At its meeting on 25 February 2026, the Keolis Group Supervisory Board, under the chairmanship of Jérôme Tolot, voted unanimously to appoint Frédéric Van Heems as Chairman of the Keolis Group Executive Board. He will take up his duties on 16 March 2026.
Commenting on this appointment, Jérôme Tolot, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said: "We are delighted to welcome Frédéric Van Heems as the new Chairman and CEO of the Keolis Group. His career reflects an unwavering commitment to essential services and communities, notably in the water, energy and environment sectors. With a focus on combining development, operational performance and financial discipline, he has demonstrated his ability to lead major strategic transformations in France and internationally, while improving quality of service towards customers and local authorities. His experience as a leader of major groups and his sense of teamwork provide him with the assets to implement the strategy set down by the Supervisory Board and drive the Group's responsible growth."
Frédéric Van Heems added: "it is a great honour to take on the chairmanship of the Keolis Group. I fully appreciate the importance of the mission ahead: to support communities, guarantee service safety and quality, and accelerate the transition to increasingly sustainable, resilient and inclusive mobility. I know I can count on the people at Keolis to work closely with our public transport authorities and partners to increase Keolis' positive impact on communities, for our clients, our passengers and all our stakeholders in every country where Keolis operates."
Jérôme Tolot extended his thanks to Christelle Villadary, interim Chairwoman of the Keolis Executive Board, for diligently fulfilling this role since 22 October 2025, and to the members of the Executive Committee for their support during this time.
Frédéric Van Heems began his career in 1986 at Le Figaro before joining Les Nouvelles Messageries de la Presse Parisienne (NMPP) in 1994 then Hachette Distribution Services in 1997, first in Paris and then in Budapest as CEO of Lapker. In 2002, he moved to Areva, where he successively led the uranium enrichment programme and nuclear measurement business unit, before joining Canberra in New York in 2005 as its President and CEO. In 2009, he served as Chairman and CEO of the Cegelec Group, before being appointed Vice-President of Alstom Power Automation & Controls. He joined Veolia in 2014 as Chief Executive Officer of its subsidiary Siram in Italy before becoming Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Water France in 2016. From 2021 to 2025, he was President and CEO of Veolia North America, based in Boston and then New York, and a member of the group’s Executive Committee.