Peter T. Leach, Senior Editor | Aug 13, 2012 12:22PM EDT
A.P. Moller-Maersk plans to give up its partnership structure and turn management responsibility over to its six-member executive board on Jan. 1.
The Danish parent of Maersk Line, Maersk Oil and Gas and APM Terminals said it would abandon the partnership, the company known as A.P. Moller-Maersk, which was established in 1914 and now consists of three partners, and has served as its registered management since 1965, and replace it with the executive board, Reuters reported.
The change is a technical move that will not affect its strategy. It follows the April death at age 98 of Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, the Danish shipowner who helped build Maersk Line into the world’s biggest ocean container carrier.
Moller was CEO of the Copenhagen-based group until 1993 when he stepped back from daily management to serve as its chairman, a post he held until 2003. He still controlled the company through three family foundations that own more than 60 percent of its voting stock.
The company said the management change is in accordance with Moller’s wishes.
In Denmark, the registered management team sometimes comprises the chief executive and maybe one other person, while the company also has a wider executive management group.
"Management has worked satisfactorily. However, it is a construction which can be difficult to explain, especially outside Denmark,” said Board Chairman Michael Pram Rasmussen. "Therefore, we have assessed it to be more appropriate to have a management consisting of the members of our executive board."
As of Jan. 1, the company’s executive board will consist of group Chief Executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen, CFO Trond Westlie, Maersk Line CEO Soren Skou, Maersk Drilling CEO Claus Hemmingsen, Maersk Oil CEO Jakob Thomasen and APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfer, Maersk said.
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