Clipper Group chief executive Peter Norborg is leaving the Danish bulker and ro-ro owner, which has an internal replacement lined up to ensure it is business as usual.
From Thursday, the new CEO will be current group chief operating officer Amrit Peter Kalsi, who will also hold the same role at subsidiary Clipper Bulk.
Norborg is moving on by "mutual agreement" to take up new challenges, the company said.
He officially leaves on 1 January, but will be available to Clipper Group in the interim period.
Clipper Group senior vice president Thomas Martinussen told TradeWinds there was "no drama" about the departure. "It's friendly," he said.
"It's a very recent decision. It is not something we had been informed about for a long time."
The executive added: "There's no change of strategy. Amrit has been close to all major decisions so really continuity is still there."
Martinussen could not reveal Norborg's future plans.
The outgoing CEO, who joined in 2016, has been key in reducing the company's fleet as it pursued an asset-light chartering model in recent years.
Gratitude expressed
Clipper Group partner and chariman Frank Gulnar Jensen added: "Peter Norborg has been instrumental in Clipper’s strategic re-focus on dry bulk and ro-ro with the strengthening of business platforms in both segments.
"We would like to express our gratitude to Peter and wish him all the best. We are pleased to execute this management change without losing continuity."
Kalsi joined Clipper Group in 2011 as vice president, advanced to senior vice president in 2014 and was made group COO and head of chartering and operations at Clipper Bulk the following year.
He has been in shipping since 1994 and was previously senior general manager at Maersk Tankers and head of operations at AP Moller-Maersk logistics company Damco.
Born in 1975, he has completed executive training at Harvard Business School and Cranfield School of Management.
"Amrit has been involved in major strategic decisions in the Group since 2015, he knows Clipper inside out, he is an excellent and motivating leader, and he is very focused on execution," said the chairman.
Growth to be targeted
Kalsi himself added: "I am truly excited about this opportunity as Clipper enters into a phase where we will approach markets more offensively.
"Benefiting from our cost-effective business platforms, we will pursue growth opportunities in dry bulk for both the pools, the chartered fleet, and owned vessels."
And he added: "At the same time, we will continue to develop the group’s ro-ro activities.”
Kalsi will join the senior management team with group chief financial officer Henrik Kvist-Jacobsen and Martinussen.
Norborg 'sad' to go
Norborg said: "I feel a sadness leaving Clipper and its many skilled and loyal employees behind, and I take great pride in the results we have achieved together. But with Clipper increasingly sailing in smooth waters, time is ripe for me to embark upon a new journey."
Clipper Group is family-owned and also controls Seatruck Ferries.
The group operates 75 handysize and supramax/ultramax vessels, including those under commercial management by Clipper Handy Pool and Clipper Bulkhandling Pool.
Earlier this year the company said it was taking drastic downsizing measures to cut costs and reshape its operations to fit the prevailing coronavirus-hit market conditions.
Jobs chopped
Clipper Bulk axed 24 out of 91 jobs on shore.
There were no furloughs, but the company said it was offering various "mitigating measures to the employees affected".
Changes were predominantly introduced at the head office in Copenhagen.
Clipper Group is also focusing on even more rigorous efforts to leverage Clipper Bulk’s positions of strength in various trades and routes, as well as its long-term partnerships with clients, technical and commercial managers and other stakeholders, the company said.
Business focus will primarily be on profitable niche operations.
These include Clipper Steel, a service to the US and Mexico with the part-owned IPA Steel Terminal, and Compass Rose, a joint-venture with a Colombian manufacturer of fertiliser.
In March, the company bought the world's oldest pool, Bulkhandling, from Torvald Klaveness.
