As of August 1, 2022, the General Meeting of Shareholders of Bonaire International Airport N.V. (“BIA”) has appointed Mr. Maarten van der Scheer MSc BA as Director of the organization. He herewith succeeds Jos Hillen, who has held the position on an interim basis since July 1, 2019. The appointment is on the recommendation of the Supervisory Board and is the result of an intensive and transparent selection process which started at the end of last year with the support of Deloitte.
Marco van de Kreeke, chairman of the Supervisory Board, warmly congratulates Maarten van der Scheer on his appointment as Director: “The Board is delighted to announce that Maarten van der Scheer has been appointed as the new director of the airport. Maarten is experienced in managing in a complex corporate environment in which many interests are involved. He has all-round airport experience, strong communication skills and is a team builder, able to further develop the airport together with the entire airport team and the many stakeholders on Bonaire. We very much look forward to his arrival and wish him a lot of success.”
Maarten van der Scheer (42) worked for Royal Schiphol Group and has over 15 years of experience in management of airports, both at the core of operations and at a strategic level in senior management. He has extensive experience in the development and financing of large airport projects. Mr. Van der Scheer: “The island and the airport can be proud of what has been built up over many years. I look forward to further develop our common goals in close collaboration with the partners on the island and I am delighted that I can be a part of that.” Maarten will soon settle with his family on Bonaire.
The Supervisory Board would like to express its sincere gratitude to Jos Hillen for his dedication and efforts in the past years. Under his leadership, important steps have been taken in the field of safety. The Safety Certificate issued by the ILT for the maximum period of three years is clear evidence of a safe flight operation and a properly functioning safety management system. In a turbulent period that followed, in which Covid led to sharply declining passenger numbers and revenues, BIA was able to keep the organization together and minimize the financial consequences of the crisis due to a good cooperation with the relevant ministries in The Hague. Furthermore, many improvement projects have been carried out at the airport under his leadership and together with all colleagues he has developed a long-term maintenance program. In recent years he also led with great ambition the process to come to a new masterplan for the airport.
Marco van de Kreeke has been reappointed by the General Meeting of Shareholders as Chairman of the Supervisory Board for a second term of three years. Lastly, the Supervisory Board is pleased that Mr. John Soliano has accepted the position of Secretary of the Supervisory Board.
The Supervisory Board is confident that with these appointments, BIA will be able to manage the many challenges that the global aviation and airports are currently facing. The Board will continue its efforts to structurally strengthen the organization of BIA.
