Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is the company’s supreme decision-making body in all matters that have not been expressly reserved by company law or the articles of association to the General Meeting of Shareholders. The main responsibilities of the Board of Directors relate to giving strategic direction to the company and the supervision of the state of affairs.

The Board of Directors comprises at least five Directors. At least three of them have to be independent. Directors are appointed by the General Meeting of Shareholders for a period of maximum four years and can be dismissed by the General Meeting of Shareholders at any given time. There is no age limit for Directors and Directors whose mandate is expiring can be reappointed.

The board is chaired by Françoise Chombar. The Board of Directors delegates the daily management of the company to the Chief Executive Officer who is assisted by the Executive Management. For actions outside the scope of the daily management, the Company is validly represented by two directors acting jointly.

The board is assisted by two Committees: the Audit Committee and the Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

Ms. Françoise Chombar served as planning manager at Elmos GmbH (Germany) from 1986 to 1989. From 1989 she served as operations manager and director at several companies within the Elex group. In 1994, she was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Melexis. Ms. Chombar became director in 1996. In 2004, Ms. Chombar was appointed co-managing director and chief executive officer. After the resignation of Mr. Rudi De Winter, mid February 2011, as managing director and chief executive officer, Ms. Chombar continued these functions until August 2021. In 2021, she was appointed as Chair of Melexis’ Board of Directors. Ms. Chombar is currently a board member at Umicore, a global materials technology and recycling group. On 26 July 2019, she was appointed as a member of the board and the strategy and governance/nomination committees of Soitec, a company specialized in generating and manufacturing semiconductor materials. In March 2021, Ms. Chombar joined the Board of BioRICS, a health tech company. Ms. Chombar is also president of the STEM platform, an advisory board to the Flemish government, aiming to encourage young people to pursue an education in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. She holds a master’s degree in interpreting in Dutch, English and Spanish from the University of Ghent.

Mr. Marc Biron holds a degree in electronic engineering and obtained a Ph.D. in applied sciences in 1999 at the University of Liège, Belgium. Mr. Biron began his career in the electronics industry in 1997 when joining Melexis, where he held a number of senior positions over a 25-year period. In 2006, Mr. Biron was given responsibility for the hall sensor/engine management business unit and its turnover generation. In 2009, he became global development & quality manager, focusing on the efficient development of profitable and reliable products and leading a team of 500 people. In 2018, he became VP and general manager of the sense & drive business unit and added the responsibility of global innovation manager in 2020, focusing on the right new technologies and know-how. In 2021, Mr. Biron was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Melexis. Since September 2013, Mr. Biron has been a visiting lecturer for the course ‘Major Project in Electronics’’ at the University of Liège.

Mr. Roland Duchâtelet has been a private shareholder of the company since April 1994 and has served as a director ever since. Prior to that date, Mr. Duchâtelet served in various positions in production, product development and marketing for several large and small companies. He contributed to the start-up of two other semiconductor manufacturers: Mietec Alcatel (Belgium) from 1983 to 1985 as business development/sales manager and Elmos GmbH (Germany) from 1985 to 1989 as marketing manager. Mr. Duchâtelet is the co-founder of the parent company of Melexis NV. He holds a degree in electronic engineering, a degree in applied economics and an MBA from the University of Leuven.

Ms. Martine Baelmans started her career at KU (Catholic University) Leuven in 1987 as assistant at the division of applied mechanics and energy conversion. Since 2006, she has been full professor at the faculty of engineering sciences. She is currently also vice-rector for education policy, innovation and entrepreneurship at this university. Ms. Baelmans holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a Ph.D. in engineering sciences from KU Leuven. Her research has been mainly focused on thermodynamics and heat transfer, particularly in applications for electronics cooling.

Ms. Maria Pia De Caro currently serves as Chief Supply Officer at Nomad Foods, where she is responsible for the entire supply chain organization including strategy, manufacturing operations, planning and logistics, procurement and safety management. Ms. De Caro has a track record of more than 25 years of leadership in areas such as engineering, manufacturing, M&A and supply chain at a number of fast-moving consumer goods companies like Procter & Gamble and Mondelez. Ms. De Caro holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Sapienza University of Rome and is an avid supporter of diversity and inclusion.

Ms. Ling Qi has more than 20 years of international business management experience. Currently, she is CEO of two multimedia and animation film companies. Alongside this, she has been consulting for foreign invested companies in China, has extensive experience in the semiconductor industry as a board member for a European headquartered wafer foundry, and has served as a director of a Belgian private bank. Ms. Ling Qi holds a degree in international trade and English from the University of Liaoning, and obtained a certificate of Dutch at University of Antwerp.

Mr. Kazuhiro Takenaka has a successful career of over 45 years in the semiconductor and electronics engineering industry in renowned companies such as Nissan Motor and Seiko Epson. In his role at Seiko Epson, Mr. Takenaka has also collaborated extensively with international stakeholders, working on partnerships with US companies and building relationships in markets across Europe, Asia, and the USA. He brings valuable insights and a diverse perspective to the Board, particularly in markets beyond automotive.