Leysen spent a large part of his career at Umicore (formerly Union Minière), which was transformed under his leadership from a metals producer to a materials technology group with leading positions in battery materials, automotive catalysts and precious metals recycling. He was CEO of the company until 2008, after which he became chairman of the board.
Between 2011 and 2020, Leysen has been chairman of the board of KBC Group, a banking and insurance group with activities mainly in Belgium, Central Europe and Ireland.[2]
Leysen is also the chairman and a large shareholder of Mediahuis, a media company and leading publisher of newspapers in Belgium, The Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg and Germany (De Standaard, De Telegraaf, NRC Handelsblad, Irish Independent, among other publications). In addition, he was chairman of the Belgian Corporate Governance Commission from 2014 till 2023. He has long been committed to the promotion of sustainability development, and was the founding chair of The Shift, a coalition of businesses and non-governmental organisations in Belgium.
Since March 2001, he is also Chairman of dsm-firmenich, a Swiss-Dutch health, nutrition and beauty group, listed on the Euronext Amsterdam.
Other activities
Corporate boards
Toyota, member of the global advisory board (2011 till 2018)
