EMEA News
Hapag-Lloyd Names Maersk Man as New CEO
German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd AG has tapped the head of Damco NV (Damco), A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S (Maersk)'s freight forwarding and logistics business, as its new CEO, Bloomberg reports.
Rolf Habben-Jansen, 47, head of Maersk's freight forwarding business, will replace Michael Behrendt in July of 2014.
"I am delighted with the Supervisory Board's decision to appoint Rolf Habben-Jansen as my successor," Behrendt, who has led the company for the past 11 years, said in a statement.
"Habben-Jansen is a manager who will successfully confront the major challenges in international liner shipping."
Habben-Jansen has had many years of experience in the logistics sector, holding positions at the Royal Nedlloyd Group and DHL before joining Damco, Hapag-Lloyd said.
Hapag-Lloyd also said it will promote Anthony J. Firmin, who has 18 years of experience with the company, to succeed Ulrich Kranich as chief operations officer when he leaves the company in July.
Bloomberg reports that Habben-Jansen will face questions about a possible initial public offering of the company, although it is not clear that such a plan is behind his hiring.
"At first sight Hapag-Lloyd seems to have hired Mr Habben-Jansen because he is an expert of the freight industry and not because he is familiar with capital markets or listed companies," said Jochen Rothenbacher, an analyst at Equinet Bank AG.
"So to say he was hired to steer the company to an IPO is jumping to conclusions."
Behrendt, who has been CEO since 2002, extended his contract by a year to allow the company more time to find a successor.
Hapag-Lloyd has said it was hurt by high bunker prices and market conditions in 2012 but turned a profit in the second quarter of 2013.
