Wilfried Vancraen served as one of our directors and as our Chief Executive Officer since founding Materialise in July 1990. On January 1, 2024, Mr. Vancraen became Chairman of the Board and was succeeded as CEO by Brigitte de Vet-Veithen. Previously, he worked as a research engineer and consultant at the Research Institute of the Belgian Metalworking Industry, where he was introduced to 3D Printing. Passionate about this new technology and firm in his belief that it could help create a better and healthier world, he founded Materialise in July 1990. Mr. Vancraen holds several patents related to the technical and medical applications of 3D Printing and remains committed to using the technology for positive changes in people’s lives. In recent years, Mr. Vancraen has been awarded the RTAM/SME Industry Achievement Award, the highest honor in the 3D printing industry, has been selected as the most influential person in additive manufacturing by industry professionals and TCT Magazine, and has been listed as one of the five leading players in his sector by the Financial Times. He is also the recipient of a 2013 Visionaries! award from the Museum of Art and Design in New York. Mr. Vancraen holds a Master of Science in Electro-Mechanical Engineering and a Master in Business Administration from KU Leuven. Wilfried Vancraen was included in the TCT Hall of Fame in 2017 for his contributions to the 3D printing industry.
Johan De Lille has represented A Tre C CVOA as one of our directors since July 2006, and A Tre C CVOA has been an independent director of Materialise since 2006. Mr. De Lille started his professional career as an auditor at Arthur Andersen LLP in 1988. In 1994, he became Vice President and Group Controller of Ackermans & van Haaren NV, a Belgian public holding company. In 1999, he became Chief Financial Officer of Easdaq/Nasdaq Europe and took on the role of Chief Financial Officer of Option NV, a Belgian public technology company, in 2001. Mr. De Lille joined Delhaize Group, a Belgian public company, as Vice President and Controller in September 2002, and later became Chief Internal Auditor of the Delhaize Group in August 2006, and Chief Financial Officer of Delhaize Belgium in January 2009. Since 2013, Mr. De Lille has acted as Chief Financial and Information Officer of BMT Group, an industrial family-owned holding company active in high-precision machining. Mr. De Lille serves as an independent director on the board of directors of Boma NV, a Belgian private company specializing in cleaning products. In 1988, Mr. De Lille was the award winner for the best final paper of the Department of Economics from KU Leuven. In 2010, he received the CFO Magazine Award for the Best Finance Team of the year for Working Capital in Belgium. Mr. De Lille holds a Master’s degree in Economics, with a major in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics from KU Leuven.
Mr. Hammes, 55, has served as a Managing Director of BASF New Business GmbH (“BASF New Business”), a subsidiary of BASF SE, the German chemical conglomerate (FWB: BAS) ("BASF"), since January 2016 and a Managing Director of BASF 3D Printing Solutions GmbH, another subsidiary of BASF, since August 2017. Between 2012 and 2016, Mr. Hammes also served as director or officer of various BASF affiliates, including as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Head of Business Center Turkey, Middle East and North Africa of BASF Turk Kimya San. Ltd. Sti. In addition, Mr. Hammes has served as a director on the boards of directors of BigRep GmbH, a manufacturer of 3D printers, since December 2017 and Essentium Inc., a provider of industrial 3D printing solutions, since December 2017. Mr. Hammes holds a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, Polymer Technology from RWTH Aachen.
Hilde Ingelaere co-founded Materialise in 1990, together with the company’s CEO, Wilfried Vancraen. In her early years at Materialise, Ms. Ingelaere managed several staff departments including human resources, finance and legal. She served as executive vice president until 2023 and played an important role in strategic negotiations with a focus on partnerships and applications in the medical domain. She has served on the board since 1997. Before joining Materialise, Ms. Ingelaere conducted cardiovascular clinical research at Bristol-Myers Squibb from 1986 to 1989. She then worked as a business analyst with Plant Genetic Systems from 1989 to 1992. Ms. Ingelaere holds a Master’s degree in Bioengineering from KU Leuven, where she focused on Biotechnology, and a Master in Business Administration from KU Leuven.
Jürgen Ingels has served as one of our independent directors since November 2013. Mr. Ingels is Founder and Managing Partner of SmartFin, a growth stage private equity fund that was set up in December 2014. In October 2014, Mr. Ingels sold Clear2Pay NV/S.A., a global innovative payments software technology company he founded in 2000, to FIS Global. The clients of Clear2Pay include global and major regional financial institutions such as ING Group, Banco Santander, S.A., Crédit Agricole S.A., BNP Paribas, The U.S. Federal Reserve, Royal Bank of Scotland, The People’s Bank of China (PBOC). Mr. Ingels started his career in private equity in 1997 at Dexia NV/S.A., where his role was focused on investing in technology companies. Mr. Ingels currently serves as a director on the board of directors for Guardsquare NV, Projective NV, Itineris NV, Willemen Groep, Ghelamco NV, WDP (Euronext), and Recharge.com. In 2018, Mr. Ingels founded Scale-Ups.eu and organized Supernova, a four-day technology event in Antwerp with over 30.000 visitors. Mr. Ingels holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s degree in Political and Social Sciences from the University of Antwerp. In 2020 Mr. Ingels published his first book Start Grow Sell. In the book he reveals 50 lessons he has learned as an entrepreneur.
Peter Leys was the Executive Chairman of Materialise from 2013 until January 2024, when he became Director of the Board. Previously, from 1990 to 2013, Mr. Leys was Corporate Finance Partner at the Brussels office of Baker & McKenzie CVBA, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets. Mr. Leys lectures a mergers and acquisitions contract design course at KU Leuven. Mr. Leys holds a Candidacy Degree in Philosophy from KU Leuven and Master of Law degrees from the KU Leuven and the University of Georgia.
Bart Luyten has served as one of our independent directors since June 2017 and also previously served as representative of one of our directors from 2012 to 2015. Mr. Luyten is Founder and Managing Partner of SmartFin, a private equity fund platform investing in early- and growth stage technology companies through four investment entities under the SmartFin brand. Previously, Mr. Luyten was the Founder and Managing Director of Sniper Investments NV, a B2B technologies fund that was set up in 2010. Mr. Luyten has experience as Investment Director of Partners At Venture, Managing Partner of Privast Capital Partners and General Partner of Nausicaa Ventures, all Belgian-based private equity and venture capital funds with a focus on B2B technology investments. Mr. Luyten currently holds positions on the boards of directors of a number of European B2B technology companies such as Betty Blocks, Recharge and Eyesee. Mr. Luyten holds a Master of Science degree in Applied Economics from the University of Antwerp and a postgraduate Master degree in SME management from VIZO Brussels.
Marleen Mannekens was elected as a new director of Materialise NV since 2025. Ms. Mannekens has served as a financial counselor since November 2024, and previously, as a Partner at Grant Thornton Belgium from April 2021 to October 2024. Ms. Mannekens also serves as a guest-professor at Vives University of Applied Sciences since September 2024, a guest-professor at Ghent University since September 2023, and a guest-professor at Karel de Grote Hogeschool since September 2016. Further, from November 2012 to September 2020, Ms. Mannekens served as an Assurance Partner at Ernst & Young LLP. Ms. Mannekens serves as a member of the board of directors and audit committee of Euler Hermes North America Insurance Company (an affiliate of Alliance Trade), since October 2024 and as a director and chairperson of the audit and risk committee of Euler Hermes SA (commercial name Alliance Trade) since January 2020 and of Euler Hermes Group SAS since July 2021. She is also a member of the board of directors and member of the audit committee and finance committee of AZ Alma, a regional hospital, since January 2024 and a director of ‘Patronale Dienst voor Organisatie en Kontrole van de Bestaanszekerheidsstelsels’ since June 2023. Ms. Mannekens is a member of several technical committees at the Belgian Institute of chartered accountants (IBR/IRE) and was recently appointed as vice chair of the ICCI, which is a Foundation for information and research for public accountants. Ms. Mannekens holds a Master’s degree in Business Engineering from Solvay Business School and a Master’s degree in Tax Management from Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management.
Lieve Verplancke has served as one of our independent directors since June 2015. Ms. Verplancke began her career in 1984 with The Beecham Group (now part of GlaxoSmithKline), and has since held key management positions with Merck & Co., as well as Bristol-Myers Squibb, where she served as Managing Director, leading their Belgian/GDL subsidiary until 2012. Ms. Verplancke has also served as a board member for Brussels-based Europe Hospitals, the Imelda Hospital in Bonheiden, the Euronext fund, Quest for Growth, MDxHealth and the Stichting tegen Kanker. She is also the founder and managing director of aly@Beersel, an elderly care center in Belgium. In addition to being a medical doctor (MD – KU Leuven), Ms. Verplancke holds a postgraduate degree in Economics and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Antwerp. She has also completed courses at INSEAD, CEDEP, Columbia University and the Vlerick Business School, and is a certified Executive Coach (PCC).
