Sonja De Becker
Biography
- Born in 1967, in Erps-Kwerps, Belgium.
- Holds a Master’s degree in Law (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)
- Career: She started working as a legal advisor at Boerenbond (Farmers’ Union) in 1990. She started the Environmental Consulting service at SBB Accountants & Adviseurs from 1995 to 1999 and became a member of the management committee. She became the Boerenbond’s Deputy General Secretary in 1999 and was tasked with following up all (internal and external) Flemish policy files which could potentially have an impact on agriculture and horticulture. She became the Boerenbond Group’s (Boerenbond and the National Movement) first female General Secretary in 2001. Within that capacity she became Chairperson of the management committee (and responsible for the organisation’s day-to-day management), member of the Executive Board, Managing Director/Chairperson of all Boerenbond and Landelijke Gilden’s (Rural Guilds) services and associations, which have been set up to support farmers, horticulturists and rural residents in the field of training, service provision, advocacy, innovation and research. She was also appointed as SBB Accountants & Adviseurs’ Managing Director (and later Chairperson), Director at MRBB, Agri Investment Fund and Acerta and Chairperson at LRV (the national riders). She took responsibility for the external advocacy of all relevant policy files at Flemish, Federal and European level, in collaboration with the Chairperson. She thereby represented Boerenbond in numerous advisory and consultative bodies. She has also represented Boerenbond in the Flemish social dialogue (SERV and VESOC) since 1999 and later also in the VDAB’s policy group. She was appointed Regent at the National Bank of Belgium in 2011. She became Boerenbond's first female and youngest Chairperson, as well as MRBB’s (the group's financial holding company) and Agri Investment Fund’s Chairperson in December 2015, following a 2 year vice-chairpersonship. She has also been a member of the Group of 10 and the Central Economic Council since 2015. She resigned as Boerenbond’s Chairperson on 1st May 2022. She currently still remains MRBB’s Chairperson and, within that capacity, has taken up directorships in MRBB’s companies and participations, as well as its underlying companies and entities.
- In the Board of Directors of KBC Group: non-executive director, representative of core shareholders, member of the Nomination Committee, member of the Risk and Compliance Committee