Andersen to take Maersk reigns earlier than planned

Andersen to take Maersk reigns earlier than planned A.P. Moller-Maersk has brought forward by a month the planned start date of Nils Smedegaard Andersen as group chief executive officer.

Nils Anderson

   The former head of Danish brewery Carlsberg will replace Jess S'derberg on Nov. 5 instead of Dec. 1 as previously announced. At the same time Andersen will withdraw from the Maersk board of directors while S'derberg, who had initially planned to retire in 2009, will then give up all managerial responsibilities.
   The Copenhagen-based group announced Andersen’s appointment in June as part of a major management reshuffle which immediately ended the Maersk careers of Knud E. Stubkj'r, joint CEO of Maersk Line, and Tommy Thomsen, CEO of APM Terminals.
   Stubkj'r, Thomsen and S'derberg are thought to have paid the price for instigating the takeover of P&O Nedlloyd in 2005, which contributed to the world’s largest container operator posting a loss of $568 million last year.
   Last week Maersk Line reported a first half loss of $168 million, an improvement over the $607 million deficit from the first six months of 2006.