After a career spanning 40 years, Jean-Pierre Wuytack will retire as CEO of Vandersanden later this year. Rudi Peeters, currently CIO (Chief Information Officer) at the bank KBC in Belgium, will succeed Wuytack as CEO from 1 October.

After studying Biology at the KU Leuven, Rudi Peeters started his career at KBC in 1986. Throughout these years, he was responsible for a varied range of areas, including ICT, electronic banking and marketing. In 2011, the bank appointed him ICT general manager (CIO).

From 1 October 2021, Peeters will succeed Jean-Pierre Wuytack as CEO at Vandersanden. Wuytack has headed the family business for a total of 33 years.

Jean-Pierre Wuytack commented: "I have every confidence that, with Rudi, Vandersanden is in good hands. He is the right person in the right place to take our company to the next level. It is with a certain pain in my heart that I approach my last months as CEO, but I can also say that I am proud of what we have achieved with Vandersanden. From within the family, I hope to continue to contribute to Vandersanden in the years to come and to support Rudi's leadership."

Peeters said: "The family nature of Vandersanden and its focus on sustainability and innovation really appeal to me. I am, therefore, especially proud to continue the work of Jean-Pierre Wuytack. If we succeed in realising his ambitions and the strategic goals of Vandersanden, we will have laid a stone that will make the industrial river flow very differently."

With the appointment of Rudi Peeters, an external CEO will, for the first time, be at the helm of the family business. However, the Vandersanden family remains closely involved with the company, including through the Board of Directors and the family council.