Philippe Vlerick is the owner, Chairman and CEO of several businesses in Belgium and abroad. He currently serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vlerick Group (Belgium), and as Chairman and CEO of UCO NV, Chairman of Pentahold. Chairman of Smartphoto Group and Chairman of the Festival Van Vlaanderen. Baron Vlerick is also Vice-chairman of KBC Group and is a member of the Board of Directors of Exmar, Besix Group, Mediahuis, BMT and L.V.D. (Belgium). Mr Vlerick holds a Degree in Philosophy and Law from the University of Leuven, and an MBA General Management degree (PUB) (Ghent, Vlerick School of Management – 1979). He also holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Indiana University, Bloomington (USA – 1980). In 2006, he was voted Manager of the Year by Trends, a leading business magazine in Belgium. He was granted the title of Baron in 2008 and became Commander of the Order of Leopold in 2013.