Javier Suárez takes the helm at Knud E. Hansen

Javier Suárez

Javier Suárez has succeeded Finn Wollesen Petersen as managing director of Danish-based maritime consultancy Knud E. Hansen. The move is part of a planned process that has been taking place over the past months. During this time, Suárez and Wollesen Petersen have worked very closely together in order to facilitate a smooth transition.

Wollesen Petersen, who has served as managing director at Knud E. Hansen since 2003, will remain with the company. His focus will now be on coordinating its operations in the United States.

Spanish national Suárez joined Knud E. Hansen in 2017 as director operations. His maritime career began in 1995 when he graduated with an M.Sc. in naval architecture and marine engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. His career has included over a decade at the Astilleros de Huelva shipyard, where he held both commercial and technical roles. Following this, he served in commercial and senior management roles with Voith Schneider, including as vice president marine Americas for Voith Turbo.

Wollesen Petersen began his maritime career sailing aboard reefer and polar vessels before undertaking his education in mechanical engineering at Århus Teknikum. Following this, he worked internationally on a range of shipbuilding projects, specializing in HVAC, before joining Knud E. Hansen as managing director in 2003.

Since that time, the company has designed vessels and conversions for almost every sector of the maritime industry, gaining awards and global recognition along the way.

The two men have a long history of collaboration. One of Wollesen Petersen’s first projects at Knud E. Hansen was the design of a series of small RO/RO vessels operating in the Irish Sea for Seatruck. The vessels were constructed at the Astilleros de Huelva yard, where Suárez was commercial director at the time.

“It has been an honor to have had the opportunity to steer Knud E. Hansen over the past decades,” said Wollesen Petersen. “I’m grateful to be able to place the company into the capable hands of Javier. With his extensive knowledge of the industry, and his long experience at Knud E. Hansen I am confident in his ability to take the company forward in the coming years. I’m looking forward to supporting him in his efforts and to my new challenge of rebuilding our business in the United States. The coronavirus pandemic had an adverse effect on our, mainly cruise focused, operations in the country. My focus now will be bringing our activities back to their full potential.”

“I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to Finn for his hard work at Knud E. Hansen these past 22 years,” said Suárez. “He has successfully grown the company into an international organisation with a strong reputation. When Finn took on the role of managing director, we were a small business with one office in Copenhagen and around 20 employees. Today, we are an international operation with offices in Denmark, the Faroe Islands, United Kingdom, Spain, the U.S.A, and Australia, and over 100 employees. My role now is to continue this work, keeping Knud E. Hansen close to its clients around the world and maintaining our focus on the many maritime sectors we serve, including the passenger and offshore wind segments where we have enjoyed so many successes in recent years.”