Carlsberg CEO resigns
Lo and behold: taking several steps up the career ladder, Nils S. Andersen, CEO of Carlsberg, resigned after six years at the helm to become CEO of the Danish A.P. Möller-Maersk group, which owns the world’s largest shipping company.
As was reported by the Danish media on 22 June 2007, Nils Andersen, 48, will succeed the CEO of Maersk, Jess Söderberg, 62, two years earlier than planned. The A.P. Möller-Group has an annual turnover of EUR 35.6 billion and is the largest industrial company in Denmark. Andersen must have seemed a natural fit for Möller-Maersk as Danish companies prefer to recruit their leaders domestically.
According to media reports, profits at Maersk, controlled by 93-year-old billionaire Maersk Mc-Kinney Moeller, have fallen for two years even as sales have risen. Shipping rates dropped last year as competitors raced to meet growing demand, particularly in China.
To Carlsberg, the resignation of its CEO came as a total surprise. The financial markets did not like the news either. Shares in the companies closed down slightly lower than on the previous day. “Andersen is a surprising choice and not necessarily an ideal one,” said Stephen Rammer, an analyst with Alm who was quoted widely.
Andersen will move to Maersk by 1 December 2007 and will lead a company with a market value of DKR 288 billion, more than five times the size of Carlsberg.
