Casjens leaves Hapag-Lloyd

Casjens leaves Hapag-Lloyd    Guenther Casjens, chief executive officer of Hapag-Lloyd Container Line and a member of the executive board of the Hapag-Lloyd AG group, will leave the German shipping group on March 1.
   Hapag-Lloyd said that Casjens “is leaving the company at his own request.”
   A spokesman for the company said that Hapag-Lloyd was surprised by his decision. Casjens' departure is not believed to reflect management problems, but a personal decision.
   Casjens, one of the best known senior executives in liner shipping, joined Hapag-Lloyd AG in 1974 and has been a member of the executive board since 1990. He was one of the founders of the Grand Alliance between Hapag-Lloyd and other carriers in the mid-1990s.
   “I greatly regret the decision, but must accept that Guenther Casjens has other plans,” said Michael Behrendt, group chairman of Hapag-Lloyd.
   He said Casjens intends “to remain linked with the company on an amicable basis.”
   Casjens will be succeeded on the executive board of the Hapag-Lloyd group by Adolf Adrion, managing director of Hapag-Lloyd Container Line. Adrion is also chairman of the Far Eastern Freight Conference.