Sartini takes over from Ng Yat Chung, who has held the position since 2011. Both Sartini and Corbel are also executive directors of the reconstituted NOL board. Ng will continue as an executive director and serve as special adviser to board chairman Rodolphe Saadé, who is also vice chairman of CMA CGM.
The musical boardroom chairs comes just days after CMA CGM assumed control of NOL after majority investor Temasek and its affiliates accepted CMA CGM’s $2.4 billion offer for NOL and its container unit APL.
Saadé succeeds Kwa Chong Seng, who served as NOL board chairman for five years. Kwa will remain an independent director.
“Moving forward, NOL will benefit greatly from the depth and breadth of Rodolphe’s experience. His leadership will bring fresh perspectives to help navigate our container shipping line, APL, through uncharted waters ahead,” Kwa said.
NOL could use all the help it can get after four consecutive annual losses. Ng said in a recent interview that NOL was unable to cut costs fast enough, and without the scale needed to compete on costs selling the company was the best option.
Saadé said APL’s extensive global footprint would be a huge asset as it took the business forward as part of the CMA CGM Group. He said Ng’s stewardship laid the groundwork for APL to compete as a key ocean carrier with access to major trade lanes across the world.
“The NOL Group has the keen expertise and solid foundation that we will continue to build on. Together with Nicolas and Serge, as well as my fellow board members, I look forward to working closely with the management and staff of the NOL Group to lead APL to greater success in the future,” he said.
CMA CGM last week announced a joint venture with terminal operator PSA International to lease and operate four container berths in the port of Singapore. The JV will be owned 49 percent by the French line and 51 percent by Temasek, the sole owner of PSA.
With an estimated annual handling capacity of over 3 million twenty-foot-equivalent units, the JV's facilities will be used as a dedicated container terminal for CMA CGM and its liner shipping affiliates, according to Alphaliner.
NOL’s liner shipping unit APL conducts the main business of the group and CMA CGM believes the acquisition will enable the French line to reinforce its position as a leader in the container shipping industry with a capacity of almost 2.4 million TEUs, a market share of 11.7 percent, a fleet of 540 vessels and a combined annual turnover of around $21 billion.
