VMS Live Appoints New CEO In The UK

– Bert Van Horck
VMS Live’s new CEO

UK venue operator and national promoter VMS Live has appointed Bert Van Horck as its new CEO.

Alongside Van Horck’s appointment to the board of directors of the VMS Live group of companies, Kate Forster, widow of VMS founder and CEO Steve Forster, has joined the board as non-executive director.

Steve Forster, entrepreneur, creator, visionary and CEO of the VMS Live group of companies, died unexpectedly earlier this year.

Kate Foster said: “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.”

Commenting on Van Horck’s appointment, Foster added: “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’s experience includes being the CEO of event crowd management specialists ICMS, trading as Showsec in the UK, and prior to that managing director de Boer Structures UK.

More recently Van Horck has worked within organizing committees of multi-sport events, such as heading the safety and security department during the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Said Van Horck: “VMS Live is in a great space in this dynamic sector and I am very much looking 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.

“We’d also like to give special thanks to Richard (Maides) and Carl (Bathgate) 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 USP’s which make VMS Live such a unique group of companies; blending venue management, promoting and ticketing into a one-stop-shop entertainment organisation.”