Tijs van Lieshout has a public and private background. He started as an officer in the Royal Netherlands Army and was regional fire service commander of the Gelderland South Safety Region between 2003 and 2006.

He then worked for 9 years in consultancy and business services, mainly focusing on the safety & security market. During this period, he also served as interim director at Safety Regions and companies.

Between 2014 and 2017 Tijs van Lieshout filled the position of interim director at the Limburg-Noord Safety Region, and from 2017 he served as director of the Central and West Brabant Safety Region.

Since 2019, Van Lieshout has been fire service commander and director of the Amsterdam-Amstelland Safety Region. He combines this with the chairmanship of Brandweer Nederland and the Council of Commanders and Directors Safety Region.