Maersk Board Appoints New CEO

By Mark Edward Nero

On June 23, the Maersk Group Board of Directors appointed Søren Skou as new Chief Executive Officer of A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S, replacing Nils Andersen, who is leaving the Maersk Group. The changes are effective July 1.

Skou has been with A.P. Møller - Mærsk since 1983 and a member of its executive board since 2006. He was appointed CEO of Maersk Line in 2012 and is expected to remain in this position in addition to his position as Maersk Group CEO.

“I am excited about the opportunity to lead A.P. Møller – Mærsk into the next phase of our strategic development,” Skou said in a prepared statement. “The fast-paced changes of this world demand that we can adapt quickly, easily and at a minimal cost. Our future set-up must effectively respond to these challenges.”

“Søren has strong business acumen and thorough knowledge of the Group’s various businesses and has successfully restructured the businesses he has led,” Board of Directors Chair Michael Pram Rasmussen said. “The Board of Directors knows Søren as a respected and knowledgeable leader with the ability to adapt quickly to market changes.”

Andersen had been with A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S since 2005, first as member of the Board of Directors, then as Chief Executive Officer beginning in December 2007.

“After eight years as CEO of the Group and 15 years as CEO altogether, I find it is the right time for both me and A.P. Møller - Mærsk to make a change,” he explained. “On a personal level I am at a point in my life where I look forward to having a bit more time with my family after many years of constant work and I look forward to entering a new phase in my life.”

Maersk Cutting Back on Jobs, Shipbuilding

By Mark Edward Nero

As a response to both the short term and long term market outlook, Maersk Line is implementing a number of cost and efficiency initiatives, including cutting back on shipbuilding and eliminating jobs, the company said Nov. 4

Maersk Line, the world’s largest shipping company, plans to reduce its network capacity and postpone investments in new capacity, while the same time reducing operating costs by escalating already announced plans to, over the next two years, cut at least 4,000 jobs.

The company also stated that it is cutting back on shipbuilding plans that it announced earlier this year: it will now not exercise previously announced options for six 19,630-TEU vessels and two 3,600-TEU feeders and is postponing its decision on eight optional 14,000-TEU vessels.

“We are on a journey to transform Maersk Line,” CEO Søren Skou explained in a prepared statement. “We will make the organization leaner and simpler. We want to improve our customer experience digitally and at the same time work as efficiently as possible.”

The company currently has 23,000 employees globally and says it will eliminate the 4,000 positions through natural attrition and other means.

“We are fewer people today than a year ago. We will be fewer next year and the following year. These decisions are not taken lightly, but they are necessary steps to transform our industry,” Skou said.