The Maersk group on June 23 appointed Soren Skou as its new chief executive officer, replacing Nils S. Andersen and instructing Skou to explore options for further increasing “agility and synergies.”
“Since 2008 the Maersk Group has successfully gone through a phase of operational optimisation in each of its businesses to the point of top quartile performance in most units. In order to leverage this position the Board of Directors have initiated a process to further develop the strategic options for the Maersk Group,” said an official online company statement.
The changes are effective as of July 1, 2016, said the release.
Andersen has been part of A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S since 2005, first as member of the board of directors and subsequently as chief executive officer since December 2007, “where he has been a driving force in building a focused and lean global conglomerate of five core businesses within shipping, logistics and energy,” the statement continued.
Skou has been employed with the corporation since 1983 and member of its executive board since 2006. In 2012 he was appointed CEO of Maersk Line, the company’s container shipping line, a position he will continue to hold in addition to his post as group CEO.
“Soren has strong business acumen and thorough knowledge of the Group’s various businesses and has successfully restructured the businesses he has led. The Board of Directors knows Soren as a respected and knowledgeable leader with the ability to adapt quickly to market changes in close collaboration with the Board of Directors, the executive management and his employees,” said Michael Pram Rasmussen, chairman of the board of directors.
The board has tasked the new management to “investigate the strategic and structural options to further increase agility and synergies,” and will give an update on this before the end of the third quarter of 2016.
The Wall Street Journal said the Danish conglomerate is planning a restructuring that could split itself into multiple publicly listed companies.
“I am excited about the opportunity to lead A.P. Moller-Maersk into the next phase of our strategic development. The fast-paced changes of this world demand that we can adapt quickly, easily and at a minimal cost while retaining the focus on each Business Unit. Our future set-up must effectively respond to these challenges” said Skou.
Yang Ming’s new chairman
Meanwhile, Chih-Chien (Bronson) Hsieh, vice chairman of Evergreen group, has been appointed as the new chairman of Taiwanese shipping compatriot and rival, Yang Ming Marine Transport.
Hsieh, who joined the shipping industry in 1976, was voted unanimously as the new chairman of Yang Ming in a meeting by the carrier’s board of directors held June 23, succeeding Frank F. H. Lu. Hsieh’s more than 40 years of industry experience include a 20-year assignment in Germany, UK, U.S., Italy, Hong Kong, and China.
