Message from the Chairman

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear shareholders,

A long-lasting relationship can only be achieved if it relies on respect, trust, and mutual understanding. This is my belief. As I write these words, we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of our partnership with the Volkswagen Group, which was initiated by my grandfather, Pierre D’Ieteren. A partnership that has remained solid across three generations on both sides and that has proven its resilience in the face of technological innovation and a changing business environment.

Simultaneously, over recent decades, we have been able to build long-term relationships with all our businesses by developing solid and fruitful ties. These relationships have been fostered by each business’s ability to inspire us all, day-by-day. We have found those common values in PHE, our latest investment, which we are convinced will offer thrilling development perspectives, in terms of both geographies and market growth. I would like to reiterate my warm welcome to them into the D’Ieteren Group family.

While challenging years seem to follow one another and tend to become the new normal, 2022 has again tested our resilience. The outbreak of war at Europe’s borders, spiking levels of inflation unheard of for decades, unstable energy markets, and continued supply chain disruptions have led our businesses to question some deep-seated processes and adapt their strategies.

Against such a challenging background, our businesses have continued to accomplish what they excel at: adapting, seizing opportunities, and reinventing themselves. The Group’s performance in 2022 was yet more proof of our agility in difficult economic surroundings as we achieved another record year and delivered on our ambitious promises in various dimensions.

2022 has shown that our sensitivity to the world’s condition is as important to the Group as it is to future generations of stakeholders. We, entrepreneurs and investors, are mindful of our responsibilities and the role we can play in the sustainable development of our society for the good of our planet.

As always, to realise this transition, we focus on our customers, and for this we can count on our people, and their engaging leaders. Their talent, associated with their knowledge of the business and sense of entrepreneurship, are key to achieving our ambitions in all our subsidiaries.

This year also marks a change at the helm of Belron. To continue its successful trajectory, Carlos Brito has taken over as CEO last March following Gary Lubner’s decision to step down. We look forward to seeing Carlos pursuing the growth of the company with his broad experience.

It is still clear, however, that there can be no meaningful transition without strong, forward-looking governance. At D’Ieteren Group, as a family business, our governance aims for sustainable, long-term value creation. With this in mind, we are continuously making sure that our Board encompasses the skills that are required to pursue our growth journey. Last year, we had the pleasure of welcoming Hugo De Stoop, CEO of Euronav, as one of our non-Executive Directors.

With constantly renewed passion, we will pursue our mission to support our businesses in search of excellence and meaningful impact and thereby creating long-term value for our stakeholders.

I hope that this report will leave you with a sense of the remarkable work achieved by our talented people within each business and our corporate team. I would like to thank them all personally and on behalf of the Board of Directors.

Nicolas D’Ieteren
Chairman of the Board