Danish giant AP Moller-Maersk has appointed its second finance chief in little over a year.
The boxship and ports group said Patrick Jany, 52, will join from 1 May from Swiss chemicals company Clariant, where he is chief financial officer.
The new CFO replaces Carolina Dybeck Happe, who is leaving early this year to join Boston-based General Electric (GE).
She only started work at Maersk in January 2019.
Jany, a German, will become a member of Maersk's slimmed down executive board.
This will now consist of CEO Soren Skou, Jany, Vincent Clerc, CEO of Ocean and Logistics, Morten Engelstoft, CEO of APM Terminals, and Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO of Fleet & Strategic Brands.
Prior to his current position, Jany held various finance leadership positions in Clariant and Sandoz.
He holds an MSc in business administration (corporate finance) from Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Paris, France.
“I am pleased to welcome Patrick Jany to AP Moller-Maersk where he will play a key role in the acceleration of our strategic transformation," said Skou.
"Patrick brings solid financial experience and a proven record of managing cost discipline as well as profitable growth through M&A and innovation. I look forward to our cooperation.”
Jany added: “Not only is AP Moller-Maersk a global leader in shipping, ports and logistics, it is also a company which builds on a strong foundation while leading the transformation of an entire industry through digital innovation and continuous optimisation.
"The values, customer focus and high ambition level of the company are absolutely thrilling, and I am looking forward to joining the team.”
Maersk chairman Jim Hagemann Snabe said: "Looking into the next phase of the transformation, his core qualifications will be a strong addition to our team, ensuring focus on profitable growth and shareholder value.”
Maersk left reeling
Dybeck Happe's resignation in November left Maersk reeling from the departure of a second senior board member in quick succession.
It came two weeks after chief operating officer Soren Toft quit to become chief executive of Maersk's 2M Alliance partner Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC).
Dybeck Happe was the first female to take on the role of chief financial officer at the Danish container shipping giant, replacing Jakob Stausholm. Stausholm had held the position at Maersk since 2016.
Her short time there caught the eye of GE, which credits her with “driving the strategic and structural change amidst significant market disruption” at Maersk, as well as for “executing a substantial deleveraging plan”.
Happe joined Maersk from Assa Abloy, a Swedish lock maker where she was vice president and chief financial officer.
Toft left after 25 years to work under MSC president Diego Aponte and his father, Gianluigi Aponte, the Swiss group's chairman.
Several top executives including former chief executive Nils Andersen have left Maersk since 2016, when it initiated a strategic shift from a corporate conglomerate to one with a deeper focus on container shipping.
