Wim Wuyts

CEO of WTS Global

I joined WTS Global as CEO in 2017. I am located in the Ghent office in Belgium. My role within the organization is both, strategic and operational. I work very closely with the Board of Directors and jointly with my WTS Global Executive Team, I ensure that the organization is moving towards a true global partnership and continues its dynamic growth.

Before joining WTS Global, I worked for 9 years as Vice-President, Global Head of Tax for Bekaert. Bekaert is a multinational stock-listed steel wire company headquartered in Belgium. In my last year at Bekaert, I headed the Transformation Office.

Earlier in my career, I worked for Arthur Andersen, Levi Strauss & Co, Baxter Inc. and Agfa-Gevaert. Altogether, I have accumulated more than 20 years of experience, leading tax organizations and heading major corporate reorganization programs as well as M&A transactions around the globe. I have also worked for the Belgian Government. In 2017, I finished my second and last mandate as Chairman of the Tax Committee of the Belgian Employers Federation.

I studied in Brussels (EHSAL & ICHEC) and Paris (Sorbonne & INSEAD) and I have a strong inclination to teach and share my knowledge with others. In cooperation with the European Centre of Executive Development (CEDEP) where I am also Program Director, I developed a General Management and Tax Leadership Program which I am currently running annually on the Fontainebleau Campus. I feel very inspired to be surrounded by tomorrow’s tax leaders from all over the world. I am a co-founder of the European Chapter of the Tax Executive Institute (TEI) and I also created the Belgian informal Tax Think Tank in 2004.

For me, joining forces with WTS Global is the logical next step in my career as I am driven by creating new formations within the international tax landscape. As an independent global tax network which deliberately refrains from conducting audits, WTS Global is well positioned to be a global trusted advisor for multinational companies.

On a personal level, the financial crisis in 2008 deeply shattered my perception of the tax profession to the core as all principles of transparency and integrity were severely undermined. I went on a journey to Santiago de Compostela where I processed what had happened in the financial world and what it meant for me. The results of these diary entries led to the book, “On a Journey”.

Areas of expertise

International Taxation
Global Tax Strategy Design
M&A
Tax Governance
Organizational Development
Founder & Chair of the International School for Tax Leadership (Fontainebleau and Silicon Valley)

Education

Master in Commercial and Financial Sciences at EHSAL (Belgium)
Master in European Economics at University of Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne (France)
Master in International Taxation at ICHEC (Belgium)
Several Executive Education Programs at INSEAD (France) and CEDEP (France)