Marc Ooms

Born in November 18th, 1951 in Etterbeek, Belgium, Marc Ooms grew up in a neighborhood of Brussels called Ganshoren. His father was a middleman in the import trade in fruit and vegetables, while his mother was responsible for the city’s Family and Social Affairs department.

Marc Ooms studied in Heilig-Hartcollege in Brussels before graduating from the Vlekho (Brussels) in Business Administration. He started his career as a research assistant in the Department of Applied Economics at the Catholic University of Leuven. The opportunity allowed him to publish his first academic works as part of a larger study regarding the efficiency of the Belgian stock market.

In 1977, Marc Ooms started working in private equity. He soon became Manager of GIMV before working as General Partner of the Petercam Group, Managing Director of Petercam Belgium and Chariman of Petercam Bank Nederland. His insights and knowledges in business and strategy has allowed him to chair as a member of the Boards of Directors of many companies. Today he is member of the board of Sea-Invest Corporation, BMT, Baltisse, Greenyard, Die Eiche, RegimA Europe, De Weide Blik, Mouton Citrus and the Fruit Farm Group Holding Southern Africa. From the beginning of the years 2000 Marc Ooms has diversified his activities in mining and exploration projects and private equity in South Africa,

Marc Ooms has also developed a keen interest in the arts. From 2003 to 2011, he was the Chairman of the board of directors of the Kaaitheater arts center in Brussels.