Kenya Airways has announced that KLM CEO Pieter Elbers has resigned from the airline’s board and has been replaced by Mr Jos Veenstra as a substantive director in his place with immediate effect.
Mr Elbers was appointed to the Board of the national carrier on 13th November 2013 to represent the interests of France-KLM Group, who are the second largest shareholders of KQ with 26.7 per cent stake while the Kenyan Government holds 29.8 per cent stake.
In a statement sent to the trading members of the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya Airways announced;
“Mr Elbers resignation has been necessitated by his heavy responsibilities and additional commitments as the President and CEO of KLM. We recognize the outstanding contribution from Mr Elbers and in particular his support in ensuring and facilitating the positive enhancement of the strategic business relationship between Kenya Airways and KLM.”
The cooperation between KLM and Kenya Airways dates back to 1995. In 1997, they initiated a joint venture on the Amsterdam – Nairobi route, and in 2008, expanded the joint venture with the addition to flights between JKIA and Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. Currently, The national carrier and KLM operate a daily service between Schiphol Amsterdam Airport and the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. The airlines jointly operate weekly return flights between The Netherlands, France and Kenya.