Green shipping activist Horst Joachim Schacht is stepping down from his long-time position running the ocean freight division of leading container shipper Kuehne+Nagel International.

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The 64-year-old German, who is better known as Otto, will retire as head of the division on 1 October.

His position will be taken by 39-year-old New Zealand national Michael Aldwell, who will assume responsibility for the business unit Sea Logistics.

Schacht has been a senior player in container shipping through a career spanning 26 years with Kuehne+Nagel, where he was a management board member since 2012.

He will remain in a consultancy role for Kuehne+Nagel helping to maintain long-standing relationships with liner operators and support the shipper’s sustainability programs.

Those are expected to include German liner companies Hapag-Lloyd whose board member Donya Amer described Schacht as “a role model for many”. It will also include Japan's Ocean Network Express (ONE) whose chief executive Jeremy Nixon praised Schacht for his “stellar industry career”.

Schacht's replacement Aldwell started his career in 2008 with Kuehne+Nagel in Auckland, New Zealand. He has worked in various international positions and was head of the northeast region of the USA.

Since January 2023, he has been based in Kuehne+Nagel’s headquarters in Schindellegi, Switzerland, responsible for Sea Logistics products, sales and marketing worldwide.

“Schacht for his many years of outstanding contributions to the development of Sea Logistics, our largest business unit. He has played a very significant role in the unit’s success,” said Kuehne+Nagel chairman Joerg Wolle.

Wolle added that Aldwell was “a proven executive from within our own ranks”.

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