About Nils Smedegaard Andersen: An economist by education, Nils S. Andersen has been CEO of the Maersk Group since 2007. He has focused on international growth and increased competitiveness, and has simplified governance so that business units are fully accountable for their performance. The overall aim is to grow profitably and further stabilise the Group’s earnings.
Under Nils S. Andersen’s leadership, the Group has built five world-class, stand-alone business units within shipping and energy. The Group now has a more focused portfolio and leaner organisation, and it has increased its transparency and communication with stakeholders.
He travels widely to meet customers and share his views on trade and infrastructure and how this can lay the foundations for growth across the world, spending much of his time in growth markets which require modern ports and transportation links to continue their development. Nils S. Andersen is particularly concerned with the safety and motivation of employees and meets regularly with them in offices around the world.
Nils S. Andersen, who is also Chairman of the Dansk Supermarked Group and a member of the board of fashion retailer Inditex, started his career as a controller with Nordic Sugar in 1982. He soon switched to the Carlsberg brewery group, where he held a number of market focused positions before becoming the Executive Vice President and later CEO. In this role, he led a number of acquisitions and market entries and headed a number of other group-wide initiatives.
