Wallem Group is to have a new chief executive in the New Year after present incumbent John-Kaare Aune announced he was leaving the Hong Kong ship manager.
He is due to leave the company in January 2024 after a period of transition. His replacement has been named as John Rowley.
Aune joined Wallem in 2019 as managing director of ship management, before being appointed as group chief executive in January 2021.
Prior to Wallem, he was regional director for the Asia-Pacific region at the Cayman Registry following a time at the Norwegian Maritime Directorate.
Aune described his decision to leave Wallem as difficult, but that he felt it was the right time and that he would now be exploring new opportunities.
“It was a difficult decision to step aside as the Wallem Group CEO,” he said. “However, with operations having normalised after the impact of the pandemic, I felt that the time was right.
“It has been an honour to have had the opportunity to be part of the Wallem Group, we have improved client service levels, continued the digitalisation of the company services, and set the foundation for Wallem’s journey towards decarbonisation.”
Wallem Group chairman Nigel Hill said the company was grateful for his hard work and commitment to stabilising Wallem’s operations and positioning the organisation for growth after what has been a challenging time for the maritime industry.
“We respect John’s decision, and he leaves with our thanks and best wishes for the future,” he said.
New chief executive Rowley currently works at public health and safety organisation NSF, prior to which he was chief executive of SAI Global Assurance following eight years on the executive team at the Lloyds Register Group, as chief executive of Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) as well as the group’s Asia-Pacific president.
On Rowley’s appointment, Hill highlighted his “experience in, and understanding of, the global maritime industry and his successful track record of accelerating revenue growth across a number of industry sectors”.
