Senior Interim Executive Experience

Interim CEO | COO | Transformation | Carve-outs | Remediation | Regulated Environments

Bart A. Pattyn is a Belgian senior interim executive, former international CEO and current independent board director. He undertakes selected board- and shareholder-sponsored interim assignments involving transformation, carve-outs, leadership transitions, governance and compliance remediation, crisis stabilisation and the creation of new operating structures. His interim experience includes CEO/COO, Senior Compliance, transformation and project leadership assignments across regulated financial services, insurance, pharmaceuticals, utilities and public-private environments. Earlier executive experience includes international banking with KBC and regional CEO and Group Executive Committee responsibilities with Coface. He is available for selected senior interim assignments in Belgium, Europe and internationally.

Typical mandates

Interim CEO / General Management
Temporary executive leadership during transition, transformation, leadership succession or periods requiring experienced stakeholder management.

Carve-out & Standalone Company Creation
Separation of activities, creation of operating models and governance structures, stakeholder alignment, operational launch and transition to permanent leadership.

Governance, Compliance & Remediation
Senior executive leadership where regulatory, compliance, audit, governance or control issues require remediation and stronger accountability.

Transformation & Operating Model Change
Execution of strategic transformation involving organisational redesign, integration, restructuring, governance or substantial change.

Crisis, Stabilisation & Wind-down
Temporary leadership where organisations require rapid assessment, continuity, stakeholder confidence, difficult decisions and controlled execution.

Regulated Business Launch
Creation or launch of businesses requiring strong governance, regulatory awareness and coordination between shareholders, management and external stakeholders.

Selected Interim Assignments

Interim CEO/COO — De Watergroep / Azulatis

Water-as-a-Service (WaaS) strategy, carve-out and launch of a standalone subsidiary | Belgium | 2021–2023

Context
De Watergroep developed a new Water-as-a-Service (WaaS) proposition to broaden its activities beyond traditional drinking-water supply and provide integrated water solutions to business customers. Creating the appropriate platform for this activity required separating the business into a dedicated organisation with its own governance, people, operating model, systems and resources.

The concept was developed from June 2021 and received board approval in December 2021. The first phase of the carve-out ran from June 2021 to June 2022, followed by the finalisation of the carve-out and operational launch of Azulatis as a subsidiary of De Watergroep from November 2022 to April 2023.

Mandate
Bart A. Pattyn was engaged to help conceptualise and execute the carve-out and subsequently assumed Interim CEO/COO responsibility for the new organisation. The mandate evolved from strategic concept and board approval through carve-out planning and implementation to the creation and operational launch of Azulatis.

Responsibilities
The assignment combined strategic transformation with hands-on company creation. Responsibilities included:

developing and translating the Water-as-a-Service concept into an executable business and operating model;
preparing the carve-out and supporting the governance process leading to board approval;
coordinating implementation and aligning the board, management, employees, external advisers and other stakeholders;
designing and establishing the governance and operating structures of the new subsidiary;
negotiating with employees and trade unions, including the transition of personnel from public-sector civil-servant status (ambtenaar) to private-sector employee status (bediende);
safeguarding organisational and service continuity throughout the transition;
establishing the practical infrastructure required for standalone operations, including acquisition of ICT equipment and implementation of the necessary systems;
arranging the acquisition and leasing of company vehicles for employees;
coordinating the operational readiness of the organisation; and
leading the company through launch and preparing the transition to its permanent organisation and leadership.

Outcome
Azulatis was established and launched as a dedicated De Watergroep subsidiary for Water-as-a-Service activities. The assignment took the initiative from strategic concept through board approval, carve-out and organisational set-up to a functioning standalone operation, including its people arrangements, governance, ICT infrastructure, mobility resources and operating processes.

Interim Chief Compliance Advisor — EG / STADA

Compliance remediation and internal-control transformation | Pharmaceuticals | Belgium | 2025

Context
EG, the Belgian operation of international pharmaceutical group STADA, required reinforcement of its local compliance and internal-control environment following an audit and alignment of local practices with STADA Group requirements.

The challenge was not simply to implement corporate standards. Group internal-control requirements and programmes also had to be reconciled with Belgian regulatory requirements, the local operating environment and management preferences, while maintaining practical and workable business processes.

Mandate
Bart A. Pattyn was engaged as Interim Chief Compliance Advisor to assess and strengthen the Belgian compliance and internal-control framework and to complete the regulatory and corporate remediation programme following the audit.

The assignment combined remediation of identified issues with the establishment of a more sustainable governance and control model for the Belgian organisation.

Responsibilities

The assignment included:

assessing the existing compliance and internal-control environment and defining remediation priorities;
completing the regulatory and corporate remediation programme following an audit;
implementing a Three Lines of Defence model, with clearer allocation of responsibilities between business management and control functions;
introducing and embedding the four-eyes principle in relevant decision and control processes;
aligning STADA Group internal-control requirements with local Belgian regulatory requirements and management needs;
reconciling corporate initiatives, including Group purchasing programmes, with local regulatory constraints and management preferences;
translating corporate compliance requirements into workable local controls and business processes;
coordinating between local management and relevant corporate and control functions;
strengthening accountability, escalation and control ownership;
delivering compliance training to office-based employees and commercial teams, covering relevant regulatory and financial-compliance requirements; and
supporting the organisation in moving from remediation toward a sustainable local control framework.

Outcome
The assignment resulted in the implementation of a Three Lines of Defence control model and the four-eyes principle within the Belgian organisation. Office and commercial staff were trained on relevant regulatory and financial-compliance requirements.

The regulatory and corporate post-audit remediation programme was completed, while corporate internal-control requirements—including Group purchasing programmes—were aligned with Belgian regulatory requirements and local management needs.

The result was a more clearly structured local control environment, with stronger accountability, practical compliance processes and improved alignment between the Belgian operating company and STADA Group requirements.

Project Director — Specialty Risk MGA

Insurance start-up, digital underwriting and Lloyd’s Coverholder establishment | Belgium | July 2023–December 2024

Bart A. Pattyn led the development and operational set-up of a Belgian specialty-risk Managing General Agent (MGA), from initial business concept through market launch.

The MGA was developed around three specialist insurance propositions: Weather insurance for agriculture; Property Simple and Special Risks for industrial buildings; and Specie insurance for travelling exhibitions and valuable collectors’ assets including classic and collectible cars, art and wine.

The programme included development of the business and operating model, insurance propositions and broker distribution approach, as well as the design of a digitally enabled underwriting and administration environment. This included straight-through processing within a Salesforce environment, the set-up for automated underwriting, and the development of capabilities supporting parametric insurance products.

The organisation was prepared to operate within the Lloyd’s market framework and achieved Lloyd’s of London Coverholder status in July 2024.

Outcome
Commercial activities were launched with distribution through a selected network of mid-market insurance brokers in Belgium. The programme ran from July 2023 through December 2024, taking the initiative from concept through technology and operating-model development, Lloyd’s Coverholder approval and commercial market entry.

Sectors and Operating Environments

Financial Services & Insurance — banking, insurance, specialty risk, regulated financial institutions.

Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare — regulated corporate environments, compliance and governance.

Utilities & Infrastructure — public-sector and public-private organisations, carve-outs and transformation.

Government-related Organisations — complex shareholder, political, regulatory and stakeholder environments.

International Businesses — cross-border organisations requiring multicultural leadership and alignment across shareholders, boards and management.

Board Perspective, executive accountability

My interim work combines the perspective of a current independent board director with the operating experience of a former international CEO. I understand both what boards and shareholders need from an interim executive and what management teams need in order to execute.

I can be inserted by a board or shareholder into a difficult situation and understand both sides of the governance boundary.

When Interim Leadership Adds Value

Bart A. Pattyn undertakes selected senior interim executive assignments where a board of directors, shareholder or management team requires experienced temporary leadership to address a defined business challenge or period of transition.

Assignments may involve taking executive responsibility as Interim CEO or Interim COO, leading a major transformation as Transformation Executive, Transformation Director or Project Director, or assuming a focused governance, compliance or remediation mandate. His experience also includes assignments requiring crisis management, organisational stabilisation and leadership through complex transitions.

Typical situations include carve-outs and business separations, the creation and launch of a standalone company, restructuring and operating-model change, and the integration or transformation of existing businesses. Other mandates may arise from leadership transitions or succession, where an experienced interim executive is required to provide continuity while a permanent organisation or leadership solution is established.

In regulated environments, assignments can involve governance or compliance remediation, including situations arising from audit findings, regulatory requirements or weaknesses in internal controls. These mandates may require close interaction with the board, management, control functions and regulators while ensuring that remediation is translated into practical and sustainable changes in the organisation.

Bart is also experienced in business creation and launch, where strategy must be converted into governance, people, processes, technology and an operational organisation. In more difficult circumstances, interim leadership may involve crisis management, stabilisation, restructuring or an orderly wind-down.

Assignments are typically board-sponsored or shareholder-sponsored and may involve complex relationships between shareholders, management teams, employees, regulators, trade unions and public stakeholders. This makes the approach particularly relevant to regulated businesses, public-private organisations and companies undergoing significant organisational change. It can also be relevant to private-equity portfolio companies where shareholders require experienced temporary leadership during transformation, separation, integration or leadership transition.

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