BELGIUM – Watson Wyatt in Brussels has pulled off a significant coup in the Belgian market by luring a team of senior management staff from rival firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), including PWC’s forming insurance consulting team head, Karel Goosens, to head up a new insurance consultancy division.

Goosens, who joins on October 1, will head up the pensions and financial services team at Watsons, dealing primarily in insurance consultancy.
Johan Heymans, managing consultant at Watson Wyatt in Brussels, comments: “At this moment there are four people coming across.
“This will be consultancy towards insurance on both the life and non life side and Karel will head up this team. It is a big team starting here.

The new team includes former senior managers at PWC, Roos Hardy, Francis Vaguener and Gerard Vandenbosch.

Heymans says he is delighted at the appointment of such experienced staff into the new business: “I am pleased to announce the creation of an Insurance and Financial Services Practice team in Belgium. Belgium is an important European financial
services market and the development of a strong IFS team there will enable
us to consult actively in the Belgian and Luxembourg markets, as well as
giving us additional capability to resource other projects internationally.
“Karel Goosens has consulted to the Belgian and Luxembourg markets on life and non-life matters for over ten years. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge. Karel will be joined by three other experienced senior consultants each of whom has over twenty years of experience in the insurance industry.”

Hardy, a life actuary has consulted for over ten years in the Belgian market, and is considered to be one of the leading consultants in the M&A market.
Gerard Vandenbosch, also a life actuary previously worked for AXA and
Winterthur, while Vaguener, a non-life econometrician was formerly with AXA and Eagle Star.

Heymans adds that over the coming months Watson Wyatt will be recruiting an additional four mid-level and junior consultants to the team.


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