The boards of Maersk Line and the Oetker Group have made a number of changes to the senior management of Hamburg Süd, subject to the closing of Maersk’s acquisition of the German shipping line.

Ottmar Gast will retire as chairman of the executive board and become chairman of Hamburg Süd’s supervisory board.

Søren Toft, chief operating officer of Maersk Line, will become a member of Hamburg Süd’s supervisory board.

Arnt Vespermann will become the new chairman of Hamburg Süd’s executive board. He will also be in charge of compliance, corporate communication and Columbus Ship Management.

Jakob Wegge-Larsen, who is currently CFO of Maersk Line Operations, will join Hamburg Süd’s executive board and be responsible for finance and accounting, controlling and information technology and services.

“We have strong confidence in the Hamburg Süd management board and like to thank Ottmar Gast for his continued and valuable involvement after closing,” said Søren Skou, chief executive officer of Maersk Line. “We also look forward to welcoming all our future colleagues into the Maersk family and together build an even stronger company.”

To ensure a smooth transition of business operations, the two shipping lines will set up a joint team, headed by Lars Mikael Jensen from Maersk Line and Michael Triskatis from Hamburg Süd.

The acquisition is expected to be closed in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to Maersk.