Jon Lewis to chair ABP board from September

The appointment will be considered at ABP’s board meeting in September, when Nolan will formally step down from the role. ABP said the board will work with the outgoing and incoming Chairs on a handover plan ahead of the meeting to support a smooth transition.

Lewis has experience in the energy, engineering and construction sectors, including as CEO at AmecFosterWheeler plc Capita plc, and currently serves as a non-executive director of Equinor where he chairs the Safety, Sustainability and Ethics Committee.

ABP chair designate, Jon Lewis, said: “I’m excited to be taking on the Chair role at Associated British Ports. As an island nation, ports have been vital to the UK for millennia. But their importance and contribution has never been greater as they maintain their historic role as our main gateways for global trade and play an increasingly pivotal new role as enablers of the energy transition.

Outgoing ABP Chair, Dr Phil Nolan, said: “I’m delighted to be passing the tiller over to Jon, who brings a great combination of senior leadership in relevant sectors, technical understanding and experience of steering businesses through transformation to growth. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time at ABP. It’s been a great privilege to be Chair and I’m proud of what the business has achieved through testing times. The foundations have been laid for a strong and sustainable future and I’m confident that Jon will take it from strength to strength.”

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Henrik L. Pedersen, CEO of ABP, said: “The Board and Company of ABP extends its huge thanks to Phil for successfully steering ABP through seven transformational years as Chair, during which Phil has steered ABP through the challenges of the COVID pandemic, Brexit and major global supply chain upheavals. Despite these challenges ABP has continued to grow and thrive, with the Board under Phil’s leadership supporting a programme of ambitious investment and increased involvement with the green energy sector.

“We look forward to welcoming Jon as Chair. His deep experience of businesses in the major infrastructure and capital projects delivery sectors will be invaluable to ABP. In particular his engagement with the energy transition through his roles at AmecFosterWheeler and Equinor is directly applicable to ABP’s green growth mission, a key to our future success.”