Hapag-Lloyd AG has confirmed that Dr Maximilian Rothkopf, Chief Operating Officer (COO), will leave the carrier’s Executive Board by mutual agreement on 30 June 2026.
He will stay on in an advisory role during the transition, with his replacement to be announced at a later date by the Supervisory Board.
Dr Rothkopf took up his board position on 1 May 2019 and assumed full operational responsibility for the company’s global shipping business two months later.
His tenure saw Hapag-Lloyd grow its fleet to roughly 300 vessels with a capacity of approximately 2.5 million TEUs, while also accelerating efforts to decarbonise its operations, an agenda that has become central to the wider container shipping industry as regulatory pressure intensifies.
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Karl Gernandt, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Hapag-Lloyd AG, paid tribute to his departing COO: “Over the past seven years, Dr. Rothkopf has shown great enthusiasm and commitment, such as in helping to modernise and gradually decarbonise Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet. It is also thanks to him that Hapag-Lloyd now has a modern fleet of around 300 ships with a capacity of approximately 2.5 million TEU.
“He played a key role in the company’s strategic realignment and in the sustained improvement of its operational performance. The Supervisory Board would like to express its sincere gratitude to Dr. Rothkopf for his dedication and for a collaboration marked by a high degree of trust, and it wishes him all the best for his professional and personal future.”
For more information:
Hapag-Lloyd – https://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/home.html
