Hugo Lasat proposed as future CEO of Degroof Petercam

The board of directors of Degroof Petercam today decided to propose to the general meeting of shareholders of the group to appoint Hugo Lasat, currently CEO of the asset management entity DPAM (Degroof Petercam Asset Management), as executive director so as to  take up the position of Chief Executive Officer of the group, subject to the approval of the competent regulatory authorities.

Hugo Lasat would succeed Bruno Colmant, who would leave his position as Chief Executive Officer to fully devote himself to his responsibilities as Head of Private Banking, which he had already taken over in March. Bruno Colmant will remain a member of the management committee and of the board of directors of Degroof Petercam.

Subject to the approval of the authorities, Peter De Coensel -currently CIO Fixed Income and member of the management board and of the board of directors of DPAM - would be appointed CEO of DPAM in succession to Hugo Lasat. Hugo Lasat would be named chairman of the board of directors of DPAM (for more information, see DPAM press release).

Hugo Lasat was born in Etterbeek in 1964. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics and a Master after Master's degree in Finance from KU Leuven Campus Brussel. He started his career in 1986 at Arthur Andersen & Co and relies on more than 30 years of experience in the financial sector (Bacob Bank, AG Asset Management, Paribas Asset Management, Banque Paribas Belgium, Cordius Asset Management, Amonis, Candriam and Dexia Group). In 2011, he joined Petercam as a partner and head of Petercam Institutional Asset Management. In 2016, following the merger between Degroof and Petercam, he took over the management of DPAM as CEO. Hugo Lasat is a visiting professor at KU Leuven Campus Brussel and is a director of Baloise Holding as well as a member of the financial committee of the Red Cross.

Gilles Samyn, chairman of the board of Degroof Petercam: "Hugo is a born entrepreneur and a highly experienced manager. Together with the team he has built, he successfully developed Degroof Petercam Asset Management and created substantial value over the past years. The board is convinced that he has the vision, the leadership and the talent to ensure, in collaboration with the management committee, the development of our group and to support our growth. He will notably implement the strategy to which he contributed, and which was validated by the board last May. This strategy, which is translated into corporate and business units, empowers each of the managers to create value in their respective activities, while at the same time emphasizes the integrated and synergistic model of the group, to whose success the entire management committee is associated. Peter De Coensel - nominated by the board of this company/group division as CEO of DPAM - has demonstrated many of the qualities necessary to take up this responsibility (among others by considerably developing the activities for which he was responsible within DPAM over the last decade) and will act as a key person in the value creation for the group." 

Bruno Colmant: "The appointment of an internal candidate demonstrates the excellent management capabilities of the managers within our group. Awaiting the next steps of regulatory approval and governance, I will continue to exercise my mandate as CEO and ensure continuity in the transition."

Hugo Lasat: "I am honored by the confidence of the board of directors by appointing me as a candidate for this position. Our group is anchored in Belgium and internationally active and relies on multiple  talents and experts offering multiple assets and solutions to our clients. I would like to explicitly thank the clients who have placed their trust in us over the years as well as the talented colleagues at DPAM with whom I have had the pleasure to work over the past years. It was a wonderful experience that I would like to reiterate at the group level."