Introduction
Lambertus Johannes Hermanus "Bart" Becht (born 29 July 1956) is a Dutch businessman. Becht is the former CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, a company he headed since its creation in 1999 through the merger of Benckiser with Reckitt & Colman.
Early life
Becht studied economics at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and took an MBA at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the University of Chicago.
Career
He joined the Benckiser side of the business in 1988, following a career at Procter & Gamble.
Some of the schemes that helped take his pay to £90m in 2009 date back to the formation in 1999, during which time Becht prided himself on the share price performance and profitability. Over the 10 years to 2010, the company was the fourth best performing stock in the FTSE 100.
He retired as CEO of Reckitt Benckiser on 31 August 2011, and was succeeded by Rakesh Kapoor.
Personal life
Becht, who is married and has three children, gave many of the shares he was awarded to a charitable trust that donates primarily to humanitarian causes.