Air France-KLM has renewed CEO Benjamin Smith’s mandate for an additional term of five years and has named Marjan Rintel as the new CEO of KLM, effective from July 1, 2022, replacing Pieter Elbers.
Marjan Rintel is currently CEO of NS, the passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. Before joining NS in 2014, she held various managerial, operational and commercial positions at KLM and Air France-KLM, such as Hub Operations at KLM and Senior Vice President Strategic Marketing at Air France-KLM.
Anne-Marie Couderc, Chair of Air France-KLM Board of Directors, said: “These two decisions by the Board of Directors stabilize the governance of the Group at a key moment in its history. Ben Smith has demonstrated his unwavering commitment and professionalism over the past three and a half years, which justifies the Board's total support for his continued leadership of the Group for another five years. Marjan Rintel will soon join his team as CEO of KLM. Her extensive experience at KLM and of the Dutch transport industry makes her the best person to lead the company, drawing on the strengths of the entire Air France-KLM Group.”