SHS Aviation B.V., the parent company of VLM, announces that Johan Maertens (46) has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of VLM. He succeeds COO Carl Runge as accountable manager.

Johan Maertens studied law. After obtaining his master degree at the University of Leuven he studied International Law at the American University in Washington D.C.

In 2000 Maertens moved from law firm Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick to Sabena where he became Legal Adviser. In 2002 he was appointed Vice President Legal of Brussels Airlines. Three years later he travelled to Africa on behalf of Brussels Airlines to develop and supervise local aviation projects.

In 2008 Johan Maertens joined Lufthansa Consulting, where as a managing consultant he mainly worked on strategic projects for several airlines, mainly in Africa. Before VLM, Maertens worked in Congo Brazzaville, where he was appointed Deputy CEO and COO of the national airline ECAir in 2012.