Veteran car carrier shipping executive Karl Terjesen is leaving his role as CEO of Gram Car Carriers AS after 13 years in the job.
The 66-year-old executive said he will continue as an advisor to the company, which is one of the largest suppliers of ships to the car carrying industry.
He said he and company owner Peter D Gram are nearly a combined 140 years old.
"We thought we needed a bit of renewal,” Terjesen said.
He was previously executive vice president and commercial director of Hoegh Autoliners, but he left in 2005 because of disagreements over structure and organisation. Terjesen worked 25 years for Hoegh, so he has spent nearly 40 year in the car transport industry.
Georg A Whist, 47, has taken over as CEO of Oslo-based Gram Car Carriers AS. He joins from Hafnia Tankers in Copenhagen, where he was the company's first chief financial officer. Prior to this, Whist spent 18 years with Nordea Bank.
Gram Car Carriers AS carries out commercial management functions for Gram Car Carriers Holdings in Singapore, which controls a fleet of 18 PCTCs and is one of the leading tonnage suppliers to the car transportation industry.
In addition, Gram Car Carriers is commercial manager for four units controlled by third-party owners.
Terjesen said he will continue in the role as “advisor” until the summer, at least.
As he prepares his departure, he said the industry's trading patterns have not changed that radically since the 1980s, though the sector has become more complex.
“Many more companies export and import cars,” he said.
