Maersk hires new CFO

Carolina Dybeck Happe succeeds Jakob Stausholm, who resigned as chief financial officer of the Danish shipping conglomerate in March.    A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S has hired Carolina Dybeck Happe as its new chief financial officer.
   She succeeds Jakob Stausholm, who resigned as group CFO, chief strategy and transformation officer, and registered director of the Danish shipping conglomerate in March.
   Dybeck Happe joins Maersk from Swedish lock manufacturer ASSA ABLOY, where she also served as CFO and is credited with playing “a key role in the company’s development from a regional player to its current global leading position with annual sales of $8 billion and 47,000 employees.”
   Maersk Group CEO Soren Skou said of the appointment, “Carolina Dybeck Happe brings significant experience from a company with a strong organic and acquisition growth record. In her tenure as CFO, Carolina Dybeck Happe has created substantial shareholder value, successfully streamlined processes and driven the digital agenda in a well-reputed, global company. She draws on a skill set that will benefit our organization and continued business transformation.”
   The latest news comes as the company is in the midst of a massive restructuring that has seen it divest units related to oil and gas and energy in an effort to focus on its core transportation and logistics offerings, as well as a company-wide initiative to provide fully integrated, technologically enabled supply chain solutions.
   The goal of the initiative is for Maersk to become a “global integrator of container logistics” by providing simple end-to-end transportation services that will make it possible for customers of all sizes to arrange transportation by dealing only with Maersk, including inland transport, custom house brokerage, financing of goods, insurance, and consolidation, among other things.
   Christian Pedersen, head of trade and marketing for Maersk Line North America, told American Shipper in an interview earlier this year the carrier aims to make the process of moving a container with Maersk “as easy as it is to buy a pair of sneakers online.”
   “It’s not about creating a one-size-fits-all solution, because customers are all different; they have different needs and expectations,” he said. “It’s about creating a one-stop shop for customers of all sizes. It’s all about creating value.”
   A.P. Møller – Mærsk last month posted an underlying loss for the first quarter of 2018 of $239 million despite a 10 percent increase in revenues from continuing operations, results Skou deemed “unsatisfactory.”