor technology. In 2010, she returned to imec in Belgium, where she became executive vice president Semiconductor Technology & Systems. Since 2018, An Steegen is chief technology officer at Umicore. She is responsible for the company’s innovation strategy and heads the central R&D team.

About Barco
Barco designs technology to enable bright outcomes around the world. Seeing beyond the image, we develop visualisation and collaboration solutions to help you work together, share insights, and wow audiences. Our focus is on three core markets: Enterprise (from meeting and control rooms to corporate spaces), Healthcare (from the radiology department to the operating room), and Entertainment (from movie theatres to live events and attractions). In 2020, we realised sales of 770 million euro. We have a global team of 3,300 employees, whose passion for technology is captured in 461 granted patents.

More information? Visit www.barco.com and follow us on Twitter (@Barco), LinkedIn (Barco), YouTube (BarcoTV) or Facebook (Barco).

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