ESG Report

Democo Group has opted for a traditional, monistic governance structure (= management and supervision through a single governing body). Our structure has been designed to support and enable our people to combine the highest ethical standards with stable economic growth.

Democo is a family-run business founded in 1977 by Cyriel Demot, Frans Houben and Mario Longhi. After a period of rapid growth, the Group now consists of several construction companies, engineering firms and a property developer, operating mainly under eight brand names (AEW, AEW Security, Ciril, Debuild, Deholi, Democo, Demtec Services and Vandenbriele), with branches in Belgium, Poland, and Portugal. Since the buyout of Mario Longhi in 2002, the shareholding has been mainly in the hands of the two remaining families. In 2021, a management buy-in took place in the shareholding of Democo Group by Frederik Bijnens, Chief Executive Officer of Construction & Engineering, and in the shareholding of Deholi by Antal Potocan, Managing Director of Deholi. The family shareholders signed a family charter setting out values and rules of conduct. A shareholders' agreement also binds all the shareholders of Democo Group. As of 2024, Democo Group is run by the third generation, more specifically by Thibaud Demot as CEO and Raf Houben as COO.

Democo Group is managed by a board of directors, which is accountable to the general meeting, which appoints and dismisses the directors. Family values inspire the board’s strategy and the values of Democo Group (see the Views, Mission & Values section above). The board of directors is chaired by Hans Wilmots.                                                                     

Aside from the powers reserved by law for the general meeting, the board has the broadest powers to manage the group. These include statutory powers such as the approval of financial statements, the preparation and approval of annual reports and the group’s general management. The board determines the strategy and oversees strategic projects; it approves budgets and significant investments and maps out the policies for human resources, IT, sales and marketing. The board acts as a sounding board for management and appoints key management personnel. 

The board also sets the overall risk policy and organises the supervision of activities. As the company’s highest deci-sion-making body, the board of directors is also responsible for determining ESG strategies, overseeing ESG responsibilities and evaluating ESG performance. The board of directors meets at least four times a year. The board of directors has three categories of directors:

• Executive directors
• Non-executive directors
• Independent directors

The board of directors has formed an audit committee from among its members. The audit and risk management committee assists the board of directors in exercising its role of supervising financial reporting, internal management control and process management systems. It also supervises the audit process and the setting up of a dynamic risk management and governance system.

The audit and risk management committee also monitors the environmental and social components of the company’s ESG policy as part of its overall auditing responsibilities.

The audit committee meets at least twice a year.

The board of directors has formed a group management committee from among its members. The group management committee is responsible for implementing the strategy determined by the board of directors.

The management committee assists the board of directors in defining the group’s values and strategy, including the ESG policy, and promoting and optimising the various business units within the group. The management committee meets eight times a year.

Besides the board of directors at group level, each business unit also has its own board of directors. The day-to-day management of the business units has been delegated to one or more managing directors or managers. The board of directors has determined the roles and responsibilities of the managing directors and directors and has issued internal operating and inter-action rules.                                                     

• Thibaud Demot as Chief Executive Officer a.i. and Raf Houben as Chief Operating Officer a.i. of the business unit Construction Belgium (Democo and Debuild)          
• Antal Potocan as the managing director of the business unit Finishing (Deholi)
• Pieter Vanhout as the managing director of the business unit Real Estate Development (Ciril)
• Sophie Hayen as the BU director of the business unit HVAC, Plumbing and Services (Vandenbriele and Demtec Services) and Thierry Van Osselaer as the BU director of the business unit Electrical & Security (AEW and AEW Security)
• Artur Pluta and Jacek Goroński as the managing directors of the business unit Construction Poland (Democo Poland)

The managing directors and the BU directors are responsible for implementing, updating and managing the ESG policy for their respective business units.