Hoegh LNG Holdings chief executive Sveinung Stohle has resigned from his position to take up a new shipowning role.
Stohle told TradeWinds he will start work as deputy chief executive for a "very large privately-owned shipowner outside of Norway" early in the New Year.
He said he will be reporting to the owner who controls a mixed fleet including LNG carriers.
"I am very excited about this otherwise I would not have made this decision," Stohle told TradeWinds.
"It is always sad to leave a place where you have spent such a long time and built a company from scratch but sometimes it is time to move on."
The outgoing chief said more details will emerge shortly.
Long shift
Stohle was involved in the start-up of Hoegh LNG in 2006, after joining the business a year earlier, and has been at the helm of the company over the last 15 years.
He joined Hoegh from Total where he was heading the major's LNG business in the US.
Prior to this he held the CEO's role at Golar LNG and was previously a commercial director at Nigeria LNG.
But Hoegh LNG has undergone some major changes this year.
In March Norwegian family entity Leif Hoegh & Co unveiled plans to partner with Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP) to take the Oslo-listed company private.
Master limited partnership (MLP) Hoegh LNG Partners was not part of the transaction.
But this listed entity has been battling its own problems recently after it became embroiled in a dispute with the Indonesian charterer of one of the company's floating storage and regasification units. On the plus side it recently chartered out an FSRU to New Fortress Energy.
Stohle, who is in his 60s, said he is excited to move abroad again and start in a large company.
"That is what I have done before. I'm very pleased with this new appointment," he added.
Stohle will be contractually employed by Hoegh until the end of 2021 but is expected to leave the office by 1 November.
A new CEO for Hoegh LNG Holdings will be appointed after a recruitment process.
In the interim Thor Jorgen Guttormsen, who was formerly CEO of Hoegh Autoliners will take over the top slot on an interim basis.
Vision and determination
In an official statement, Hoegh chairman Morten Hoegh thanked Stohle for "his hard work and leadership in building the company into what he said is "the premier FSRU provider in the LNG industry."
"Sveinung led our entry into floating regas through the ordering of the SRV vessels, and subsequently through the substantial investment program of eight FSRUs and the creation of two stock-listed public entities."
He praised Stohle's "clear vision and strong determination".
"On a personal note, I have enjoyed tremendously the close working relationship with Sveinung based on trust and mutual support over all these years. We wish him all the best in his new endeavours."
Stohle said: "I have worked with the most talented LNG team in the industry for the past 15 years. I am very proud of the accomplishments we have achieved together," he added, wishing the entire team, and wish everyone well in the future.”
