Hessel van der Maten is an aspiring founder of Vantage Data Management, which aims to help aviation organizations gain a competitive advantage by enhancing aviation safety and enterprise risk management and providing data-driven insights, predictions, and recommendations. He started his career as a pilot in 1996 after graduating from the Dutch Academy for Airline Transport Pilots. He flew various aircraft, from small turboprops to large jets, in commercial air transport operations around the world. He also became an instructor pilot, teaching others how to fly safely and efficiently. He logged over 14,000 flight hours.

As he gained more experience in flying, he realized that it was not only about technical skills but also about human behaviour and team performance. He noticed that many accidents and incidents were influenced by human factors, such as communication, decision-making, situational awareness, or leadership. He also saw that many organizations struggled to manage risk using traditional safety management systems.

He decided to do something about it and set himself a mission of enhancing safety and risk management in the aviation industry globally. He joined the Dutch Safety Board in 2021 as a senior investigator, where he investigates accidents and incidents and helps organizations improve their safety culture and practices. He also studies data science and risk management at Cranfield University, where he is pursuing a Master of Science in Aviation Safety Management, Risk and Regulations. He uses data science and risk management tools to analyze and visualize complex data and scenarios in aviation.

He is launching Vantage Data Management to share his knowledge and passion with others who are interested in aviation safety and enterprise risk management. He intends to offer courses and training that cover topics such as accident investigation, flight data analysis, risk assessment, safety management systems, and more. He also hopes to speak at conferences and events focused on aviation safety and enterprise risk management.

Hessel lives in Haarlem, Netherlands with his family. However, he travels the world to investigate accidents and incidents and to help high-performance organisations in aviation increase resilience. He is fluent in English, Dutch and Spanish and is a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society and Flight Safety Foundation.

He is always open to discussing ways to improve aviation safety and enterprise risk management with anyone who is interested. Feel free to reach out and send him a message.