As of 1 January 2019, Rien Komen has been appointed as the new Vice-Chairman of the Executive Board. He succeeds Joep Houterman and, together with Chairman Bastiaan Pellikaan, now forms the two-headed Aeres Executive Board.
Prior to this, Rien Komen held various leading and administrative positions within the green domain, the focus area of Aeres. Until 1 January 2019, he worked as Director of Windesheim University in Flevoland and for almost 20 years at Wageningen University, where he was active as Director of Operations and as Director of the Wageningen Academy. In addition, Rien Komen was active at various times for Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, where in 2010 he became Director of Quality of Education and Business Operations and a member and chairman of the Board of Governors in 2013.
Rien Komen's focus areas at Aeres are ICT, Education and Research, Communication and Marketing, Internationalisation and Development and Innovation. He also pays special attention to Flevoland and its relationship with Wageningen UR. Rien Komen: "As a farmer's son, having studied and worked in Dronten and Wageningen, I am very proud to be able to contribute to the further development, growth and quality of Aeres."