Investment firm Navigare Capital Partners makes changes to its board as Maersk profile Lars-Erik Brenøe resigns as chair. Former CEO of Denmark’s Export Credit Agency is appointed to the board.
Prominent Maersk profile Lars-Erik Brenøe has stepped down as chair at maritime investment company Navigare Capital Partners, of which Robert Mærsk Uggla is the main owner.
Brenøe will be replaced as chair by Martin Nørkjær Larsen, who was already part of the board and who moreover holds board seats at companies such as Skuld, Maersk Tankers and Maersk Drilling.
With Jesper and Kirstine on board, we will have two people who can more naturally put themselves in the shoes of investors
Henrik Ramskov, managing partner, Navigare Capital Partners
The four-person board of directors gains a new member, too: Kirstine Damkjær, former chief executive of Denmark’s Export Credit Agency (EKF), who is currently also part of the boards of pension provider Pensiondanmark – which has investments in Navigare’s two funds – as well as Bladt Industries and Bankinvest.
Moreover, she has previously worked at companies such as International Finance Corporation and World Bank Treasury.
The remaining board is made up of Finn Louis Meyer and Jesper Langmack. Langmack, who has had a long career in asset management at major pension providers like PFA and Danica, now employed by private equity firm Polaris, took up his board seat last year.
”Natural change”
To WPO, Managing Partner Henrik Ramskov says the board’s reshuffle is a ”natural change” to the team’s make-up, with Brenøe having been ”a very important person” during Navigare’s first five years of operation.
With Damkjær and Langmack’s appointments, Navigare has sought to strengthen its board in terms of securing fresh capital for future funds, and it will look abroad going forward.
”With Jesper and Kirstine on board, we will have two people who can more naturally put themselves in the shoes of investors because they have both been in those position and can see the opportunities, occasions for adjustments and changes to our strategy it will provide,” Ramskov tells WPO.
Brenøe has been a Maersk employee for just over 30 years, currently holding the title of executive vice president. He also holds seats on several boards of directors, including at firms A.P. Møller Holding, Maersk Broker and Danske Bank.
Navigare is an investment company, which currently manages two shipping funds invested in by Danish pension providers Pensiondanmark, Danica Pension and Lægernes Pension. The company also has ”additional investors, also internationally,” Ramskov says, though not disclosing any names.
The total fleet consists of 21 ships, according to the company’s website.
Navigare as a company booked a pre-tax profit of DKK 30.5m (USD 4.5m) for 2021, an improvement from DKK 17.5m the year before. The company expects to secure a profit of DKK 10-15m before taxes in 2022, according to its latest financial report.
Navigare was established in 2017 and is owned by a circle of partners in which Maersk heir Robert Mærsk Uggla is the main owner.
