Management Board

German, 47

Education
International Business Management - Erlangen-Nuremberg Friedrich-Alexander University

Experience
Mathias Miedreich joined Umicore and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in October 2021, after serving as Executive Vice President of the Clean Mobility division of Faurecia, a global automotive supplier with a strong focus on sustainable mobility. Mathias started his career in Strategy Consulting at KPMG and then moved to the automotive industry, in which he has accumulated more than 20 years of experience in various senior leadership roles in Europe and Asia.

Prior to joining Faurecia in 2013 as their Vice President Strategy & New Technologies for the Clean Mobility business, he worked at Siemens and Continental.

Belgian, 42

Education
Business Engineering - KU Leuven, Belgium
MBA - Vlerick Business School, Brussels, Belgium

Experience
Wannes Peferoen was appointed Chief Financial Officer in October 2022. He joined Umicore in 2005 and has accumulated over 10 years’ experience as a controller of several business units, building up a strong expertise in financial controlling including strategic planning, introducing new systems and managing financial risk. Subsequently Wannes held positions in general management in Belgium and France, and served as Senior Vice President for Electro-Optic Materials. 

Prior to Umicore, Wannes worked for PriceWaterhouseCoopers in audit & advisory. 

Belgian, 51

Education
Master of Laws – University of Chicago Law School, US
European Economic Law – Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany
Law – KU Leuven, Belgium

Experience
Géraldine Nolens was appointed Chief Legal Counsel for the Group in 2009 and joined the Management Board in 2015. 

She started her career at the international law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton before joining GDF Suez (now Engie) in 2001, where she was Electrabel’s Chief Legal Officer for Southern Europe, France and new European markets. 

Géraldine’s career includes periods working and living in Belgium, Germany, Italy and the US.

Belgian, 55

Education
Mining Engineering – Université de Liège, Belgium

Experience
Denis was appointed Executive Vice President Energy & Surface Technologies in 2018. He took up the position of Executive Vice President Recycling as of 1 April 2021. Previously, he served as Chief Technology Officer from 2010 to 2018 and EVP for Precious Metals Refining from 2015 to 2018.

Prior to that, he occupied successive business line and country management functions in China and Japan. 

Denis began his career at Umicore with Research & Development in Olen, before moving to what was then our Cobalt & Energy Products Business Unit.

German, 57

Education
PhD Chemical Engineering – University of Erlangen, Germany

Experience
Ralph Kiessling was appointed Executive Vice President Energy & Surface Technology on 1 March 2021. Before this he was Executive Vice President Catalysis from 2019 till 2021, after serving as Senior Vice President Operations for Automotive Catalysts from 2015 to 2019.

He previously occupied successive management functions in process technology, production and business controlling, including five years in China. In 2012, he moved to India where he built Umicore’s automotive catalyst plant.

Prior to joining Umicore, Ralph held management positions in the Degussa group.

Belgian, 44

Education
Commercial Science – Vlekho Business School Brussels, Belgium

Experience
Bart Sap was appointed Executive Vice President Catalysis on 1 March 2021.

Bart joined Umicore in 2004 as a controller for Cobalt & Specialty Materials and, after successive assignments in Korea and Belgium covering finance, supply of raw materials, business development and refining operations, he became Senior Vice President for Cobalt & Specialty Materials and Supply at the beginning of 2020.

French, 44

Education
Master in Management, HEC Business School, Paris, France

Experience
Frank Daufenbach joined Umicore’s Management Board as Chief Strategy Officer in December 2021.

He previously worked at Faurecia, a leading global automotive supplier with a strong focus on sustainable mobility, where he served as Vice President Strategy and Marketing of the Clean Mobility business group. His prior roles include those of consultant at Monitor Deloitte, KPMG and Oliver Wyman.

Belgian, 50

Education
Applied Economics – Ghent University, Belgium 
Financial Management – Vlerick Management School, Belgium

Experience
Filip Platteeuw was appointed Chief Financial Officer in November 2012. He joined Umicore in 2004 and served as Vice President Corporate Development from 2010 to 2012. Filip was instrumental in streamlining the business portfolio, including the divestment of the copper and zinc smelting operations.

Prior to Umicore, Filip worked for KBC Bank, taking up positions in corporate banking, equity market research and investment banking.

Filip Platteeuw resigned on 1 October 2022.