Maersk’s Søren Toft Leaves, Company Looking for New COO

Danish shipping major A.P. Møller – Mærsk revealed a sudden departure of Chief Operating Officer, Søren Toft, as he decided to pursue an opportunity outside of the company.

Toft left his position effective November 11, Maersk said, adding that the responsibilities as Chief Operating Officer would in the interim be taken on by Søren Skou effective immediate.

The Executive Board will hereafter consist of Søren Skou, CEO and interim COO, Carolina Dybeck Happe, CFO, Vincent Clerc, CCO, and Morten Engelstoft, CEO of APM Terminals.

“I have worked with Søren for many years, and I appreciate Søren’s many contributions to A.P. Moller – Maersk. He leaves an agile and strong operating organization and we all wish Søren the very best in the future,” Søren Skou, CEO of A.P. Moller – Maersk, said.

Toft has held various commercial and operational roles both in Copenhagen, Germany and Indonesia before he was appointed Head of Network Planning in Maersk Line. A position he held until 2014, where he was appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) in Maersk Line and held the responsibility of global operations for the liner businesses with the goal of providing the most reliable and efficient service for customers.

He has also overseen the acquisition and integration of Germany’s Hamburg Süd, a deal which closed in the fourth quarter of 2017. Toft handled the negotiations with the German line’s owners, the Oetker family, and helped broker the arrangement that provided Maersk with a market-leading combined fleet capacity of 4.15 million TEU.