ABS names Wiernicki CEO

ABS names Wiernicki CEO    Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS president and chief operating officer, will become the classification society's chief executive officer following its annual meeting in April.
   Robert D. Somerville will give up his CEO responsibilities, while remaining chairman of both ABS and the ABS Group of Cos.
   Wiernicki, a member of the ABS board, has worked closely with Somerville for the last four years in his position as president and COO. The role of CEO will be in addition to Wiernicki's existing responsibilities, ABS said.
   Wiernicki has held a number of other senior positions within the organization, including president and COO of ABS Europe Ltd.; and chief technology officer, president and COO of ABS Group. He joined ABS in 1993 as vice president of engineering within the ABS Americas Division. Prior to ABS, he was president and CEO of Designers and Planners Inc., one of the leading naval architecture firms in the United States.