Svitzer, the towage arm of Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk, announced two senior leadership appointments: Kasper Karlsen as Global Chief Operating Officer and Deniz Kirdar True as Managing Director in the AMEA region.
Karlsen has held different leadership positions in the A.P. Moller-Maersk group over the last 15 years and has been with Svitzer since 2020, holding the role of regional COO in Europe and standing in as UK Managing Director following the merger of the UK North and South clusters in June 2022. He will begin his new role as global COO from December 1, 2022.
True has worked in shipping for almost 20 years, joining Svitzer in 2014 as COO in the Europe region and held the role of Head of Operational Excellence before moving to the Australia region as General Manager for the East Coast in 2020. She will take over as Managing Director of the AMEA region effective February 1, 2023..
Karlsen said, “I’m excited to have an opportunity to step up from regional to global COO. The European region has recently been deeply involved in strategic projects that will also affect other markets in the coming years. I look forward to applying this experience to my new role. Helping to shape the future of Svitzer’s global operations with the aim of delivering excellent service while further progressing our environmental responsibility will be an exciting challenge.”
True said, “It will be an honor to lead the AMEA region and I look forward to working with the team to continue providing safe and sustainable marine services and meet the evolving needs of our customers. I am excited to create opportunities for our employees to learn, grow and thrive, play a part in value creation for our customers and the communities we serve, and contribute to achieving Svitzer’s growth ambitions in the region.”
Kasper Nilaus, CEO at Svitzer, said, “I am delighted to welcome Deniz and Kasper to their new roles as part of the global leadership team. It is an exciting time for Svitzer, as we strive to continue meeting our customers’ changing demands, deliver an excellent service while also ensuring safe, reliable and efficient operations. Both Kasper and Deniz will be central to these aims, bringing their established knowledge of Svitzer and their excellent leadership skills and strong people focus to their new roles.”