The exit of AP Moller-Maersk chief executive Nils Andersen in 2016 and his replacement by then-Maersk Line CEO Soren Skou marked the start of an overhaul of the Danish shipping giant. It also was the start of a series of high-profile executive moves.
Here are a few of the high-profile exits and appointments as Skou led the company to shift away from a gargantuan maritime conglomerate to a deeper focus on container shipping:
Stausholm departs
Maersk's chief financial, strategic and transformation officer, Jakob Stausholm departed in March 2018 as the company was mid-way through its overhaul.
Stausholm is chief financial officer at Rio Tinto, a London-based mining giant.
As his title suggested, Stausholm was a public point person on the Copenhagen-headquartered outfit's new strategic direction in meetings with the press and analysts.
The Danish citizen had joined Maersk in 2012 before rising to chief financial officer in December of 2016. Before that, he was CFO at facility services company ISS.
Happe steps in
Maersk announced in June 2018 that Stausholm was to be replaced by Carolina Dybeck Happe, who became the company's first ever female CFO.
She joined from Assa Abloy, a Swedish lock maker where she was vice president and CFO.
Happe had a number of other financial leadership positions, including a stint at Swedish polymer solutions provider Trelleborg in 2011 and 2012.
Hemmingsen leaves
Maersk announced in April that Claus Hemmingsen, vice CEO and head of the energy division, was leaving. The move came after much of his division had been sold off in the company's strategic shift.
“Sometimes it’s really true that it's mutual,” he said. “We reached a conclusion together that it was the right thing for the company and for me to part ways at this stage.”
On LinkedIn, Hemmingsen describes himself as a professional board member. He is chairman at Maersk Drilling, which is now separate from the larger Maersk group, and at ferry owner DFDS.
Thygesen made supply boss
In the wake of Hemmingsen's departure, Svitzer chief executive Henriette Thygesen became the new chairman of Maersk Supply Service, which was spared from the selloff of Maersk's energy units.
Taking charge of the supply vessel unit added to an already Maersk-studded CV.
With more than 25 years at the group, she has held a number of leading roles at various subsidiaries. At the time of her Maersk Supply appointment, she was already chairman of Damco Forwarding. Outside Maersk, she is a director of COWI, a consulting group.
“With Henriette’s experience, I am convinced she will be a strong chairman for Maersk Supply Service as the company progresses its strategy to optimise its existing core business while diversifying into new industries and pursuing new business as an integrated solutions provider,” Skou said at the time.
Toft quits
This week, Maersk revealed that chief operating officer Soren Toft left the Danish shipping giant.
He had joined the Copenhagen-listed company in 1994, serving various commercial and operational roles in Denmark, Germany and Indonesia before his appointment as head of network planning. In 2014, he became COO with responsibility for the global operations of the liner business.
In recent years, he had been at the forefront of its push to find alternative sustainable fuels for its fleet and oversaw the takeover of Hamburg Sud in 2017.
Maersk has launched a search for Toft's replacement.
Toft has told reporters that he landed a chief executive job at another company, although he has declined to reveal his new employer.
