Sean Day has quit as chairman of Teekay Corp after almost two decades in the job.

Day, who will also depart as chairman of Teekay Offshore, stepping down just a couple of months after Peter Evensen handed over the chief executive’s chair to Kenneth Hvid. He will retain a seat on the companies' boards.

Axel Karlshoej, brother of Teekay founder Torben Karlshoej and chairman Emeritus of Teekay Corp said, "I want to thank Sean for his extraordinary leadership over the past 18 years.

“During his tenure, he has overseen enormous growth in the Teekay Group, including the establishment Teekay LNG Partners, Teekay Offshore Partners and Teekay Tankers”.

Bill Utt, the former chairman, president and chief executive of KBR who became a Teekay director in 2015, will replace Day in both chairmanships.

“Bill has been a strong contributor to the Teekay board since he joined in December 2015 and I am confident that his expertise and strong leadership skills make him an excellent successor to Sean Day,” Karlshoej said.

Day said he felt now was the right time to step down as chairman, noting Utt’s “extensive experience in the energy industry and an appreciation of Teekay's culture.”

Day took over the chairman job at what was then Teekay Shipping in 1999 from Axel Karlshoej.

He was linked with a move to Overseas Shipholding Group in 2003 to fill the chief executive's position that was set to be vacated by Morton Hyman.

"Why would I leave the best tanker job in the industry?" Day told TradeWinds at the time.

Teekay companies today control over 200 shipping and offshore assets worth around $13bn.

Teekay announced last autumn that Evensen was leaving the chief executive’s post to be replaced by Hvid.

Hvid, who took over the position in January, had a number of roles during 16 years in the group, including chief strategy officer and a board member at the daughter companies.

Mike Webber, an analyst at Wells Fargo, said the broader Teekay group was in a transition period, with these changes following the retirement Evensen.

"Teekay's boards also seem to be transitioning from a heavier weighting of long-time members to a younger group," Webber said.

"Utt appears to have more of an operating background as to financial, but more additional color remains sparse at this point."

This article has been amended since publication to show that Day will remain a director at Teekay.