The affable and popular Sharaf, 54, spent 23 years at the group, 11 of them as ceo. His tenure has been regarded as highly successful, although annual revenues have been flat at around $3bn and the Nasdaq Dubai-traded stock is still worth only around three-quarters of its 2007 IPO value.
“It has been a very exciting journey and I am confident that the team will continue taking DP World to even greater heights,” Sharaf was quoted as saying in a DP World statement.
“I would like to thank Mohammed for his years of dedication and service to the Group. He has been an invaluable part of the success we have achieved and I wish him well for his retirement,” DP World chairman, Sultan bin Sulayem, said.
“The board has commenced a process to identify a permanent successor. Pending that appointment, the chairman of the company will carry out the group ceo’s duties and functions on an interim basis,” DP World said.
DP World's market capitalisation of $14.3bn makes it the company Dubai's most valuable. It owns a portfolio of more than 65 terminals across six continents.
It said last month it would invest around $1.9bn in two terminals in China. It is leading a supply-chain revolution in Europe through so-called London, Rotterdam and Antwerp Gateways.
In May, Sharaf, said that gross capacity was 72m teu across DP World’s portfolio, and enthusiastically vowed to double it to as much as 150m teu, a process likely to take a decade or more.
A DP World spokesman said Sharaf was likely to pursue “other opportunities”.
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