Gerben Broekema
BROEKEMA AVIATION ADVISORY SERVICES
Gerben is a senior aviation strategist, based near Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
He has 20+ years of worldwide experience in the aviation industry having worked both as an aviation expert consultant as well as in corporate management positions. He is a sought-after expert in aviation trends in particular with regard to the transformation to Aviation 2.0.
Gerben both serves aviation sector clients such as airlines, airports and governments but also acts as a senior external advisor to renowned international consulting organisations
He regularly speaks at industry conferences and provides academic training on airport/aviation strategy
‘EVERYONE YOU WILL EVER MEET KNOWS SOMETHING YOU DON’T’
Key areas of expertise and typical clients
His strategic thinking and analytical skills combined with his 360 degree sector experience gained from working with a large variety of clients across the globe makes Gerben uniquely qualified to support clients in developing a new vision, defining group and business strategies as well as defining aviation policies.
Gerben has very deep cross-functional understanding of market dynamics including air travel demand and players’ competitive behavior and inter-player (e.g., airport-airline) dynamics and opportunities for synergy.
With his broad industry experience as well as his deep understanding of public interest related to aviation he is very well-placed to identify and assess implications of aviation policy options on sector stakeholders as well as non-aviation stakeholders. His typical clients include:
- Airports
- Airlines
- Aircraft OEMs
- ANSPs
- Investors/lessors
- Governments
(Department of Transport/ Tourism/Finance/Regional development) - MRO players
- Industry organisations
- Other modes of transport (rail, shipping)
Gerben holds a Masters in Economic Geography with a specialization in Transportation Economics from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Gerben is a native speaker in Dutch, is fluent in English and has good conversation skills in German and French with basic understanding of Spanish and Portuguese.
Mission, Vision & Strategy
- Coordinating the development of a new strategy including an analysis of the external and internal context, stakeholder materiality, strategic risks and opportunities, scenarios and strategic options, relevant guidance for the organization such as priorities and milestones fully incorporating Corporate Responsibility in this development
- Optimizing the strategic and tactical planning process including analyzing the pitfalls and opportunities within a current planning process and defining a more effective planning process and references
- Performing a strategy due diligence reviewing a company’s strategy by assessing whether it responds to the relevant (external/internal) developments, is sufficiently robust against scenarios and determine its inherent strategic risks
Aviation policy & regulation
- Supporting governments in defining aviation policy development including an assessment of the current and future role of aviation in society, what airport capacity and air network development is desirable, how to make the aviation sector more sustainable and defining policies and regulation dealing with matters such as privatization, economic development, market power, spatial planning
- Supporting airports and industry associations in strengthening their case for development by developing an up-to-date view on the importance of aviation in supporting society in achieving its economic, social, environmental and security objectives today and in the future and implications for topics such as capacity development, slots and economic regulation
- Supporting airports and airlines in building their case for growth, traffic rights, economic regulation by developing clear fact-based argumentation
Investments, M&A & partnerships
- Supporting the development of a non-organic growth strategy including the rationale for growth and how to achieve it
- Helping to identify target organization(s) to invest in, partner with, acquire or merge with including strategic fit and synergy estimate
- Structuring models for cooperation/integration including governance models, program management and change management
Transformation & Change management
- Defining the transformation journey starting with a vision, objectives, initiatives and defining the governance structure
- Implementing change through programme management including change management initiatives such as cultural change
Other specific areas of expertise
- Aircraft Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul such as corporate assessment of an MRO organization as well performing a commercial due diligence
- Air cargo including the business perspective both from an airline as well as from an airport perspective
- Market development including airline network and fleet development as well as airport route development and forecast
- Business case/business model design for start-up airlines and other types of organization
Professional experience
BROEKEMA AVIATION ADVISORY SERVICES
Owner and principal Consultant since 2017
ROYAL SCHIPHOL GROUP, the Netherlands (2007–2017)
Head of Group Strategy & International Development (2012-2017)
Lead the Group’s strategy team responsible for coordinating the strategic planning process and the development of the Five-year Strategic Plan and as well as the Group’s international strategy and international business development. He interacted directly with the management board on matters of strategy, policy and international development.
Chairman Programme Management Office (2009 – 2012)
Coordinating the strategic alliance between Schiphol and Aéroports de Paris with a particular focus on the development of the dual hub system in close collaboration with Air France – KLM. In addition, Gerben lead the cooperation with Incheon Airport in Seoul and partnerships with other global hub airports
Senior Advisor Airport Development (2007 – 2008)
Leading projects related to the long term terminal planning as well as strategy development for the Aviation business unit and developing the corporate responsibility strategy.
McKinsey & Company
Global Travel & Logistics Services Practice, Amsterdam (1997 – 2007)
Positions held:
2005 – 2007 Practice Expert (Engagement Manager)
Expert engagement manager serving mostly international clients in the transportation industry with focus on the airline/airport industry. Scope of projects ranging from transformation, strategy review, business plan evaluation, merger/acquisition assessment to pricing/revenue management and marketing strategy. International project experience includes: Australia, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Russia, most European countries, Kenya, Mauritius and the United States.
2003 – 2005 Practice Specialist (Associate equivalent)
2000 – 2002 Senior Transportation Research Analyst
1999 – 2000 Transportation Research Analyst
1997 – 1998 Junior Transportation Research Analyst
KLM Cargo, the Netherlands (1997)
Internship to write thesis about effects of shifting patterns of production in the electronics industry in Asia on the trade flows from Asia.
Project Experience
Developed the 5 year strategy for a leading airport in Australia and as well as for a large airport in Russia
Supported a Middle Eastern civil aviation authority and an Asian state investment organization in developing its airport privatization strategy
Developed a long term slot strategy for one of the largest hub airports in Europe
Defined a transformation plan for the Services division of a large aircraft manufacturer and launched the implementation of the transformation
Conducted an On-Time-Performance assessment with focus on technical delays for a large US hub carrier and a large Middle Eastern hub airline
Supported a leading African airline in turning around its MRO subsidiary and conducted a commercial due diligence of an aviation MRO supplier
Supported a large Asia-Pacific Air Service Navigation Provider in defining long term scenarios with regard to the future of aviation and air traffic control
Evaluated the traffic impact of new slot allocation rules for the Ministry of Transport of a European country
Developed a business case for introducing ATC services and for developing MRO activities for a regional airport in Europe
Presentations and media coverage
Presentation Aviation 2.0: an industry and modality in transition (Norwegian aviation conference 2020)
LinkedIn article: How sustainable is my new life as globetrotting aviation advisor
TV interview on airline ticket prices in relation to climate objectives (in Dutch)
Financieel Dagblad interview on future of Schiphol (in Dutch)
Contact
