Swissport Appoints Ilse De Loof as General Counsel and Company Secretary

Ilse De Loof will join Swissport as general counsel and company secretary on April 1, 2022 and become a member of the executive leadership team. She comes from Dutch LBC Tank Terminals Group, a global provider of logistics solutions. She will report to Warwick Brady, president and CEO of Swissport International AG.

“We are delighted to announce Ilse De Loof as our new General Counsel," says Brady. “As aviation is emerging from the biggest crisis in its history, Swissport is focusing on accelerated growth. With Ilse's legal expertise and her many years of international experience in similar roles, including private equity backed businesses, she will ensure that we grow the business, with the appropriate  and optimal legal structures. I am very pleased to have her on board for the next leg of our exciting journey.”

At the Netherland-based LBC Tank Terminals Group, De Loof served as group general counsel and corporate secretary since 2011 and acted as director of several entities worldwide, including joint ventures boards. Prior to that, she worked for NYSE-listed, US-based Jacobs Engineering Inc. in Antwerp, Belgium, as Regional Corporate Counsel for Belgium, Singapore and China. In these two roles, she had legal oversight of complex international transactions and negotiations including mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, and financing programs. Ilse De Loof also has vast experience of working in multi-ownership structures (private equity and pension funds).

Thomas Gross who has been with Swissport International AG as general counsel and company secretary since May 2018 has informed Swissport of his decision to pursue opportunities outside the company. He will remain available to Swissport until the early summer months and work closely with De Loof to support her smooth onboarding and to ensure a seamless transition of all responsibilities.

"On behalf of the Executive Team and the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Thomas for his exemplary commitment and expert legal advice," says Brady. "He established Group Legal as a global function for legal, compliance, risk and insurance and always provided Swissport with reliable legal guidance in an extremely challenging time. During his tenure as General Counsel, Swissport concluded the legal integration of Australia-based Aerocare in 2018, a comprehensive debt refinancing in 2019 and a change of ownership of the company in a complex international transaction in 2020. I wish him the very best for his future.”