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VMS announces Bert Van Horck as new CEO

By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 26 September 2019

UK venue management company VMS Live has announced Bert Van Horck as its new CEO. He replaces the company’s founder Steve Forster, who died earlier this year.

Forster’s widow Kate, who is also joining the company as a non-executive director, says: “I am focusing on the opportunity to preserve and continue to grow the legacy of my late husband. This is the appropriate time to extend a huge thank you all the staff, suppliers, clients and other stakeholders who all contributed to keeping VMS Live running in the difficult past five months”.

She adds: “Bert has a unique track record in the event industry, including promoting and producing live entertainment and starting up venues, and I am looking forward to working with him to take the company forward”.

Van Horck himself says: “VMS Live is in a great space in this dynamic sector and I am very much looking forward to working with the new team to build on the incredible foundations and legacy Steve Forster, Richard Maides and Carl Bathgate have put in place”.

He continues: “We’d also like to give special thanks to Richard and Carl, who led the company over this difficult recent period. Both have now resigned following a transfer of their duties. The company is grateful for their long-standing service and contribution to its growth, particularly their special efforts over these five last months”.

“They played a major part in developing the USPs which make VMS Live such a unique group of companies”, he concludes, “blending venue management, promoting and ticketing into a one-stop-shop entertainment organisation”.

During his career, Van Horck has had various roles in and out of the live events industry, including as CEO of security company Showsec.