Esvagt elects interim CEO, sees chairman step down

Danish shipowner Esvagt has named Kristian Ole Jakobsen as the interim CEO following the departure of the former CEO to Blue Water Shipping. Company chairman to step down at the end of December.

Esvagt said on Wednesday that current COO, Jakobsen, would take over as interim CEO effective December 20. Former CEO, Søren Nørgaard Thomsen, who left he company following seven years of service took on the position of Blue Water Shipping CEO.

Jakobsen joined Esvagt in 2007 from A.P. Moller Maersk where he held a number of managerial positions. He started his career at Esvagt as a chief technical officer and was promoted to COO in 2013.

“Kristian is the ideal person to lead the company through its transition period due to his in-depth knowledge and experience of ESVAGT over the last ten years. He knows the organization extremely well and has played a key role in ESVAGT’s continued development within the oil & gas industry as well as its successful entry into the offshore wind industry,” said 3i Infrastructure plc and AMP Capital, ESVAGT’s shareholders.

“We are currently focused on finding the right person for the permanent CEO role, and we are delighted to have Kristian Ole Jakobsen leading the company in the interim alongside a highly capable senior management team.”

Regarding his appointment, Jakobsen said: “Despite the recent challenging oil & gas market conditions, Esvagt still has many exciting opportunities in the pipeline. In all aspects, it will be business as usual.”

Apart from the CEO change, Jesper T. Lok will step down as chairman at the end of December. During his time as chairman, Lok led the company through a challenging period which encompassed one of the worst offshore oil & gas markets in recent history.

Lok said: “Over the past couple of years, we have navigated Esvagt through a historical downturn in the oil and gas markets. It has been a pleasure to see how robust Esvagt’s business model and organization has been in these turbulent times, and a particular privilege to work with the team on cementing our position in the rapidly growing offshore wind segment. It is always sad to say goodbye, but I have concluded that the time is right for a new chairman to appoint the new CEO and lead the next stage of the company’s development.”

Esvagt added that the company was in the process of identifying a new chairman.