Norwegian shipowner Ocean Yield’s chief executive Lars Solbakken has decided to leave the company with immediate effect.
The company, bought in December by US private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), said he will be replaced by Andreas Rode.
Rode joined Ocean Yield in 2017 and is head of business development and mergers and acquisition.
As part of the organisational change, Eirik Eide will continue as chief financial officer, executive vice president Andreas Reklev will become chief operating officer and senior vice president for investments Erik Hiller Holom will be appointed head of business development.
Solbakken has spent 12 years at Ocean Yield, which was previously controlled by Norwegian tycoon Kjell Inge Rokke.
The outgoing CEO previously held the top job at Norwegian Car Carriers for more than two years, but was best known as boss of John Fredriksen’s shipowning company SFL Corp between 2006 and 2009.
Before that, he was a senior executive at Fortis Bank and Christiania Bank for 20 years.
Solbakken has been contacted for further comment.
The move is the latest in a string of high-profile departures among Scandinavian shipping companies.
Top bosses on the way out
Lasse Kristoffersen is stepping down at Torvald Klaveness, Niels Stolt-Nielsen is leaving the top job at Stolt-Nielsen, and Kim Ullman left Swedish tanker owner Concordia Maritime at the end of 2021.
Rode previously worked in the corporate finance department of Danske Bank as managing director and head of shipping and offshore.
Ocean Yield was delisted in Oslo in December.
In January, the company said it was slimming its board down to just two KKR executives, Vincent Policard and Bernardo Nogueira.
KKR completed its NOK 7.2bn ($829.5m) takeover on 1 December, reaching 94% of the share capital and then launching a compulsory offer for the rest.
Ocean Yield has a fleet including tankers, bulkers and container ships, with charter parties such as Navig8, Scorpio Tankers and Okeanis Eco Tankers, as well as a small stake in offshore vessel owner Solstad Offshore.
