Jan Ernst de Groot was born in Brasschaat, Belgium, in 1963. After completing secondary school, he studied Dutch Law at the University of Leiden. Thereafter, he served as an officer in the Royal Netherlands Navy. Following his service, he became a lawyer and joined the firm of De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek in The Hague.

Mr. De Groot joined KLM on February 1, 1992, as a negotiator in the Foreign Relations office. In 1997, he was appointed head of Commercial Cooperation within the Passenger Division, and in 1998 he became head of Labor Relations.

In 2001, he was appointed head of Government & Industry Affairs. From 2003 to 2005, he served as General Secretary of KLM. In August of 2005, he was promoted to Vice President of Corporate Center.

Mr. De Groot has served as a statutory director of KLM since July 5, 2007, in the function of managing director. He also takes part in the daily management of the employers' organization VNO-NCW and the international advisory council for the International Institute of Air and Space Law at the University of Leiden.