Chris_Stone_(footballer)

Chris Stone (footballer)

Chris Stone (footballer)

Australian rules footballer and businessman (1964–2023)

Chris Stone (24 February 1959 – 24 November 2023) was an Australian businessman and Australian rules footballer. He was the husband of former Belgian prime minister Sophie Wilmès.

Quick Facts Personal information, Date of birth ...

Early life

Stone was from Sandy Bay, Tasmania, Australia.[1] He played with St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL).[2]

Business career

After leaving university, Stone began working with the Australian division of Pearl & Dean, a cinema advertising company. He moved to the UK in 1988 and in 1991 became regional sales director of Mills & Allen Outdoor. He transferred to Belgium in 1994 as CEO of Vivendi's Belgian division, comprising Belgoposter Outdoor, Claude Publicité. In 1998, Stone joined RMB International as chief operating officer (COO). He bought his own outdoor advertising company, Dewez, in 2001. From 2012 until his death he was president of the Belgian branch of Australian Business in Europe (ABIE).[1]

Personal life and death

Stone was married to Sophie Wilmès, the former foreign minister and former prime minister of Belgium.[3]

Chris Stone died from brain cancer on 24 November 2023, at the age of 64.[4]

Notes

  1. [1]
    "President". Australian Business in Europe. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  2. [2]
    Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2014). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.). Seaford, Victoria: BAS Publishing. p. 853. ISBN 978-1-921496-32-5.
  3. [3]
    Anderson, Jon (8 December 2019). "Ex-St Kilda player Chris Stone married to Belgium Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes". www.heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  4. [4]
    "Le mari de Sophie Wilmès est décédé". Paris Match (in French). 25 November 2023.
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