Karel Vinck to Retire as Chairman of Umicore in November 2008

Karel Vinck has expressed his desire to retire as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Umicore upon reaching the age of 70. The Board has elected Thomas Leysen as Chairman. He will take over from Karel Vinck after the board meeting of 19 November 2008. The Board has elected Marc Grynberg to succeed Thomas Leysen as CEO at that date.

Karel Vinck was CEO of Umicore from 1995 and 2000, a period during which he restructured the activities, restored profitability and created solid foundations for the company to grow. In 2000, he assumed the Chairmanship of the Board. In that capacity, he oversaw the continued transformation of Umicore into a leading global materials technology group.

Karel Vinck commented: “Technology as well as qualified and motivated people are the main ingredients of a successful company. During 13 years I have had the privilege to work with an outstanding management team and workforce, whose dedication and thoroughness were the foundations of the success of Umicore. The transformation which the company went through has been remarkable, both in terms of financial results as well as social and environmental performance. I am happy and proud to leave at a time when the company is one of the recognized world leaders in its sector. Let me underline the unique relationship I have built with Thomas Leysen, who is an extraordinarily talented leader. With Thomas as Chairman and Marc Grynberg as the new CEO, the company will be in good hands.”

Thomas Leysen became CEO of Umicore in 2000. He has reshaped the company through significant portfolio changes, such as the acquisition of PMG in 2003, the demerger of Cumerio and the IPO of Nyrstar last year, and has fostered a new culture of innovation throughout the company. 29/04/2008 – 07:30 CET CP-2008-10-R 2/2
Thomas Leysen stated: “At the end of this year, I will have been CEO of Umicore for almost 9 years. I feel this is a good time to hand on the job. As I hold a number of different directorships and mandates, on top of having recently assumed the Chairmanship of the Federation of Belgian Entreprises, stepping back from the executive management of the group will allow me to better balance the competing demands on my time. I feel honored that the Board has given me the opportunity to succeed Karel Vinck, who has been an outstanding Chairman, and a mentor for me personally.”

He added: “Umicore has reached a new dimension and a new performance level over the past few years. I believe that the time is now ripe for new leadership to take the company to yet a higher level. I am convinced that Marc Grynberg is highly qualified and ready for the job, having been an extremely successful CFO of the company and having honed his general management skills as Executive Vice President of the company’s largest division. I look forward to supporting him and the executive committee in my future role.”

Marc Grynberg holds a masters degree in business sciences from the Solvay Business School of the University of Brussels. He joined Umicore in 1996 as Group Controller and became Chief Financial Officer in 2000. He is the Executive Vice President of the Automotive Catalyst business since 2006.

Marc Grynberg said: “The transformation of Umicore in recent years under the leadership of Thomas has been impressive. I am honored by the trust the Board has expressed when electing me to succeed Thomas as CEO of Umicore. I am excited by the growth opportunities that are ahead of us. Umicore has unique technological strengths and can count on a great pool of talent to bring the company to the next stage of its development.”