Wallem Group names new CEO

John Rowley [Photo: Wallem]

John Rowley has been appointed CEO of the Hong Kong headquartered Wallem Group. He succeeds John-Kaare Aune, who is stepping aside from the role and will leave Wallem in January 2024.

Rowley is currently senior vice president global food and transportation Divisions at NSF International, prior to which he was CEO SAI Global Assurance following eight years on the executive team at the Lloyd’s Register Group, as CEO Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) as well as the Lloyd’s Register Group’s Asia Pacific president.

“We are delighted to appoint John Rowley as Wallem Group’s next CEO with his experience in, and understanding of, the global maritime industry and his successful track record of accelerating revenue growth across a number of industry sectors,” said Wallem Group chairman Nigel Hill. “The Wallem Board and I look forward to working with him to ensure the success of the next stage of Wallem’s journey.’

Hill thanked outgoing CEO John-Kaare Aune for his leadership and dedication over the past three years.

“We are grateful for his hard work and commitment in stabilizing Wallem’s operations and positioning the company for growth after what has been a challenging time for the maritime industry.” he said. “We respect John’s decision, and he leaves with our thanks and best wishes for the future.”

“It was a difficult decision to step aside as the Wallem Group CEO,” said Aune. “However, with operations having normalized after the impact of the pandemic, I felt that the time was right. Now that my successor has been identified, I will be exploring new opportunities. It has been an honour to have had the opportunity to be part of the Wallem Group, we have improved client service levels, continued the digitalization of the company services, and set the foundation for Wallem’s journey towards decarbonization.”