Bulker giant Golden Ocean Management has hired Lars-Christian Svensen as its new chief commercial officer, who will join the Fredriksen-backed firm on 1 December.
He will replace Thomas Semino, who stepped down from the role in mid-October.
Svensen has been on "gardening leave" since leaving his job at Western Bulk in May, at the same time as six other employees who went on to join rival company Belships.
He spent 11 years at the Oslo-based bulker operator and from 2017 was senior vice-president of its South Atlantic and US Gulf business, specialising in the supramax and ultramax market.
Golden Ocean's chief executive Ulrik Andersen said the company was pleased to welcome Svensen, who he described as a good fit for the firm.
"His proven experience managing a chartering environment that leveraged digitalization, analytics and risk management aligns with Golden Ocean's approach and will help to further our high-quality chartering operations," Andersen commented.
Svensen said he hopes to advance Golden Ocean's ongoing digitalisation and efficiency projects and to help improve the 78-vessel fleet's commercial performance.
"The company's scale in the capesize and panamax segments is a strategic advantage that I hope to further in my new role," he said.
Golden hello
Svensen has received a "golden hello" of 275,000 share options ahead of joining Golden Ocean next month.
The options will have a five-year term and will vest over a three-year period.
The first tranche of 75,000 options are exercisable in December 2021 at the earliest at a subscription price of NOK33 per share.
Golden Ocean shares closed at NOK 32.66 on the Oslo Bors on Wednesday.
Its stock fell by almost 2% to $3.63 when the Nasdaq market opened in New York on Wednesday morning, before falling to $3.59 by mid-morning.
Playing musical chairs
Golden Ocean has installed an all-new management team since Andersen took over in the top job in April, when Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal stepped down.
Peder Simonsen joined Golden Ocean in September as chief financial officer after stepping down from Fredriksen-backed VLGC operator Avance Gas, where Andersen was previously chief executive.
Simonsen replaced Per Heiberg, who resigned as Golden Ocean's finance boss in September after 15 years at the company.
Golden Ocean is one of the world's largest publicly listed owners of capesize bulk carriers and is a leading name within the niche market for ice-class panamax bulkers.
