Skylegs appoints new Chief Operating Officer
Skylegs has appointed Andraž Mele as Chief Operating Officer (COO). This transition marks a deliberate step in our organisational development, focusing directly on operational stability and long-term platform consistency.
From operator to executive
Before becoming COO, Andraž gained a dual perspective, starting on the operator side as a dispatcher before managing internal functions. This background eliminates the steep learning curve typical of executive appointments, ensuring that leadership decisions remain connected to the actual friction points of daily aviation workflows.
“In my past role I used Skylegs daily as a dispatcher and an admin user,” Andraž notes. “I configured the system, wrote process manuals and trained my colleagues on using Skylegs. I feel like this gives me a unique perspective on what an operator expects from a tool like Skylegs, what our strengths are and also where we have room for improvement.”
This hands-on familiarity ensures that product development reflects true operational needs rather than theoretical assumptions. For executive stakeholders, an operations leader who understands why teams hesitate to alter core workflows is vital for smooth system management. Andraž adds:
“Over the past three years I was involved in support, training, business intelligence and most importantly, product management. The combination of these tasks kept me directly engaged with our clients’ daily operations, making sure Skylegs is evolving in the right direction to continue answering their most pressing business needs.”
Strategic alignment and continuity
Promoting from within mitigates the systemic risks associated with leadership changes in core aviation software. Maxim Schelfhout, CEO of Skylegs, highlights how this internal progression supports predictable, structured scaling without disrupting existing user workflows:
“He came on board to support product and quickly became essential, combining deep customer empathy with a strong analytical and business intelligence skillset. Elevating someone who already understands both our customers and our product was the most logical choice. […] This strengthens our foundation rather than testing it. Promoting from within means no learning curve on culture, customers, or product. Andraž already has all of that, which lets us scale faster and with less disruption. His operational and business intelligence background is exactly what we need to make our processes more structured and measurable as we grow.”
The CTO emphasises that Andraž’s experience as Product Control Manager bridges the gap between client realities and product architecture:
“Given his background on the operator side of things, he worked tremendously hard in his role as Product Control Manager to achieve an excellent understanding of software systems and processes. His expertise today makes him the right person for the COO role. I have strong confidence he will drive our product roadmap towards a successful future and will weigh in on our company strategy.”
Operational Vision
As Skylegs expands its global footprint, the COO mandate focuses on safeguarding the platform’s core values of simplicity and continuous care. Standardising internal workflows ensures that product support and interface usability scale efficiently while maintaining direct, responsive communication with clients.
By grounding executive leadership in the practical realities of daily flight operations, Skylegs reinforces its commitment to providing a reliable, long-term management ecosystem that reduces risk and supports sustainable growth for aircraft operators.
