Thomas Wilhelmsen

Thomas Wilhelmsen (born 3 July 1974) is a Norwegian shipping magnate. He is one of the owners and the current chief executive officer of Wilh. Wilhelmsen, one of the world's largest shipping companies with 21,000 employees in 75 countries.

Wilh. Wilhelmsen

He is the son of the company's former CEO and President Morten Wilhelm Wilhelmsen, who became one of the company's main owners along with his siblings on the death of their father Tom Wilhelmsen in 1978. Thomas Wilhelmsen belongs to the fifth generation of the Wilhelmsen family. He holds a degree in business administration.[1][2][3] In 2018 Wilhelmsen announced a joint venture with the Norwegian high tech company Kongsberg Gruppen focused on autonomous vessels.[4]

Ownership feud

Thomas Wilhelmsen owns the company with six cousins, an aunt and his two sisters. In 2020 seven female family members who own 60% of the family's capital in the company launched a battle for control over the Wilhelmsen company, and argued that they as women lack influence in the company because of a patriarchal ownership structure.[5][6][7] In September 2020 his female relatives offered Wilhelmsen $353 million for his shares.[8] According to Dagens Næringsliv the female relatives accused him of presiding over "a negative corporate culture where one person controls everything, weak corporate governance and an outdated ownership structure that deprives the real owners of control."[9][10][11][12][13] Thomas Wilhelmsen has disputed that the corporate model is based on male preference, and rejected the offer from the female relatives.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Fra far til sønn i 150 år (Dagens Næringsliv)
  2. ↑ 25 unge lovende: Femte generasjon Wilhelmsen (Dagens Perspektiv, 2005)
  3. ↑ "Wilhelmsen targets growth and technology | TradeWinds". TradeWinds | Latest shipping and maritime news.
  4. ↑ Wilhelmsen og Kongsberg samarbeider om autonom skipsfart (Maritimt)
  5. ↑ "Strid om norsk storrederi: Kusiner vil købe arving og topchef ud – »Vi ønsker at være med til at bestemme«". Berlingske Tidende. 2020-10-06.
  6. ↑ "Familieopprør i rederiet". Dagens Næringsliv. 2020-02-15.
  7. ↑ "Familieopprør i Wilh. Wilhelmsen, femte generasjon vil fornye eierstruktur og styringsmodell". Finansavisen. 2020-02-09. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020.
  8. 1 2 Segrov, Bjørn (17 September 2020). "Thomas Wilhelmsen avviser bud fra kusinene". finansavisen.no.
  9. ↑ "Family feud for control of the Wilhelmsen empire makes headlines". Splash247. September 18, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Wilhelmsen heirs offer to buy out CEO and family". ShippingWatch. September 18, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Relatives offer Thomas Wilhelmsen $353m to quit family firms | TradeWinds". TradeWinds | Latest shipping and maritime news.
  12. ↑ Ravn, Linn Karen; Skaalmo, Gøran (September 23, 2020). "Stjerneforvalter om Wilh. Wilhelmsen: – Den strukturen som er i dag er en anakronisme". www.dn.no.
  13. ↑ Ravn, Linn Karen; Skaalmo, Gøran (September 18, 2020). "Tilbyr rederisjef 3,2 milliarder for å forlate selskapet". www.dn.no.
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