MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Highlighting Recent Industry Hires and Promotions

A.P. MollerMaersk has named company veteran Vincent Clerc as its new CEO. Clerc, currently head of Maersk’s ocean and logistics business, has worked for the Danish shipping group since 1998 and has held various roles in North America and Copenhagen. The executive took over on Jan. 1, 2023 from Soren Skou, who retired from the position after almost seven years.

“On the heels of a pandemic, and now with the war in Ukraine and an energy crisis upon us, there are many tough challenges ahead, challenges that impact us all and where Maersk can make a difference,” Clerc said. “Companies are rethinking their supply chains in this new environment, they are looking for more stability, and more support on their decarbonization journey. This represents an incredible business opportunity for Maersk that we all are eager to seize.”

APM Terminals Bahrain

Maureen Bannerman is moving on from her role as managing director of APM Terminals Bahrain, with chief financial officer Farooq Zuberi taking temporary charge from Jan. 1. APMT operates the multipurpose Khalifa Bin Salman Port, Bahrain’s sole commercial port and a major regional gateway for project cargo and breakbulk.

Bannerman joined APM Terminals in March 2021 after executive stints with Dubai Airports, Serco and Abu Dhabi Airports, among other companies. During her tenure, Bannerman oversaw a strategic and transformational agenda for the company, strengthened the management team and developed and promoted existing talent, APMT said.

Bechtel

Audrey Murillo has taken on a new role as senior estimator for U.S.based Bechtel’s manufacturing and technology business unit. The executive, who joined the company in 2011, had previously served as estimating lead for Bechtel Global Logistics and a senior T&L specialist.

At Breakbulk Americas 2022 in Houston, Murillo delivered a rousing speech to more than 120 participants at the Women in Breakbulk Breakfast, a popular event that gives female executives from across the supply chain the opportunity to connect with colleagues and share their experiences.

CakeBoxx Technologies

After two-anda-half years at Danish wind turbine supplier KK Wind Solutions, Breakbulk Europe Advisory Board member Thomas Sender Mehl has started a new position at CakeBoxx Technologies, heading up the U.S.based specialized transportation firm’s renewables division in Europe.

Mehl, who boasts more than 25 years’ experience in transport, logistics and supply chain, has also become a board member at Claviate, a tech start-up that uses its own IoT devices to collect visual data for the wind turbine industry. The executive told Breakbulk he was “excited” to begin this new chapter in his professional life and was looking forward to playing a leading role in the fastgrowing renewables sector.

Diplomat Freight Services

After more than 16 years at Antonov Airlines, Andriy Blagovisniy has started a new role as project cargo sales manager at Diplomat Freight Services UK. Antonov’s former commercial director has worked in the aviation and air charter business for 24 years, specializing in the transport of superheavy cargoes using iconic aircraft such as the AN-124 and AN-225.

“DFS invited me to join the team for development of the company’s business on air charters of oversized project cargo,” Blagovisniy told Breakbulk. “I have been dedicated to this industry for over 20 years and plan to use all my knowledge, experience and business relations with customers to achieve the most effective results in this area for DFS.”

Gac

Breakbulk specialist GAC has named Pontus Fredriksson as its new group president, taking over from Bengt Ekstrand. Fredriksson, who took the helm in January, joined GAC’s finance department in 2007 before becoming managing director of the company’s Bahrain office in

2015. He had been GAC’s group vice president for the Americas since mid2019.

Ekstrand himself, group president since January 2013, will assume the role of executive co-chairman alongside long-time executive chairman, Bjorn Engblom. According to GAC, Ekstrand finishes his decade-long tenure reporting record results in recent years.

Osprey

Wendy Kenny has been promoted to the role of chief operating officer at UK-based heavy transport specialist Osprey. The executive had served as Osprey’s commercial finance director since joining the group in mid-2021.

“My role involves being hands-on at every level. I want to be sure we can show our clients, multi-disciplinary expertise really does permeate through and across our business,” Kenny said.

“Over the last few years, for example, our projects have ranged from loading out the world’s largest tidal turbine off the Scottish coast, to bringing in the most powerful steam turbine down at Hinkley Point. But wherever we are working it is my responsibility to ensure we get every different strand of Osprey’s experience to the table, in the planning and execution of each project.”

Petrofac

Tareq Kawash is set to become Petrofac’s new CEO from April 2023 after Sami Iskander announced he would be stepping down from the role in March to pursue other interests. Kawash will join the UK-based oilfield services provider from

McDermott, where he currently serves as senior vice president for onshore and offshore.

“With 30 years’ international EPC leadership experience, and an impressive business development track record, Tareq is exceptionally well placed to build on the foundations laid by Sami. We look forward to welcoming him to Petrofac,” said Petrofac chairman, René Médori. Petrofac and McDermott are members of the Breakbulk Global Shipper Network.

Seko Logistics

Global logistics provider Seko Logistics has hired Hans Hickler as president of the Americas region. Hickler has worked with Seko for the past seven years through Ellipses Advisors, a firm that specializes in advising high performing CEOs and entrepreneurs.

Among his previous roles, Hickler served as CEO of Asia Pacific at Agility Logistics where he was responsible for more than 20 countries and 7,000 employees. “I could not be more pleased to bring Hans into this role. It requires the right business leader, global thinker, thought partner and entrepreneur – and Hans is all those things and more,” said James Gagne, president and CEO at Seko.

Siemens Gamesa

Wind engineering firm Siemens Gamesa, part of the Germany-based Siemens Group, has appointed

Christian Bruch as its new non-executive chairman, succeeding Miguel Ángel López. Bruch is currently president and CEO of Siemens Energy. Prior to that, the executive held various senior positions at companies such as Linde and renewable energy developer, RWE.

Siemens Gamesa, also a member of the Breakbulk Global Shipper Network, said the changeover was “the logical next step” in the potential takeover and subsequent integration of Siemens Gamesa into Siemens Energy.

UTC Overseas

UTC Overseas has hired former Tradelossa CEO Rafael de los Santos as its new heavy-haul business development director for North America. De los Santos will be based in Mexico focusing primarily on the region’s energy sector, and will work alongside Ivan Oceguera, UTC’s country manager in Mexico.

De los Santos announced in October he was moving on from Tradelossa, the Mexico-based, family-run heavy transport specialist where he had worked for more than 15 years – the last seven as CEO. Prior to that, de los Santos worked with GE in finance, marketing and production. The executive is also a board member with the Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association, or SC&RA, a U.S.-headquartered international trade group.