Raphael Louis L. Vermeir was born in Merchtem (Belgium) in 1955 and has been a Director of Eni since May 2020. From April 2021 he is Lead Independent Director. He is currently an independent advisor for the mining and oil industry. Since 2016 he has been Senior Advisor for AngloAmerican. He serves as Trustee of St Andrews Prize for the Environment and the Classical Opera Company in London, as well as board member of Malteser International. He is Fellow of the Energy Institute and the Royal Institute of Naval Architects, and has been Chairman of IP week for the last five years.