Laurent-Boris Wolters - Managing Director and President of Petrofina

Born July 24, 1901 in Orel (Russia), godson of Laurent Meeus, met as a child when Meeus worked with his father, at the Union des trams pour la RussieTotal in Russia Show more. After the revolution, the family moved to America, then to Paris where Laurent Wolters studied. He entered Purfina where he was responsible for relaunching the Northern Oil Refinery, frequenting Léon Wenger; he was involved in Petrofina FrancePays FranceShow more's negotiations with the Russians. In May 1940, with Albéric Maistriau, he signed the agreement to hand over Concordia de Petrofina shares to FrancePays FranceShow more. In March 1941 he enlisted in the Belgian Legion - which became the Secret Army on June 1, 1944 - under the code name Boris. In September 1945, in the middle of a lawsuit against the Group, he intervened so that the Concordia actions were returned to Petrofina, was denied access to the headquarters of the Company, in receivership since June 1945. In 1946, at the head of Petrofina, it is working to make it find its assets in FrancePays FranceShow more, to build a quality refining tool, a fleet, a supply of crude, to find its own resources. It is to Petrofina what Victor de Metz is to the PSC and Pierre Guillaumat to the Elf group, the leader who has undoubtedly had the greatest impact on the Group's culture. Very early he introduced the subscription of shares reserved for personnel (1960), seeking to create in the workforce a "shareholder conscience". Under his leadership Petrofina entered into several agreements with BP to rebuild the Dunkirk refinery and to build and operate the Antwerp refinery. His most significant work is the anchoring of the Group in America, because of the assets it has built there, and also for what the United States has represented in the deployment of downstream to petrochemicals. L. Wolters left the presidency in 1970, shortly after the discovery of Ekofisk, in which Petrofina was 30% associated.