Pieter Elbers is a Dutch businessman. He is the former CEO and president of the Netherland’s flagship carrier airline, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. He is an aviation enthusiast who has spent more than 22 years working at KLM. In May 2022, he was appointed as the new CEO of an Indian Airline carrier, IndiGo.
Wiki/Biography
Pieter Elbers was born on Monday, 11 May 1970 (age 52 years; as of 2022) in Schiedam, South Holland. There he attended the De Singel – Primo Schiedam School for his early education. In 1987, he went to the Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Venlo for pursuing his bachelor’s in Logistics Management and passed out in 1991. After this, he did his Masters in Business Administration from the Open University of the Netherlands. In 2006, he also attended the Columbia Business School in Columbia, South America for gaining executive education.
Physical Appearance
Hair Colour: Hazel
Eye Colour: Dark brown
Family & Ethnicity
Pieter Elbers belongs to a Christian family.
Wife & Children
Pieter Elbers is married to Marjolein Elbers and the couple has three children.
Pieter Elbers with his wife Marjolein Elbers
Career
In 1992, he began his career at KLM in 1992 as a Schiphol Handling executive and held this position for three years. After working in various executive roles, he was promoted to the position of General Manager Mediterranean at KLM in 2000. In 2002, he became the General manager of the Japan & Korea region and held this position for three years. In 2005, he became the Senior Vice President of Network & Alliances and handled the designing and development of KLM’s international network for 140 routes. During that time, his roles and responsibilities also included extending Joint Ventures and partnerships with existing partners and forming new partnerships. In January 2011, he became the Chief Operating Officer of KLM, after which he was promoted to the position of President and CEO and operated the company from Amstelveen. (LinkedIn)
Pieter Elbers in an interview for KLM Airlines
In April 2019, at the time of the expiry of his first term as KLM’s CEO, there were rumours about him quitting his position, and about 71% of the KLM workforce (about 25000 employees) signed a petition for him to continue holding his position. A letter accompanied this petition, and in it, an employee wrote,
There would be a very real risk of unrest among the employees and unclear and potentially unstable management if Pieter Elbers were to be forced to step down.’
In May 2022, after working at KLM for 22 years and 5 months, he resigned from his position and was appointed as the CEO of IndiGo. IndiGo announced this news and said,
The Board of Directors of the Company, at its meeting held today, May 18, 2022, has approved the appointment of Mr. Pieter Elbers as the Chief Executive Officer and as a Whole Time Director of the Company, subject to necessary regulatory and Shareholders’ approvals.’
Net Worth
Pieter Elbers has an estimated net worth of $5 Million. (approx.)
Facts/Trivia
- Elbers was appointed as IndiGo’s CEO a couple of days after the appointment of Air India’s new CEO Campbell Wilson, and spectators speculated that Elbers would have been a better choice for Air India.
- He is also a member of the Board of Governors of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
