Management & board of directors
At Danish Ship Finance, we distinguish between the Management Board and the Board of Directors. Therefore, the Members of our Management Board cannot be members of the Board of Directors. This two-tier structure is established to prevent dual memberships.
Read more
The Board of Directors defines the principles of Danish Ship Finance’s operations, while the Management Board is responsible for the day-to-day management.
The Board of Directors at Danish Ship Finance has twelve members. Eight of these are elected by the shareholders in the general meeting, and four are elected by the employees at Danish Ship Finance.
Management
Erik I. Lassen
Appointed CEO on 09.04.2008, employed since 1993.
Lars Jebjerg
Appointed as a member of the Management Board on 22.05.2018, employed since 2018.
Flemming Møller
Appointed as Executive Vice President on 01.01.2018, employed since 2012.
Board of Directors
Chairman
Eivind Kolding
Date of birth: 16 November 1959
Nationality: Danish
Considered to be an independent board member
Elected to the Board of Directors on 15 November 2016
Appointed by Danish Ship Finance Holding A/S
Competencies:
Broad knowledge of shipping and the maritime industry, macroeconomics, banking, credit, insurance and finance, financial risk management, regulation and general management of international business.
Deputy Chairman
PETER NYEGAARD
Date of birth: 16th May 1963
Nationality: Danish
Considered to be an independent board member
Elected to the Board of Directors on 15 November 2016
Appointed by Axcel
Competencies:
Broad knowledge of banking, finance, financial risk management, management of international companies, M&A, restructuring, operational efficiency and value proposition strategies.
Deputy Chairman
CIO Ahmed Omar
Member of the Audit Committee
Date of birth: 6th October 1986
Nationality: Egyptian
Considered to be an independent board member
Elected to the Board of Directors on 11 July 2024
Competencies:
Broad knowledge of banking, credit, capital markets, investment, M&A, restructuring, shipping and the maritime industry.
Member
Christian Frigast
Member of the Remuneration Committee
Date of birth: 23 November 1951
Nationality: Danish
Considered to be an independent board member
Elected to the Board of Directors on 15 November 2016
Appointed by Axcel
Competencies:
Broad knowledge of banking, finance, financial risk management, management of international companies, M&A, restructuring, operational efficiency and value proposition strategies.
Member
CEO Jacob Meldgaard
Member of the Remuneration Committee
Date of birth: 24 June 1968
Nationality: Danish
Considered to be an independent board member
Elected to the Board of Directors on 16 June 2017
Appointed by Danish Ship Finance Holding A/S
Competencies:
Broad experience concerning shipping and the maritime industry, management, investment, finance and restructuring of operations.
Member
DIRECTOR OMAR ELALI
Date of birth: 3rd February 1997
Nationality: Swedish
Considered to be a dependent board member
Elected to the Board of Directors on 11 July 2024
Competencies:
Broad knowledge of strategy, management, investment, finance, shipping and the maritime industry.
Member
Thor Jørgen Guttormsen
Member of the Remuneration Committee
Date of birth: 5 January 1949
Nationality: Norwegian
Considered to be an independent board member
Elected to the Board of Directors on 16 June 2017
Appointed by Danish Ship Finance Holding A/S
Competencies:
Broad knowledge of shipping and the maritime industry, management, investment, finance and restructuring of operations.
Member
Head of Innovation and Research Christopher Rex
Date of birth: 28 January 1979
Nationality: Danish
Elected to the Board of Directors on 29 March 2012
Competencies:
Broad knowledge of macroeconomics, financial risk management, international shipping, digitalisation and decarbonisation through his position as Head of Innovation and Research of Danish Ship Finance A/S.
Member
Senior Client Executive Marcus Freuchen Christensen
Date of birth: 20 November 1979
Nationality: Danish
Elected to the Board of Directors on 1 October 2021
Competencies:
Broad knowledge of the international banking and shipping markets, credit and ship finance.
Member
Head of Risk Management Andreas Hertz-Poulsen
Date of birth: 20 May 1986
Nationality: Danish
Elected to the Board of Directors on 19 March 2024
Competencies:
Broad knowledge of financial risk management including market risk, liquidity risk and operational risk, internal processes and process optimization as well as financial regulation of these areas through his position as Head of Risk Management.
Member
Senior Loan Manager Henriette Søgaard Fabricius
Date of birth: 22 March 1968
Nationality: Danish
Elected to the Board of Directors on 19 March 2024
Competencies:
Broad knowledge of ship finance, credit, customer administration, internal processes, and operational management through her position as Senior Loan Manager.
Audit committee
Danish Ship Finance has established an Audit Committee consisting of members of the Board of Directors. The Audit Committee consists of Group CIO Ahmed Omar, CFO & Partner Peter Nyegaard,
The Audit Committee is a preparatory and monitoring body. The committee holds three annual ordinary meetings, of which two meetings are taking place prior to the presentation of the annual and biannual reports. The audit committee reports to the Board of Directors, and the duties are defined to assist the Board of Directors in:
- Monitoring the financial reporting process
- Monitoring the efficiency of the company’s internal control system and risk management systems
- Monitoring the audit of the annual report
- Monitoring and verifying the independence of the auditors
Read the Audit Committee’s terms of reference (in Danish) here: The Audit Committee’s terms of reference
Remuneration committee
The Remuneration Committee operates as a preparatory committee for the Board of Directors with respect to matters concerning remuneration, focusing on the Board of Directors, the Executive Board, material risk takers, and other employees.
The Remuneration Committee monitors trends in salary and bonus policies and practices. It monitors the incentive programmes to ensure that they promote ongoing, long-term value creation as well as compliance with the Remuneration Policy. The members of the Remuneration Committee are Eivind Kolding (chairman), Christian Frigast, and Thor Jørgen Guttormsen.
Read the Remuneration Committee’s terms of reference (in Danish) here: The Remuneration Committee’s terms of reference