Materialise
New Materialise CEO Brigitte de Vet-Veithen
Materialise has announced that the company’s Board of Directors has appointed Brigitte de Vet-Veithen as the new Chief Executive Officer. de Vet-Veithen will succeed Fried Vancraen, who co-founded Materialise in 1990 and has served as the company’s CEO for the 33 years since its inception.
Vancraen will continue to represent Materialise as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors when the leadership transition becomes effective on January 1, 2024.
“We founded Materialise with a mission to create a better and healthier world,” said Vancraen. “Thirty-three years later, the company has reached an ideal point to bring in new leadership to take us into the future. This transition represents an evolution of leadership, not a departure. I am proud of what we have accomplished through our efforts to improve and save patient lives and to advance the industrial production process with innovative 3D printing solutions.
“Brigitte has the perfect combination of internal and external experience and has demonstrated a deep commitment to Materialise’s mission and its people. I cannot think of a better person than Brigitte to lead Materialise and to help shape our industry going forward.”
Brigitte de Vet-Veithen is a business leader with over 30 years of experience across various industries. She joined Materialise in 2016 and is currently Executive Vice President of Materialise Medical, which develops software and 3D printing solutions that help improve patient outcomes. Under her leadership, the medical segment grew to become the company’s fastest-growing and most profitable business segment.
“It will be an honour to lead Materialise, a company that helped create and continues to shape the 3D printing industry,” said de Vet-Veithen. “As we take this step, I celebrate our roots as 3D printing pioneers, but I am even more excited about our role as pioneers of tomorrow’s possibilities. As 3D printing establishes itself as an essential tool in the production toolbox, Materialise is ideally positioned to capitalise on the tremendous opportunities ahead and to continue driving the growth of our industry.”
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Prior to joining Materialise, de Vet-Veithen held senior management roles at Johnson & Johnson. The new CEO was also a consultant in the technology industry and led a range of companies through growth and transformation, including in her role as CEO of Acertys Group. She holds a Master of Business Administration with a Major in Engineering from HEC Liege and an MBA from INSEAD.
Materialise was founded by Vancraen alongside Executive Vice President Hilde Ingelaere in 1990. As of today, Materialise is active in 20 countries, combining one of the largest groups of software developers in the industry with one of the world’s largest 3D printing facilities according to the company.
Materialise became a publicly traded company in 2014 and remains the only Belgian technology company that trades on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
When the change becomes effective on January 1, 2024, Vancraen will continue to provide strategic direction to Materialise, and will represent the company as non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. He will succeed Peter Leys, who has been Executive Chairman of the Board for a decade, and will continue as a member of the Board.
Also on January 1, Ingelaere will will step back from her role as EVP and will focus her activities as a member of the Board. Materialise’s Executive Committee will continue its strategic and operational role under the new presidency of de Vet-Veithen.
Vancraen was one of the inaugural inductees into the TCT Hall of Fame in 2017.
Materialise
Co-Founder and CEO Fried Vancraen with his successor Brigitte de Vet-Veithen
