Ben Lambrecht (57) was born and raised in West Flanders, near Kortrijk. He now lives in Linnec, as well as a master’s degree in applied economics from the University of Antwerp, and he also holds an advanced management degree from the INSEAD Business School.
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New CEO Ben Lambrecht replaces Mark Vanmiley who until recently served as General Coordinator and had to implement what the board decided. An important factor in the appointment of the CEO was that he was Flemish, since local anchoring is nonetheless very important. Managing Director Oleg Petrov chose Lambrecht with the intention of obtaining the necessary mandate in Bruges knowing that Circle is working on a lot of political issues, such as the new stadium. Ben Lambrecht has to take responsibility from an additional administrative and sporting standpoint, taking responsibility for tax, legal and political matters. While Mexican Carlos Avena performs his job on a purely athletic level, Coca-Cola Company Lambrecht began his career in 1986 as an accountant at Peat Marwick (KPMG). After that, he worked for American RJ Reynolds Tobacco, an original Belgian biscuit manufacturer and Delacre tile supplier. In 1993, the new CEO of Cercle moved to Coca-Cola where he held various marketing and sales positions at home and abroad. Among other things, he was responsible for the marketing of the soft drink brands Fanta and Sprite and launched the Aquarius and Nestia brands respectively, and in 2000 Lambrecht was appointed Vice President of Sales and Logistics in Belgium at Coca-Cola. He lived and worked in the UK from 2003-2005, managing the entire sales department. In 2006 he became Vice President of Sales and Marketing in Belgium and Luxembourg. Then, between 2010-2013, he headed the business unit in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg as General Manager, leading a team of over 2000 employees and was already in contact with sports sponsorship, and football in particular. French Vice President at Coca-Cola European Partners, the largest independent bottler of Coca-Cola bottles. As General Manager, he led one of the largest and most important markets for the international soft drinks group. So much talent After more than 28 years in Coca-Cola, in 2020 Lambrecht decided to return to our country to live near his family. Meanwhile, in search of a new Belgian challenge, preferably in an international context, he has been active as an external advisor to Bain & Company. And now he starts a new challenge at Cercle Brugge, adding his (international) experience as CEO. “The fact of working in an ambitious and international context is also to make Cercle the largest talent platform in Europe that appeals to me personally,” Lambrecht says. “With the talent already present in Cercle today, I would like to develop and a strong corporate culture through which as a team we can achieve the best in both sporting and non-sporting terms. This is a growth pathway with great prospects for all Cercle supporters and partners.” Director of Investment Management Oleg Petrov: “Ben’s appointment is a clear investment in a structural and successful future for Cercle. For the CEO position, we have been looking for a strong profile and a Belgian with international experience in recent months to expand our ambitious strategy with Cercle. Ben is a true people manager and has a lot of Relevant experience in various fields such as sales, marketing and general management. ”“ We are convinced that he is the right man in the right place to move forward with Cercle and that Ben’s vision will help Cercle leadership move forward in many important situations. ” (ACR / Foto Cercle Bruges)
