Hapag-Lloyd strengthens Africa presence with New Organizational Setup

HAMBURG : Hapag-Lloyd announced a strategic restructuring of their Africa organizational setup across the continent. The changes align with the company’s Strategy 2030 and its commitment to growing Africa as a key focus market. The company’s current Area setup will change from two to four Areas, with the intention of securing a broader and stronger presence in Africa. The new Area setup will be supported by the existing Quality Service Center (QSC) in Mauritius.

As part of this transformation, the former Area West Africa has been divided into two new Areas:

• Area West Africa (WAF): Encompassing countries from Mauritania to Benin, with its headquarters in Accra, Ghana. The Area will be led by Thomas Elling as Area Managing Director, succeeding Vishal Bundhun.
• Area Central Africa (CAF): Covering countries from Nigeria to Angola, with its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. The Area will be led by Caroline Aubert-Adewuyi as Area Managing Director, succeeding Vishal Bundhun.

In parallel, the former Area South Africa will also be split into two separate Areas:

• Area South Africa (SAF): Encompassing countries from Namibia to Mozambique, with its headquarters in Durban, South Africa. The Area will continue to be led by Rogelio Busto as Area Managing Director.
• Area East Africa (EAF): Covering countries from Tanzania to Sudan, with its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The Area will be led by Rogelio Busto as Interim Area Managing Director until a permanent appointment has been made.

To provide enhanced strategic oversight and close coordination, now and in the future, a new Sub-Region Africa has been established, based in Dubai, UAE. All Areas as well as our Quality Service Center (QSC) in Port Louis, Mauritius, under Senior Director Ramcy Castelino, will report directly to Jesper Kanstrup, new Sub-Regional Managing Director. Sub-Region Africa will remain part of Region Middle East (which covers Middle East, Indian Sub-Continent, and Africa).

“This is a customer-first transformation. Our goal is to be fast, more agile and more responsive to local market realities.” said Lars Sorensen, Senior Managing Director of Region Middle East. “This new structure reflects our commitment to Africa as a key growth market and enables us to better serve our customers by empowering local leadership, leveraging local expertise and strengthening our regional support.”

The new setup also reinforces Hapag-Lloyd’s recognition of Africa’s growing role in global trade and positions the company to deliver long-term, sustainable value for customers across the continent.