Our family brewery Duvel Moortgat was awarded the ‘Family Business Award of Excellence®’ 2019. For six years now, this prestigious prize has been awarded to the best family businesses in Belgium by EY, in association with FBN Belgium, Guberna, BNP Paribas Fortis and Mediafin.
[December 5th. 2019] - The jury, chaired by Guido Vanherpe, CEO of La Lorraine Bakery Group, elected Duvel Moortgat ahead of dairy business Inex, electrical installation material manufacturer Niko Group and European drinks group Spadel.
EY has organized the ‘Family Business Award of Excellence®’ since 2014. The award highlights family businesses that excel in corporate governance, within the family and the business, in their vision and the upholding of family values and in the transmission of entrepreneurship between generations. Communication, sustainable growth and social engagement are also key criteria which the jury takes into account in conferring the award.
The five-person jury, made up of representatives from the Belgian business and academic worlds, judged that Duvel Moortgat responded best and in the most balanced way to all the criteria.
“Family businesses are and remain a key feature of the Belgian business landscape. The enterprise bug passed on from generation to generation is something really special. We want to highlight that with this award. However, we see the award as a guide to best practices rather than purely a competition”, commented Eric Van Hoof, partner at EY and Family Business Leader. “Through this event, we aim above all to offer leaders of family businesses a platform for gaining enriching inspiration from their colleagues. In family businesses, knowledge and experience tend to be passed from generation to generation. That’s all well and good, but we also want to encourage family businesses to share their experiences and best practices with competing colleagues, in the areas of corporate governance and social engagement, and the transmission of the desire of entrepreneurship”, explained Eric Van Hoof.
Guido Vanherpe, CEO of La Lorraine Bakery Group (2016 winner) and chairman of the jury, shed more light on the choice of Duvel Moortgat: “Duvel Moortgat is first and foremost a business with a clear family vision with plenty of ambition, authenticity and passion. This combination of qualities translates into strong brands and impressive sustainable growth over the last ten years. Duvel Moortgat is a true family business, but maintains a good balance between family and external management and governance. Via its sustainability policy, the company also expresses a deeply-rooted social engagement that’s communicated extremely well, internally and externally. Innovation and a NextGen approach feature prominently as well. Finally, it’s important to emphasize that Duvel Moortgat has always found solutions to avoid losing itself to large industrial groups. The strong corporate governance originating from Duvel’s years as a listed company survived after it left the stock market. That’s another element that convinced the jury to present this fine award to Duvel Moortgat.”
Duvel Moortgat now joins the international club of family businesses which have won the trophy in the 25 countries in which EY organizes the award.