Jan Huyghebaert to step down as Chairman of the KBC Group Board of Directors and be replaced by Thomas Leysen

Regulated information* - 20 January 2011 (After trading hours)
 
Mr Jan Huyghebaert has expressed his intention to end his office as Chairman of
the Boards of Directors of KBC Group, KBC Bank and KBC Insurance on 1 October
2011. He will turn 66 in April this year and has held various chairmanships in
Kredietbank, Almanij and KBC Group over the past 26 years.
 
The members of the KBC Group Board of Directors wish to express their gratitude
to Mr Huyghebaert for the effort he has put in over the years - sometimes in
difficult circumstances - to establish and develop the group as a major
bancassurer in Belgium and Central Europe.
 
Jan Huyghebaert (born 1945) obtained a degree in philosophy, language and
literature from the University of Antwerp (UFSIA) and a doctorate in law from
the Catholic University of Louvain (KUL). He is a former attaché to the office
of the Minister for Scientific Policy Programmes, Theo Lefèvre, a former adviser
to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Leo Tindemans, and former Alderman of the Port
of Antwerp. From 1985 to 1991, he served as President of the Executive Committee
of the Kredietbank, and, in 1991, became Chairman of the Board of Directors and
of the Management Committee of Almanij. Following the merger of the KBC Bank and
Insurance Holding Company and Almanij to form KBC Group NV in 2005, he was
appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the newly-formed group.
 
After careful consideration during its meeting of 20 January 2011, KBC's Board
of Directors unanimously voted to follow the proposal of the Nomination
Committee and nominate Thomas Leysen as director at the Annual General Meeting
of KBC Group NV on 28 April 2011, with a view to succeeding Jan Huyghebaert on
1 October 2011 as Chairman of the Boards of Directors of KBC Group, KBC Bank and
KBC Insurance.
 
The nomination of Mr Leysen will be officially submitted for approval to the
Belgian Banking, Finance and Insurance Commission.
 
Mr Huyghebaert commented on his decision as follows: 'I am delighted to hand the
reins over to Thomas Leysen and am convinced that everyone on the Board of
Directors, the Executive Committee and all stakeholders will give him their full
support. His track record, broad knowledge of economic and social affairs, his
international network and charisma will enable him to shape the long-term
strategy of KBC Group.'
 
Thomas Leysen (born 1960) is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Umicore. He has held this office since November 2008, prior to which he served
as Chief Executive Officer of the company from 2000 to 2008. In addition, he is
Chairman of Corelio, a Belgian media company. He is also a member of the Board
of Directors of the micro-electronics research centre, IMEC, a member of the
Supervisory Board of Bank Metzler in Germany and a member of the Boards of
Directors of Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB), Etex Group and UCB. Mr Leysen
intends to gradually step down from these last offices so that he can focus
entirely on his chairmanships at KBC, Umicore and Corelio.
He has also been Chairman of the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium since
April 2008, an office that will end in April 2011.
 
* This news item contains information that is subject to the transparency
regulations for listed companies.
 
voorzitterpb2011_EN: 
http://hugin.info/133947/R/1480846/416490.pdf
 
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of 
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: 
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and 
    other applicable laws; and 
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and 
     originality of the information contained therein. 
 
Source: KBC Groep via Thomson Reuters ONE
 
[HUG#1480846]