Maersk Drilling strengthens its board of directors

Maersk plans to separately list Maersk Drilling on Nasdaq Copenhagen during 2019, with the ambition of having the company ready to operate as an independent entity in due time before a listing.

All key management positions relevant for an independently listed company are now filled with CEO Jørn Madsen and CFO Jesper Ridder Olsen constituting the executive management. The board of directors has been strengthened, reflecting a vast knowledge, experience and insight into the financial, operational, commercial as well as safety aspects and opportunities in various industry business models. Furthermore, the directors possess significant in-depth understanding of the geo-political and macro-economic aspects of the offshore drilling industry and its customers.

The Board of Directors

The board of directors now consists of six members, whereof five will be proposed as members of the board of directors in the future listed company to be approved as part of the approval of the demerger. It is expected to expand the board of directors, when additional qualified and independent candidates have been identified. Current member, Mads Winther, Senior Vice President and Head of Strategy and M&A, Energy division, Maersk will not be proposed as member of the board of directors in the future listed company and will step down in connection with the listing.

Two employee representatives are expected to be elected prior to the planned listing for a term of four years and join the board of directors upon completion of the demerger.

Claus V. Hemmingsen (DK), Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2016, will continue as chairman. Mr Hemmingsen has 12 years of experience in the offshore drilling industry, as CEO of Maersk Drilling from 2005 to 2016 and as member of the board of directors since 2012. Mr Hemmingsen is Vice CEO and on the Executive Board of Maersk and has been on the Board of Directors of DFDS since 2012, serving as Chairman since 2017. He brings with him international management and board experience from both listed and non-listed companies and associations within the shipping and offshore industries.

Robert M. Uggla (SE) will be appointed Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr Uggla is CEO of A.P. Moller Holding and has more than 10 years of experience from CEO and management positions in the shipping and energy industries. Mr Uggla has been a member of the Board of Directors of Maersk since 2014. He is also Chairman of A.P. Møller Capital and Maersk Tankers and Director of the Foundation Board for IMD.

Together, Mr Hemmingsen and Mr Uggla, will constitute the Chairmanship.

In addition to the Chairmanship, the following other directors have been appointed:

Kathleen McAllister (US), former Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and board member of Transocean Partners LLC, where she played an instrumental role in the formation of the company and led the company’s IPO. She brings with her three decades of management experience from the oil and gas services business within the fields of corporate finance, risk, financial reporting, tax, M&A, investments, governance and capital market transactions. Ms McAllister serves on the boards at QMax Solutions and Höegh LNG Partners.

Robert Routs (NL), former Executive Director of Royal Dutch Shell brings with him extensive technical, commercial and managerial experience from more than 30 years in the international oil and gas, chemical, renewables and trading industry, including management positions in listed companies. Mr Routs has been a member of the Board of Directors of Maersk since 2010.

Martin N. Larsen (DK), CFO of A.P. Moller Holding brings with him CFO and managerial experience from the offshore service industry, vast experience within corporate finance, M&A and treasury from previous and current corporate positions, as well as board experience from a broad spectrum of industries.

“I am very pleased that Claus Hemmingsen has accepted to remain Chairman of Maersk Drilling after a planned listing. Claus is highly recognized in the offshore industry for his sound values, successful executive leadership and deep domain expertise, and has the relevant experience of being Chairman of a listed company. In addition to Claus, Maersk Drilling has successfully attained several other, highly capable directors with relevant and complementing capabilities. The Maersk Drilling Board of Directors is currently reviewing whether to nominate additional independent directors after a listing to strengthen it further,” Mr Uggla said.

The Board of Directors will be established with the following committees and members:

Audit and Risk Committee

Kathleen McAllister (Chair), Martin N. Larsen and Robert Routs will be the members of the Audit and Risk Committee. Between them, the members of the Audit and Risk Committee possess the relevant financial, accounting, audit and sector skills.

Nomination Committee 

Robert M. Uggla (Chair) and Claus V. Hemmingsen will be the members of the Nomination Committee.

Remuneration Committee 

Claus V. Hemmingsen (Chair), Robert M. Uggla and Robert Routs will be the members of the Remuneration Committee.

Safety & Sustainability Committee

Claus V. Hemmingsen (Chair), Robert Routs and one more director will be the members of the Safety & Sustainability Committee.

Further information on the Board of Directors and its committees will be available in due time before the demerger on www.maerskdrilling.com.

Financial information

Maersk Drilling will publish a consolidated annual report for 2018 on February 7, 2019. Further details regarding timing of publication and briefing will be communicated in due time before the publication.

Further details on the separate listing will be announced at a later stage.