Stena alumnus Bjorn Stignor’s fascination with technological innovation was a key factor in luring him back to Sweden as boss of tanker owner Furetank.
The new chief executive took the hot seat on Tuesday, after spending 13 years in Singapore, where he was head of Golden-Agri Stena, the joint tanker venture between Stena and Golden Agri International.
Furetank owner and CEO Lars Hoglund, a long-time friend, decided to step back and become chairman.
And the timing was right for Stignor, who said he has “closed a loop” in returning to the roots of his maritime career in intermediate tanker shipping.
With two grown children who have just moved out of the family home, the executive and his Australian wife Tracy decided it was time to move on career-wise and geographically.
Stignor, who has a master mariner’s degree, began his officer’s career with Star Cruises and progressed to captain level with tanker company Brostrom.
In 2002, he transferred to the commercial side as an operator and subsequently to the chartering department, where he got to know Hoglund and other Furetank staff.
He moved on to the Stena sphere in 2007 and describes wearing many hats during these years, in a shipping company owning, commercially managing and operating tanker vessels in a pool.
He was also head of freight for Golden-Agri, moving 5m liquid tonnes yearly and 1m tonnes of container shipments.
Stignor said that when the first of Furetank’s eco Vinga newbuildings had been delivered in China and passed Singapore, “Lars asked if I wanted to come on board.”
Passionate about development
“It was like candy for someone like me, to see all the technical solutions and listen to their passionate talk about development,” he added.
“I am incredibly impressed with Furetank’s conviction in designing these state-of-the-art vessels, with great timing in the market while also placing themselves at the forefront of environmental vessel technology. This boldness is very attractive to me.”
The new boss said he has always loved shipping and it feels great to be back.
“I appreciate the size of Furetank, where you can get to know all employees and be friendly with everyone,” he said.
“I also have good experiences from my years in family businesses, reporting to the owners and working with the older and younger generation.
“I think I can complement Lars’ work, take over the baton and take on the responsibility for Furetank’s continued expansion.”
Hoglund has racked up 50 years in shipping and 27 as boss of Furetank.
During almost three decades of his leadership, Furetank has grown from owning two tankers to in-house management of about 20 vessels.
