LOU was left without a permanent leader in June 2022, following the resignation of former CEO Marius Gelžinis. Aurimas Stikliūnas has been acting as interim CEO for a year and Vidas Kšanas, Director of the LOU Safety and Security Department, for the last month.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications announced the selection process for the position of CEO of LOU on 12 May, which was carried out jointly with the Ministry by the executive search firm AIMS International Lietuva. The final stage of the competition (interviews) involved 9 candidates. Their compliance with the requirements and suitability for the position was assessed by a selection panel set up by the Minister and including members of the LOU Board.
The successful candidate has been appointed to the position after obtaining the opinions of all competent authorities.
According to Marius Skuodis, Minister of Transport and Communications, the panel gave the highest score to Bartkus for his professional competences in the field of aviation, leadership, teamwork and cooperation with stakeholders, and his business qualities.
“We have high requirements and expectations for the new CEO of Lithuanian Airports. These include the development of a network of flights that are important for the Lithuanian economy, the creation of an attractive business environment, attracting new investments, and the development of safe and sustainable airport infrastructure. This is particularly important in the context of the construction of the new passenger departure terminals at Vilnius and Kaunas airports and growing passenger flows. I wish Simonas a successful start,” said Minister of Transport and Communications.
Simonas Bartkus is an aviation and transport professional with extensive experience in strategic planning, management, strategic marketing, sales development and product development.
“I am delighted to join the ambitious and determined team at Lithuanian Airports. I look forward to fostering an open and transparent culture of a winning team so that together we can build a sustainable and innovative long-term future for our colleagues, customers, partners and the public with a wide network of flights,” says Simonas Bartkus.
As the new CEO of LOU, Bartkus returns to this state enterprise after a ten-year break. In 2009, he headed the Aviation Services Department of Vilnius Airport, and from 2010 to 2013 he was Head of the Commercial Department. From 2013 to 2020, Simonas Bartkus was the Commercial Director of Air Lituanica and headed the Marketing Departments of UAB Small Planet Airlines and ch-aviation. Since 2021, Simonas worked as Marketing and Communications Director of Girteka Group. He was also a member of the Board of the public enterprise Transport Competence Agency from 2019 to 2023.
Simonas Bartkus holds a Bachelor'’ degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in International Economics from Vilnius University, with additional marketing education from Stanford University Business School in the USA.
The state enterprise Lithuanian Airports operates three international airports in the country and develops their coordinated operations, having created 629 jobs. Later this year, the enterprise will be reorganised into a public limited liability company.
