Thomas Leysen

Thomas Leysen, Relatiebeheerder Partner Plus at KBC Bank & Verzekering is an active investor based in Geel, Flanders. This profile covers what Thomas Leysen backs, at which stage, and how founders can reach out in 2026.

Mr. Thomas Leysen serves as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Nomination, Investment and Remuneration Committee at Umicore. He served as Chairman of the Board of Governors, Advisory Council, and Nomination and Remuneration Committee at the King Baudouin Foundation. He also serves as Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Nomination Committee & Member of the Remuneration Committee at Koninklijke DSM. He co-founded and served as President and Chairman at The Shift. He served as Chairman at KBC Group. He started his career in the maritime business in Hamburg, London, and Tokyo. He also serves as Chairman, Board Director at UmicoreFrom 1983 to 1988, he managed the Transcor group, which he built into an international oil and coal trading company with activities in Europe, America, and Asia. In 1989, he managed the restructuring of the General Trading Cy, a subsidiary of the Société Générale de Belgique. He joined Umicore in 1993 as a member of the Executive Committee and successively managed several industrial divisions. He became Executive Vice President of the company in 1998. Between 2000 and November 2008 he was the Chief Executive Officer of the group. During this mandate, he transformed the former Union Minière, a non-ferrous company into an international materials-technology group called Umicore. Chairman of Umicore since 2008. He is also Chairman of the Board of Cornelio; a member of the Trilateral Commission and of the European Round Table of Industrialists; from 2008 until 2011 he was Chairman of the Federation of Belgian Enterprises. In the cultural sphere, he is Chairman of the Rubenianum Fund and Chairman of the Heritage Fund of the Fondation Roi Baudouin.

Notable investments

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