Upon the retirement of Ivan Brems from active executive duties as chief executive officer of Hansen Transmissions International NV, Alex De Ryck has been promoted from chief financial officer to CEO, effective March 31.

The Hansen Board is in the process of appointing a new CFO. Meanwhile, Brems will serve as a consultant to the board and executive committee. Tulsi Tanti, chairman of the board, commented: “Ivan Brems has been instrumental, over many years, to the successful growth of Hansen into a world-leading supplier of high quality gearboxes for the wind industry. The Board wants to thank Ivan for his valuable work at Hansen and is happy that he will continue to support Hansen on a consultancy basis in the next stage of the company's development.”

Brems first joined Hansen in 1974, and he became CEO in 2006. Previously he served as vice president of corporate marketing and business development. “It is with great confidence that I hand over to Alex De Ryck, who has known Hansen for more than 20 years and has been with the group for six years as CFO,” Brems says. “I have worked with Alex for almost six years and am delighted to be handing over to him. He was the unanimous choice of the board, and I am convinced that he is the right successor and will lead Hansen to continued future success."

De Ryck became CFO of Hansen in 2004. Prior to joining the group, he held a number of high profile positions, including CEO of Esselte Belgium and Eldon Belgium, CFO of the Dymo Group and the Eldon Enclosures Group and finance manager at Honeywell Europe.

“I am extremely honored to be offered the opportunity to lead Hansen at this important time in the Company's development,” De Ryck says. “Ivan has been critical to the success of the group over many years, and we wish him well in the future. Although these are clearly challenging times for the wind industry, we are well prepared and have an outstanding team in place. Trading for the current financial year remains in line with previous guidance, and as anticipated in January, we have recently created additional financial flexibility for the Group by re-negotiating our bank covenants. I am convinced that Hansen is well placed to exploit the opportunities that lie ahead and look forward to leading the company to future successes.”