VISCOUNT ETIENNE DAVIGNON
Viscount Etienne Davignon started his career at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and became Head of Cabinet of Ministers Spaak and Harmel.

Playing a key role behind the report on the future of the Atlantic Alliance (Harmel Report), he also presided over the committee responsible for preparing the first proposals for political cooperation between EEC Members (Davignon Report) and became the first President of the International Energy Agency in 1974.

After leaving the civil service in 1977, Mr. Davignon was appointed Vice President of the EEC in charge of industry, research and energy, a role he fulfilled until the end of 1984.

During this period he was active in the restructuring of European industry and in promoting new research cooperative ventures. He negotiated, on behalf of the EEC, key agreements with the US, Japan and China.

In 1985 he joined Société Générale de Belgique, Belgium’s largest holding company and became their Executive Chairman in 1989.

BOARD MANDATES
Mr. Davignon is currently Chairman of Brussels Airlines, Recticel, Compagnie Internationale de Wagon Lits and Compagnie Maritime Belge. He has been Vice-Chairman of Fortis and Umicore and is a member of the board of Sofina. He is a Non-Executive Director of Gilead Sciences and recently stepped down from the board of GDF Suez.

His career includes Non-Executive Directorships on the boards of Anglo American, BASF, Solvay, ICL, FIAT, Générale de Banque, Arbed, Pechiney, Toyota, Petrofina and Accor. Mr. Davignon has been one of the longest serving members of the European Round Table of Industrialists.

He has been a member of the Bank of Montreal and Kissinger Associates. He is Chairman of the Advisory Board of Business Network for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Chairman of the Bilderberg Group.