Shipping group Stolt-Nielsen said on Wednesday its chief executive officer Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen would step down from his role after spending about 22 years at the helm.
He has served as CEO of Stolt-Nielsen since November 2000 and has been a director since 1996. Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen joined the company in 1990.
“I feel now is the right time for me to step aside and let a fresh pair of hands take the company forward,” Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen said in a statement.
“I am announcing my intention today to allow the board sufficient time to appoint my successor and to allow for a smooth handover,” he said.
He would continue as CEO and as a director on the board until Stolt-Nielsen completes the appointment process for a successor.
“The intention is that once a suitable replacement is found, Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen will assume the role of chairman of the board of directors, subject to shareholder approval, replacing Samuel Cooperman,” Stolt-Nielsen said in the statement.
Cooperman has served as chairman since 2016 and would remain as a board director, chairman of the audit committee and a member of the compensation committee.
Stolt-Nielsen is a long-term investor and manager of businesses in logistics, distribution, and aquaculture.
The Stolt-Nielsen portfolio consists of its three global bulk liquid and chemicals logistics businesses – Stolt Tankers, Stolthaven Terminals and Stolt Tank Containers – Stolt Sea Farm and investments in LNG.
Also, the firm is the largest shareholder in London-based small-scale player Avenir LNG, along with Hoegh and Golar. Stolt-Nielsen has 2.50 percent ownership of Golar as well, according to its website.
