Cécile Coune

Cécile Coune has led a dual executive career, operating as CEO for more than 15 years in the financial sector while working as a partner in a leading law firm.

From 2012 to 2018, Cécile Coune was at the helm of Aviabel, a Belgian company specialized in aviation insurance and reinsurance, until its takeover by international player AXIS Capital Ltd. A lawyer by training, she was also an associate and then partner at Liedekerke law firm from 2004 to 2012. Prior to that, she spent almost 17 years in the insurance industry, most of which was spent at Chubb, an American multinational company, where she became Managing Director for Belgium and Luxembourg at a very young age and an executive member of the Board of Directors of Chubb Europe. She also headed AXA Art (Benelux), a subsidiary of the AXA Group specialized in art insurance.

She is currently an independent director, serving on the board and committees of several major companies, including Belfius Insurance, QBE Europe and Credendo GSR.

Member of various business associations and networks both on international and national level, Cécile Coune is also socially committed to diversity and inclusion. She is co-founder and member of Women on Board since 2009, and co-founder, member and honorary president of European Women on Boards since 2013. She is a mentor at Duo for a Job, an association that promotes the integration of young people with an immigrant background into the labor market, and an independent director of OFC, the French-speaking branch of Broeders van Liefde, an organization that is mainly active in the field of mental health.

She is a strong believer in ESG requirements and has recently obtained a certification in Sustainable Finance from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Cécile Coune has won several awards and honors. She was honored to be decorated in 2017 with the rank of Commander of the Order of the Crown by His Majesty Philippe, King of the Belgians, for her contribution to Belgian society.