Hyundai Merchant Marine Could Get First Foreign CEO

South Korean shipping company Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) might get its first foreign Chief Executive Officer (CEO) once the company officially becomes a subsidiary of the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) at the beginning of August, The Korea Times reports.

KDB and the remaining creditors plan to appoint the new leadership at HMM on August 5, once the Hyundai Group officially hands over the carrier to the new owners.

The creditors have already appointed several executive search firms to find a new CEO for HMM, and they are not limiting the search to South Korea.

KDB Chairman Lee Dong-geol said that the number one criterion for the appointment of the new CEO will be performance, adding that the new head could be a person which previously had no connections to HMM.

The statement has led to speculations that HMM might get its new CEO from Maersk’s or Mediterannean Shipping Company’s executive ranks. HMM last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding to join Maersk and MSC in the 2M vessel-sharing alliance.

The company signed the MOU following agreements with bond-holders to adjust debt and shipowners to adjust charter-hire.

HMM thus completed all conditions set out in the voluntary agreement with creditors from March 2016. As part of the takeover, the creditors will convert their bonds into equity and thus keep the company afloat until a normalization plan for the company is made.

World Maritime News Staff