Materialise appoints Brigitte de Vet-Veithen as new CEO
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, the new chairman of the Board of Directors of Materialise, will take over the role of Materialise 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 a change in leadership and not a new beginning. I am proud of the work we have done to save and improve patient lives, and to advance industrial production 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 Vet-Veithen has over 30 years experience in a wide range of industries. She joined Materialise Medical in 2016, where she is the Executive Vice President. The company develops 3D printing and software solutions to 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. De Vet-Veithen, the new CEO, was a consultant for technology companies and led several companies through growth and change. This included her role as CEO at Acertys Group. She holds a Master of Business Administration, with a Major of Engineering, from HEC Liege as well as an MBA from INSEAD.
Vancraen founded Materialise with Executive Vice President Hilde Igelaere, 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 is the only Belgian tech company to be listed on Nasdaq.
Vancraen, who will be the non-executive chairman of the board of directors, will continue to give strategic direction to Materialise when the change takes effect on January 1, 2024. Vancraen will succeed Peter Leys who was Executive Chairman of Board for 10 years. He will also continue to be a Board member.
Ingelaere, who was previously the EVP of Materialise, will be retiring from that role on January 1. She will instead focus on her duties as a Board member. Materialise’s Executive Committee will continue its strategic and operational role under the new presidency of de Vet-Veithen.
Vancraen is one of the first inductees in the TCT Hall of Fame.