Managing director unexpectedly leaves entrepreneurs' organisation Unizo
Danny Van Assche is no longer the managing director of the influential entrepreneurs' organisation Unizo. He is resigning “with immediate effect”, due to “a difference in policy vision with the board”, announced Unizo on Monday. Van Assche had led the entrepreneurs' organisation since 2018.
“Unizo underwent over the past period an intense transformation process as an advocate, service provider and membership organisation. A difference in policy vision with the board on its further roll-out made further cooperation no longer possible,” chairman Peter Brysse indicated in a press release. No further explanation was given.
"A difference in policy vision with the board made further cooperation no longer possible”
The timing of the departure is remarkable, at the start of social negotiations on a new inter-professional agreement, which will set the wage and working conditions in the private sector for two years. Unizo is part of the so-called Group of Ten, the consultative body with the top trade unions and employers.
The search for a successor is being launched. For the time being, operations director Gilles Vandorpe will take over the day-to-day management of Unizo, while advocacy will be in the hands of the director of the study department Johan Bortier and deputy director Frank Socquet.
Brysse thanked Van Assche for “his dedication and commitment” over the past years. “He has done a particularly strong job in defending the interests of our self-employed and SMEs, led the entrepreneurial world through the Covid crisis and is a highly respected voice at many a negotiating table,” he declared.
Entrepreneurs’ organisation Unizo represents self-employed entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized enterprises and liberal professions across Flanders and Brussels.
#FlandersNewsService | Federal minister Jan Jambon and Unizo's former managing director Danny Van Assche © BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS
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