Investor activist ‘With the green cap’ Erik Geenen died at the age of 66
Erik Geenen during a Fortis shareholders’ meeting in 2009. – © Belga
Erik Geenen, known in economic centers as ‘the investor activist with the green cap’, died. The heyday of his protests took place after the 2008 financial crisis, when he presented present at shareholders’ meetings of Fortis, Dexia, Arcopar and the National Bank (NBB). Also at Nyrstar, where the small shareholders saw their interests watered through the acquisition of Trafigura, Geenen played the role of Luis in the Pels.
Source: Belga
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His death was announced on Tuesday by his children, Philippe, Ben and Alexia. In an English -language message on X they confirm that their father died in his sleep. « Hopefully his fight against injustice will be continued, » it says.
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Because that was the role that Geenen liked to play: taking up the small investor against the large capital. With his green cap, he came to ask difficult questions or protesting noisy protests with his green cap. For example, AB InBev CEO Carlos Brito was blamed by Geenen with his annual wage of 7.22 million euros « to spit in the face of staff and shareholders ». The patience of the late NBB governor Luc Coene and Dexia chairman Jean-Luc Dehaene were also put to the test by Geenen. But more than some amusing spectacle, that often did not yield.
In recent years he was mainly active at the general meetings of the National Bank, often with a group of like -minded people, all adorned with a green hat. Geenen protested against the fact that the small investor could not claim the capital gains that the bank realized on gold sales. On X it can be deduced that he was also planning to participate in the next general meeting of the NBB, on 19 May.
Little is known about the private life of Geenen. He was an active investor-also former chairman of a large investment club-and had been living in Kenya for years.
