Toon Balm

Toon Balm is Partner at Stanton Chase Amsterdam, where he advises boards, private equity firms, and senior leadership teams on the identification and appointment of transformational executives. With over 25 years of international experience, he brings a distinctive blend of commercial, operational, and strategic expertise to executive search mandates.

Prior to joining Stanton Chase, Toon built his career at Air France-KLM, where he held a series of senior leadership roles across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, including assignments in Nigeria, Iran, Italy, China, and the Netherlands. As a member of the KLM Management Group, he was responsible for driving commercial performance, leading large-scale transformation initiatives, and managing complex international partnerships. His experience includes scaling businesses, leading digital and distribution transformations, and navigating joint ventures in highly dynamic and competitive markets.

At Stanton Chase, Toon focuses on executive and board-level assignments within logistics, aviation, travel, hospitality, and broader asset-heavy and consumer-facing industries. He is particularly active in private equity environments, where he supports portfolio companies in building high-performing leadership teams to accelerate growth, professionalization, and value creation. His approach combines rigorous search execution with a strong advisory perspective on leadership, culture, and organizational effectiveness.

Toon is known for his pragmatic, results-driven style and his ability to connect strategy with execution. His deep sector expertise and global network enable him to quickly identify and engage top-tier talent, while his business background allows him to act as a trusted sparring partner to clients.

Earlier in his career, Toon served in the Special Forces Division of the Royal Netherlands Army, an experience that shaped his leadership philosophy around resilience, discipline, and teamwork. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commercial Economics from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and has completed executive education programs at HEC Paris and Aberkyn.