Maersk board nominates family heir as new chairman

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of of the company A.P. Moeller – Maersk is pictured after Bo Cerup-Simonsen, Denmark June 25, 2020. Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -A.P. Moller-Maersk’s board said on Tuesday it has nominated family heir Robert Maersk Uggla to be its next chairman as part of a generational handover at the Danish shipping company.

Current chairman Jim Hagemann Snabe and vice chair Ane Maersk Mc-Kinney Uggla, Robert Maersk Uggla’s mother, are not standing for reelection to the board at its March 15 annual general meeting, the company said in a statement.

“After three decades on the board, it is time for me to pass on the responsibility to Robert who with his seven years on the board of directors has been a driving force in the development of A.P. Moller-Maersk,” said Ane Maersk Mc-Kinney Uggla.

Robert Maersk Uggla, the grandson of Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller who transformed A.P. Moller-Maersk into an international conglomerate, is currently the chief executive of the holding company behind the Danish shipping giant.

The holding company owns 41.5% of shares and 51% of voting rights in the listed Maersk business.

Since breaking up as a conglomerate in 2016, including selling its oil and gas business, Maersk has transformed itself into an integrated logistics company.

Marc Engel, outgoing Chief Supply Chain Officer of Unilever (NYSE:UL) and a board member of Maersk since 2019, has been nominated as new vice chair, the board said.