Outgoing Orsted chief executive Henrik Poulsen has been hired by AP Moller Holding to boost its energy transition investments.
Poulsen, who said he was quitting at the domestic renewable energy company in June, will become a senior advisor and a member of the investment committee.
The executive will provide advice related to investments in businesses targeting the transition to a sustainable society and the broader circular economy, AP Moller Holding said.
The Danish company added that Poulsen brings significant leadership experience of transforming large corporations.
Orsted is now ranked as the most sustainable company in the world.
AP Moller Holding CEO Robert Maersk Uggla said: "I am very excited that Henrik Poulsen will join our team. Few corporate leaders come close to his fantastic record of company transformations.
"AP Moller Holding aspires to be a highly engaged owner, combining societal development and strong corporate values, with a focus on long-term economic value creation. I am confident that Henrik will become a hugely valuable contributor and team player on our journey ahead."
February joining date
AP Moller Holding controls boxship giant AP Moller-Maersk, product carrier player Maersk Tankers and Maersk Drilling. It also owns 20% of Danske Bank, among other investments.
In June, Orsted said Poulsen would continue with the company until 31 January 2021 at the latest. He will join AP Moller Holding on 1 February.
Poulsen said in June that it was the right time to step down to pursue other challenges.
In a statement on Monday, Poulsen said: "I am delighted to join AP Moller Holding as senior advisor and become part of the ... team's efforts to develop businesses that will drive profitable, long-term growth and contribute to the sustainable development of society."
He added: "Having spent the past eight years focusing on renewable power generation, I am excited about this opportunity to work with investments in other areas."
Poulsen said he would contribute to his new employer's portfolio renewal.
The executive holds an MSc in finance and accounting from Aarhus School of Business.
'Strong integrity'
Before joining Orsted, he had been CEO and president of Danish telecommunications company TDC, operating as an executive at KKR Capstone and an executive at Lego.
AP Moller Holding chief information officer Jan Nielsen said: "We work in partnership with high performing company boards, management teams and other owners.
"Henrik Poulsen complements our team in many ways, with his strong integrity, unique background of investment experience and transformational corporate leadership."
Nielsen added that Poulsen will become a "very valued partner" not just to AP Moller Holding, but also to several of the portfolio companies.
In April, AP Moller Holding said it was facing up to big valuation losses this year due to the coronavirus, after a strong 2019.
The company logged revenue of DKK 274bn ($399m) in 2019, with net profit reaching DKK 6.6bn.
The company, owned by the AP Moller Foundation, saw the worth of its assets grow by DKK 18.5bn to DKK 117bn.
A large part of this was down to its 41.5% stake in AP Moller-Maersk, which contributed DKK 9bn from share price growth.
Value drop
The holding company controls 50.1% of its votes.
The Covid-19 pandemic was making 2020 a very different story, however.
Danish financial daily Finans calculated that its investment values had dropped nearly DKK 35bn by April, mainly relating to AP Moller-Maersk, Maersk Drilling and Danske Bank.
But boxship markets have since recovered strongly.
The company also bought 100% of KK Group last year. Its main activities are carried out through KK Wind Solutions, a global supplier of electronics power solutions to the wind turbine industry.
AP Moller acquired Maersk Tankers in cooperation with Mitsui & Co in a 2017 deal worth $1.2bn.
