Under a system of board seat rotation, elections were held for three board seats. The changes to the board are:
- Wolfgang Köhler has been elected by the board as vice chair of Finance Watch.
- Professor Dr. Rainer Lenz has been elected by the General Assembly as a director of the board, replacing outgoing director Philippe Loumeau.
In addition:
- Thierry Philipponnat has resigned as Secretary General of Finance Watch, with effect from 16 May. Benoît Lallemand, currently co-head of policy analysis for Finance Watch, has been appointed Acting Secretary General.
- A recruitment process for a new Secretary General will be launched in the week commencing 12 May.
Thierry Philipponnat said:
“I am proud of the work done by our association since it started in 2011. However, it has become clear over the last months that it is time for me to move on. I wish the staff and Members of Finance Watch every success in continuing the important mission of making finance serve society.”
Monique Goyens, chair of the board, said:
“The Members of Finance Watch are extremely grateful to Thierry for his effective and inspiring leadership over the last three years. Thierry succeeded in bringing Finance Watch to life in 2011 and in a very short time has built our association into a well-known and respected advocate for the public interest. I will miss working with Thierry and wish him well with his future engagements.
“I would like to thank Benoît for assuming additional responsibilities during the transition. I am confident that Benoît and the team that Thierry has assembled will take excellent care of Finance Watch during this period.
“I would also like to thank Philippe Loumeau for the valuable contribution he has made to the board and the expertise he has brought to Finance Watch’s development over the last three years.”
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Greg Ford +32 (0) 2 880 0430 greg.ford@finance-watch.org
Charlotte Geiger +32 (0) 2 880 0441 charlotte.geiger@finance-watch.org
NOTES
Board elections are held on a rotating basis, with one third of the association’s nine board seats up for election each year.
After the 28-29 April 2014 General Assembly, the six institutional and three individual members of the Finance Watch Board of Directors are:
- European Consumers’ Organisation (BEUC), represented by Monique Goyens (Belgian), BEUC Director General (chair)
- Wolfgang Köhler (German), freelance journalist and author, former business and financial editor of “Die Zeit” and former financial editor of “Wirtschaftswoche” (vice chair)
- Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE), represented by Paul de Clerck (Dutch), coordinator of FoEE’s Economic Justice Program (treasurer)
- UNI Europa, represented by Oliver Roethig (German), UNI Europa Regional Secretary
- CECODHAS Housing Europe, represented by Kurt Eliasson (Swedish), President of CECODHAS Housing Europe
- European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), represented by Veronica Nilsson, ETUC Confederal Secretary
- Transparency International EU Office, represented by Jacques Terray (French), Vice-President of TI France and former member of TI International Board of Directors
- François-Marie Monnet (French), independent advisor to family wealth offices, associate of l’Observatoire de la Finance, former investment banker and journalist
- Prof. Dr. Rainer Lenz (German), professor of finance at the University of Applied Sciences in Bielefeld, former investment banker and Economic Advisor at the Namibian Ministry of Finance
