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| Illustration: Kevin February |
Even by the standards of modern bank executives, Johan Thijs seems unusually fond of management models. In the course of a wide-ranging interview, the head of KBC Group initiates Euromoney into the mysteries of the bank insurance pyramid, the ‘Pearl’ cultural strategy and the performance diamond (embedded in the risk framework).
From some CEOs, this might sound like a bad case of business-school capture, but Thijs is a very convincing man. For one thing, his energy is palpable. He dashes around his large corner office, ransacking devices for screenshots. He formulates elaborate metaphors complete with hand gestures (the bank insurance zipper). He uses wall charts as visual aids. He scribbles diagrams on scraps of paper.
He also has an excellent eye for detail, as well as a sense of humour. He instantly spots that your correspondent is making notes with a pen bearing the logo of another bank with an emerging Europe network. When coffee is brought in, Euromoney’s comes with a KBC branded pen. “All the students in Belgium love them because they work so well,” says Thijs.
Then there is his impressive track record. In the five years since Thijs took over the top spot at KBC, the Belgian group has shaken off the last lingering effects of the financial crisis to become one of the most profitable in western Europe.
