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Breetec has appointed an external CEO for the first time in its history. Steven Maes took up the role on 3 August and will work alongside the shareholders and existing management team to further professionalise the organisation and shape Breetec’s next phase of growth.
Breetec currently employs 90 people across three sites: two in Belgium and one in the Czech Republic. The group provides industrial services and aims to prepare itself for the major changes currently reshaping the industrial sector.
“Breetec has grown thanks to the entrepreneurship, technical expertise and dedication of our employees and management team, as well as the trust placed in us by our customers,” says Managing Director Koen Beckers. “To achieve further growth, we want to continue professionalising both our organisation and the way Breetec is managed.”
Growing by empowering people
Maes’s appointment is intended not only to establish a clear strategy for the future and drive further professionalisation. Above all, Breetec wants to build an organisation in which employees receive better support and are given more opportunities to take responsibility and continue developing.
“For us, professionalisation does not mean creating more layers, rules and procedures. Quite the opposite. We want to build an organisation in which people have clarity, can take responsibility and are supported in their growth. When people are trusted and know what is expected of them, decisions can be made more quickly and better results will follow. Steven’s arrival will help us embed this way of working throughout the organisation,” Beckers explains.
According to Beckers, this development is essential to prepare Breetec for the industry of tomorrow.
“Digitalisation, artificial intelligence, labour shortages and increasing international competition mean that companies must constantly adapt. We do not want to wait until change is imposed on us. We want to decide for ourselves where our opportunities lie and what Breetec should look like in the future.”
Over the coming period, Maes, the shareholders and the management team will jointly explore the strategic choices required to achieve this.
“We know that we want to continue growing, but we do not want to pretend that all the answers have already been decided,” says Beckers. “Steven’s role is precisely to take a critical look at the organisation together with us and determine where our strongest opportunities lie.”
Experience in both corporate and family-owned businesses
With the appointment of Steven Maes, Breetec is bringing on board experience gained in both corporate environments and family-owned businesses.
For Maes, the conversations with the shareholders and the existing management team were key to his decision to join Breetec.
“What immediately gave me confidence during those conversations was the openness with which Breetec’s future was discussed,” says Maes. “There is a great deal of ambition, combined with a willingness to take a critical look at the organisation and its current ways of working. My conversations with the management team only reinforced my conviction. I sensed a strong commitment and, above all, a genuine desire to move forward together.”
According to Maes, that confidence has only grown during his first few weeks at Breetec.
“What has struck me most is the wealth of technical knowledge, entrepreneurship and commitment within this organisation. I have had many conversations and have noticed that people are proud of what has been built here, while also having ideas about how we can continue to improve. My first priority is therefore to listen and understand what makes Breetec strong. From there, we can decide together where we want to go and what kind of organisation we need to get there. After these first few weeks, I am more motivated than ever to fully commit myself to Breetec.”
A broadly supported next step
The entire management team will remain in place. The aim is to define responsibilities more clearly and give members of the management team greater scope to focus on their own areas of expertise.
For Jan Meyers, who served as interim CEO during the past period, the appointment of Maes is also the right strategic step.
“Steven’s arrival does not represent a break with the course we have followed in recent years, but rather the next step in our growth journey,” says Jan Meyers. “That is why the management team and shareholders made the deliberate decision to bring additional experience and expertise on board.”
Beckers will also remain actively involved in the organisation’s day-to-day operations.
“I will continue to safeguard Breetec’s DNA and will work closely with Steven in my role. From an operational perspective, my focus will primarily be on HR and Shared Services. For me, this is not a step away from Breetec, but a conscious decision to contribute to the organisation’s continued development from a different role.”
Board of directors as the next step
In addition to appointing an external CEO, Breetec is also working towards establishing a board of directors. With this move, the family-owned company aims to evolve further towards a more professionally governed organisation.
“In terms of structure, decision-making and professionalism, we want to move closer to a corporate model without losing our family values and principles,” says Beckers. “A board of directors will help us gain sufficient distance from day-to-day operations, bring external expertise into the organisation and focus systematically on Breetec’s long-term strategy.”
The partnership with Maes is firmly focused on the long term.
“What Breetec is today has been built together with all our employees. With Steven on board, we want to continue building on that strong foundation,” Beckers concludes.
