Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Widdows to Step Down From NOL Top Slot

Neptune Orient Lines Group President and CEO Ron Widdows, one of the most prominent and vocal chief executives in the shipping industry, will retire from his post at the end of the year to be replaced by a Singapore government insider.

Widdows, who will remain with the Singapore-based NOL Group as a Senior Advisor, will be succeeded by Ng Yat Chung as of January 1, 2012.

A nearly 30-year veteran of the Singapore armed forces, Ng served as the nation's Chief of Defense Force from 2003 to 2007 before his current role as a senior executive with Temasek Holdings, an investment firm which owns and manages the Singapore government's direct investments, both locally and overseas.

NOL Chairman of the Board Cheng Wai Keung cited Ng's "outstanding leadership and management abilities," as a major factor in Ng's selection to lead the firm.
Under the NOL Group executive succession plan, Ng will be appointed as an executive director to the NOL Group Board of Directors effective May 1. He will work with closely Widdows to ensure a smooth transition at the end of the year.

Widdows, who has been with NOL for three decades, was appointed president and CEO of NOL Group in 2008 after serving for five years as the CEO of NOL's container shipping business APL. During his tenure, NOL recorded a $1.2 billion turnaround in 2010 from the industry-wide drop off in 2009. Widdows is also Chairman of the World Shipping Council and past Chairman of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement.