WSC Elects New Chair
The World Shipping Council (WSC) Board of Directors has elected Soren Toft, CEO of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, as the new Chair of the World Shipping Council Board.
“It is an honor to step into the role of Chair for the World Shipping Council and to represent the global liner shipping industry alongside our members. WSC is today a respected voice of liner shipping, engaging with governments and organizations globally,” said Toft.
“An ever-changing world presents both challenges and opportunities for our industry as we head into the future, and I am eager to further advance our work to shape the future growth of a socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, safe and secure shipping industry.”
Toft has been Chief Executive Officer of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company since December 2020. He oversees all MSC’s global cargo businesses including the ocean liner MSC, the logistics activities of MEDLOG, the MSC Air Cargo planes, through to the towage activities of MedTug and Log-in Logistica among others.
He is Chair of the Board of Directors of the World Shipping Council, and a member of the Board of Directors of Terminal Investment Ltd (TiL), the terminals business which is majority-owned by MSC.
Before joining MSC, he was Chief Operating Officer and a Member of the Executive Board at Maersk. During his time at Maersk from 1994, he held various leadership positions in Europe and Asia. Soren was also Chairman of Hamburg Süd, Maersk Oil Trading and Maersk Container Industry.
Toft holds an executive MBA from IMD (International Institute for Management Development) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Randy Chen, Vice Chairman of Wan Hai Lines, has been elected Vice Chair.
Chen is responsible for the International Business Development functions of Wan Hai Lines across different departments, including joint-venture efforts with other lines, long-term investments, port/terminal relations and investor relations.
In addition, he is Wan Hai Lines' representative for industry forums including the World Shipping Council, where he is Vice Chair, and the Asian Shipowners' Forum.
Chen has served on the Wan Hai Lines Board of Directors since 2002. Before joining Wan Hai Lines, he was a member of the senior management team of the Central Trading & Development Group, a Taiwan-based investor group with extensive infrastructure and real estate holdings in Vietnam. He also has extensive experience in software and financial services.
Chen holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from MIT's Sloan School of Business as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and English Literature from Duke University.
Toft and Chen will serve a two-year term and succeed Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG, and Jeremy Nixon, CEO of ONE.
