Fortis Bank made appointments to three top posts, including chief information officer, chief risk officer and to its board of directors.
The three appointments will take affect Jan. 1, 2006.
“The new members will bring in additional international experience,” said Herman Verwilst, chairman of Fortis Bank’s management committee. “These management bodies have a vital part to play in the growth of our banking activities throughout Europe and in specific markets in Asia and North America.”
Joining Fortis Bank’s management committee are Alain Deschnes, as chief information officer and Luc Henrard, as chief risk officer. They replace Jean-Pierre Cardinael and Patrick Evrard, who moved to a new post outside Fortis in October.
Canadian Alain Deschnes, 46, is, since 1 February 2005, chief information officer, and reports directly to the chief operating officer. He has a bachelor’s in computer science from the University of Montreal and has completed the London Business School’s Executive Management Development Programme.
Deschenes was vice-president and director of the Boston Consulting Group in Paris and London, before joining Fortis. Before that he was CIO at Alcatel and Deputy CIO at Group BNP Paribas, responsible for IT operations and global infrastructure.
Luc Henrard, 49, is Fortis’s chief risk officer and he reports directly to the chief operating officer. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL).
Prior to his current position, Luc headed the dealing room of former Generale Bank in Tokyo, was secretary to the ALM Committee, headed the ALM department of Generale Bank. Luc has spent the last six years at corporate level constructing an internal risk, capital and value management framework for the entire Fortis organisation.
Lode Beckers has joined Fortis Bank’s Board of Directors in an independent capacity. He has also been appointed a member of the audit committee.
Beckers, 55, graduated in Law and Political Sciences from the Catholic University of Louvain and has pursued a career in the financial sector, including 28 years with Citibank in seven different countries and a Paris-based private bank. He founded his own consultancy firm, which focuses on EU-related strategic and organisational matters.