Chairman of Energy Shipping Company Exmar Dies of COVID-19

Belgian liquefied gas shipping company Exmar confirmed Friday that its chairman, Baron Philippe Bodson, passed away from COVID-19 on April 4.

The firm's board convened and appointed current CEO Nicolas Saverys to take up the position of executive chairman. Deputy CEO Francis Mottrie is replacing Saverys as CEO. 

Nicolas Saverys is a member of the prominent Saverys shipowning family, one of the oldest and most established in Belgium. He has been with Exmar since its founding; he also serves as chairman of the Benelux Committee of Bureau Veritas and a director on the boards of NileDutch and Bexco.

Baron Bodson, a former member of the Belgian Senate, had been at the head of Exmar's board for 15 years. He previously held a variety of board and managerial positions at Floridienne, Hamon, AEI, Bluesky, Glaverbel, Tractebel, Electrabel and Distrigas, among others.

"Baron Philippe Bodson was an exceptional personality, admired and loved for his unconditional dedication to life, and to the EXMAR Group. The human, Baron Philippe Bodson, was a man made of granite. An enormous concentration of human qualities in one human being, his enthusiasm, was contagious," said Saverys in a memorial address. "With Philippe people became better, stronger, provoking, with a touch of humour. Bringing consensus without obligating . . . Baron Bodson has left us with a great legacy. We shall continue to promote his wisdom and love for the entrepreneurship in innovation."

Exmar reported its 2019 results on the same day, showing strong revenue and earnings relative to 2018. EBITDA rose from $27.5 to $47 million (IFRS) year-over-year.