Norden chief executive Jan Rindbo thinks the recent rush of departures from the owner-operator probably seems “more dramatic when you sit on the outside”.
Christian Vinther Christensen is the latest to resign, exiting as chief operating officer of Norden’s asset-light Freight Services & Trading unit after more than seven years at the company.
Rindbo told TradeWinds that Christensen’s departure was motivated by his desire to lead a different life.
“Christian has, over the last few months, had a dialogue with me and he has a wish to devote more time to his family,” he said.
“He would like to eventually have a more flexible work life and therefore leave daily management and the role that he has in Norden, so he’s not pursuing similar jobs in another company. This is really a career change for Christian.”
The CEO said Christensen will be bound by the “usual sort of agreements” not to join a competitor in the immediate term.
“We never want to say goodbye to good people leaving Norden, but the reality is that, for example in Christian’s case, yes, he wants to pursue a different type of career, which is fine. He will remain a friend and close contact of Norden, so no issues there,” Rindbo said.
Christensen’s role will be split between Rasmus Saltofte and Soren Tolboll Nielsen, who will head Norden’s bulker and tanker operating activities respectively. This will create a more “streamlined structure”, as Rindbo put it.
Each will have fewer direct reports than Christensen and responsibilities will be delegated across his successors and their wider teams.
Rindbo emphasised Saltofte and Nielsen’s wide base of commercial experience. The pair joined Norden as trainees around 20 years ago and have risen through the ranks in Copenhagen and at its bases around the world.
‘Exodus’
Christensen’s departure follows the exit of four of Norden’s panamax chartering staff in Singapore and Copenhagen, who quit in early March to join capesize owner Classic Maritime.
Line Lund Clausen also resigned in March as head of supramax in the Atlantic to join bulker operator BaltNav.
Talk that the departures have been driven by bonuses is unfounded and there have been no changes to remuneration policies, according to Rindbo.
“I think that history has shown that we have been able to reward people with attractive salaries and bonuses and therefore overall packages in Norden, so I don’t see any issues in that regard,” he said.
Norden, which owns and operates product tankers and bulk carriers of all sizes, has issued lower profit guidance for this year compared with 2023 so, while based on individual performance, bonuses will naturally track that, he added.
“The panamax team left. Okay, that’s an opportunity for other people to step up,” he said.
“It’s been fantastic to see how people regroup, they step up when we call on them. We’ve had people at very short notice who are stepping into the panamax team because some of their former colleagues have left at short notice.
“I have huge respect for all the people around Norden that step up in these kinds of situations and, you know, it brings opportunity.”
When the panamax team departed, Norden substituted them with transfers from its supramax desk. Rindbo said the shake-up fits the company’s desire to have a more joined-up approach for its freight offering among the bulker segments.
“Today, we can service our clients across all sizes and it also means that actually we want to be less siloed in how we think about the vessel types,” he said.
“That is also part of the thinking here — that perhaps in the past, the responsibilities were quite split between how we were driving a panamax team and how we’re driving a supramax business, as an example.
“I think now, with a new structure, we want to work as a more unified unit. Of course, there will still be people that are specialists or dedicated towards panamax and supramax and handysize, capesize, but we are actually thinking more as one unit rather than separate units.”
Danish labour laws mean commercial staff need only work out the balance of the month, plus give another month’s notice before leaving roles to join other staff.
This is useful in shipping as it means chartering staff can change jobs without being out of the market for an extended period of “gardening leave”, which could otherwise affect business relationships.
