Board of Directors

“Aviation companies in Germany connect people, cultures, and economies on a daily basis. Air travel ensures global supply chains and promotes trade, tourism, and diplomacy. This economic and political strength must be maintained and the aviation hub of Germany strengthened in the tough international competition. In doing so, economic and ecological requirements must be harmonized. I am firmly convinced that we can permanently secure the economy, prosperity, and jobs in Germany — if industry and politics pull together.”

Jens Bischof has been the President of the German Aviation Association (BDL) since July 2024. The experienced aviation manager has been leading the airline Eurowings as CEO since March 2020.

After studying business administration in Rendsburg and obtaining his master’s degree at McGill in Montreal, Canada, Jens Bischof began his career in the Lufthansa Group in 1990 by joining the cargo subsidiary Lufthansa Cargo. Since then, he has held numerous management positions at Europe’s largest airline group. From 2006 to 2011, he was responsible for Lufthansa’s passenger business in North and South America. Subsequently, as Lufthansa Passage Board Member and Chief Commercial Officer, he led – inter alia – the global sales organization of the Lufthansa Group Airlines.

In 2017, Jens Bischof was appointed CEO of SunExpress. He handed over the management of the joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines three years later with record results. Since 2020, he has been the CEO of Eurowings. Through consistent restructuring, he successfully achieved the economic turnaround of the company under his leadership. At the same time, he successfully advanced the repositioning of Eurowings as the “value airline for Europe”.

As a well-connected industry expert, Jens Bischof is a sought-after opinion leader in national and international industry associations. He holds various supervisory board mandates in the aviation and technology sectors and is also supporting start-up companies.

Jens Bischof was born in Frankfurt in 1965, is married, and has two children.

Dr. Joachim Lang has been the Director General of the German Aviation Association (BDL) since July 2024. Previously, he was the Managing Partner of Strategic Minds Company and Founding Partner of the Berlin Advisors Group BAG.

From 2017 to 2022, he was the Chief Executive Officer of the largest European industry association, BDI. Before that, he led the corporate representation of the DAX company EON in Berlin since 2007.

Prior to that, he held various senior positions in politics and administration, including the coordination of European policy in the Federal Chancellery, federal-state and European coordination in the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, as well as staff positions in the Secretariat of the Federal Council and in the Federal Ministry of Defense.

Joachim Lang studied law and was educated in Tübingen, Bonn, Prague and Washington D.C. Following his doctorate in law on stock companies, he also obtained a master’s degree in European Studies.

Lang is the author of numerous publications on economic and legal policy topics.