German shipping veteran Jens Mahnke is set to take the reins of shipbroker Frachtcontor Junge & Co.
Mahnke will replace Jens Christian Nielsen as the chief executive of the Hamburg-based tanker and dry cargo shipbroking company.
By joining one of the biggest shipbroking names in Germany, Mahnke will effectively be returning to the company where he spent much of his early shipbroking career.
The move comes just three years after Mahnke co-founded sustainable finance company Elbe Financial Solutions (EFS), where he is chief executive.
He will replace Nielsen, who has been managing director of Frachtcontor since 2012 and a partner since 2007.
Mahnke will work alongside Thore Schiller, who oversees the finances of the German shipbroker.
Mahnke said he will maintain his duties and shareholding at EFS, which will work closely with Frachtcontor’s ship finance desk.
Historic brokerage
Established in 1905, Frachtcontor is one of Germany’s oldest shipbrokers.
The company underwent a management buyout in 2007 and employs more than 100 people in dry and tanker desks across 10 offices, according to its website.
Frachtcontor is also owner of Poseidon Schiffahrt, a commercial manager of tankers and bulkers.
Mahnke has spent much of the past two decades in ship finance and shipbroking roles.
He started his shipping career as a dry cargo broker at Skaarup Shipping in Hamburg and New York.
His previous stint with Frachtcontor was from 1995 to 2002 when he was chartering manager for a fleet of combination carriers.
Mahnke left to join KG (limited partnership) financier Nordcapital, where he spent six years.
That included a period as managing director of Harper Petersen, a joint brokerage venture with Rickmers Reederei.
He joined another KG house, Konig & Cie, in 2008.
Mahnke was later made chief executive of shipping asset manager Ernst Russ in July 2016, following the acquisition of Konig by Germany’s HCI Capital.
He left Russ in 2018 to form Hamburg and Luxembourg-based EFS, together with Bernhard Lambilliotte as chairman.
Since then, EFS has helped launch a sustainable shipping fund as the investment manager for French private equity firm Eurazeo.
