Pieter (J.Th.) Elbers (1970) – President and Chief Executive Officer – is an airline industry veteran with over 25 years of experience within KLM. He started his career at KLM in 1992 as Manager Aircraft loading, followed by a number of managerial positions in The Netherlands, as well as 6 years abroad (in Italy, Greece and Japan). He joined the Managing Board of KLM in 2011 as Chief Operating Officer. In 2014, he became President and CEO.

His responsibility is to manage KLM’s overall strategy and performance. In this role, setting strategic priorities in order to leverage the company’s competitive advantage is his primary focus. He is also responsible for external affairs and the relationship with external and internal stakeholders, as well as for further developing and enhancing (joint venture) alliances and (Skyteam) partnerships. Next to that, he is accountable for maintaining a customer focused, innovative and efficient organization and operation. Important corner stones in reaching his goals are leading a motivated executive team and building a firm and fair corporate culture.

He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Air France KLM Group. Furthermore, he is a member of the Supervisory Board of Marfo B.V, member of the Board of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW), member of the International Advisory Board of International Institute of Air & Space Law (IIASL), and member of the Board of Governors of IATA.

Pieter Elbers graduated at the Open University in Amsterdam (Master in Business Administration) and the Academy of Venlo (Bachelor in Logistics Management). In addition, he has completed executive programs at IMD – Lausanne, Columbia University – New York and Tsinghua – Beijing. He is married and has 3 children.