MSC CEO Soren Toft elected chair of WSCMSC CEO Soren Toft elected chair of WSC

In addition to MSC’s Toft taking up the role of chairman at WSC the group announced with Wan Hai Lines’ vice chair, elected to the position of vice chair..

The elected positions are for two-year periods with the previous incumbents Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO at Hapag-Lloyd, and Jeremy Nixon, CEO at ONE, having each served two, two-year terms.

Joe Kramek, the President and CEO of WSC, who was appointed to his position last summer, said of the two men: “Both are esteemed leaders with a proven track record of driving innovation and sustainability in the global shipping industry. Their experience and expertise will be instrumental in continuing to develop the World Shipping Council as the united voice of liner shipping.”

Soren Toft when previously at Maersk was seen as a possible successor to Soren Skou, however, in a surprise move he left the company in 2020, joining the Dane’s competitor, and soon to be former alliance partner, MSC on the 1 December in that year.

“An ever-changing world presents both challenges and opportunities for our industry as we head into the future, and I am eager to further advance our work to shape the future growth of a socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, safe and secure shipping industry,” said Toft.

Liner shipping faces a number of major challenges in 2025, including the introduction of more stringent emissions regulations, the reforming of alliances and the major influx of new tonnage into a faltering economic climate which faces its own geopolitical challenges in the Middle East and Ukraine.

However, the geopolitical crises and the pandemic proved to be lucrative for the carriers, boosting profits by billions of dollars, allowing the carriers the financial headroom to meet the technical and regulatory changes that are currently under way.