Mathieu Essenberg nominated as Chief Operating Officer of KLM

KLM’s Supervisory Board will submit Mathieu Essenberg’s nomination to KLM’s shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, which will take place shortly. KLM’s Works Council will be asked to advise on this nomination.

Marjan Rintel, President & CEO KLM: “With Mathieu, we have found an excellent candidate from within our own organisation for the role of COO. He knows the airline inside out and has proven in various divisions and roles within KLM to be a driven and inspiring leader. In addition, Mathieu knows the operation from the inside as a B-737 captain. Over the past two months, we have already worked together intensively in this setting, and I am fully confident that, with Mathieu in the COO role, we will be successful in further strengthening our operations.”

Wiebe Draijer, Chairman of the KLM Supervisory Board: “Throughout his career at KLM, Mathieu has demonstrated that he has the leadership, expertise and ability to bring people together that are needed for this important role. The Supervisory Board is fully confident that, together with the Managing Board and all colleagues, he will make a valuable contribution to further strengthening KLM’s operational performance and future resilience.”

Mathieu Essenberg (1973) has been with KLM since 2002. He has held management positions at KLM Cityhopper and Flight Operations. At Engineering & Maintenance, he was responsible from 2018 as SVP Airframe/Operations for aircraft maintenance for the KLM fleet and global customers. In 2022, as EVP Hub Operations, he led the Ground Services (GS) division, and in 2025 he returned to E&M as Executive Vice President. Mathieu also works as a pilot, first at KLM Cityhopper and later at KLM. Since 2017, he is a captain on the B-737.

Mathieu Essenberg, Chief Operating Officer KLM: “I am deeply honoured by this appointment. Together with all our KLM colleagues, I want to work on the challenges ahead of us. Safety, operational reliability and an excellent experience for our passengers will always be central to this. I am convinced that we can be successful in this and, in doing so, contribute to KLM’s success.”

Following approval and a positive advisory opinion, KLM’s Managing Board will be composed as follows: Marjan Rintel (President & CEO), Bas Brouns (Chief Financial Officer), Mathieu Essenberg (Chief Operating Officer) and Miriam Kartman (Chief People Officer).