On 1st March 2025, Denmark-based maritime consultancy KNUD E. HANSEN announced changes to its senior management structure. The move sees Javier Suárez succeeding Finn Wollesen Petersen as the company’s Managing Director.
The move to the new management structure is part of a planned process that has been taking place over the past months. During this time, Javier and Finn have worked very closely together in order to facilitate a smooth transition.
Finn, who has held the role of Managing Director at KNUD E. HANSEN since 2003, will remain with the company. His focus will now be on coordinating the company’s operations in the United States.
Spanish national Javier joined KNUD E. HANSEN in 2017 as Director Operations. His maritime career began in 1995 when he graduated with an MSc in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Following this, he has enjoyed diverse roles, including at the Astilleros de Huelva Shipyard, where he worked for over a decade in commercial and technical roles. Following this, he undertook commercial and senior management roles with Voith Schneider, including Vice President Marine Americas for Voith Turbo.
Finn 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, specialising in HVAC, before joining KNUD E. HANSEN as Managing Director in 2003.
Since that time, KNUD E. HANSEN has designed vessels and conversions for almost every sector of the maritime industry, gaining awards and global recognition along the way.
The two colleagues have a long history of collaboration. One of Finn’s first projects at KNUD E. HANSEN was the design of a series of small RoRo vessels operating in the Irish Sea for Seatruck. The vessels were constructed at the Astilleros de Huelva yard, where Javier was Commercial Director at the time.
Speaking of the transition, Finn said, “It has been an honour to have had the opportunity to steer KNUD E. HANSEN over the past decades. 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.”
Javier said, “I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to Finn for his hard work at KNUD E. HANSEN these past 22 years. 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 USA 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.”
About
KNUD E. HANSEN is a Danish-based, leading independent consultancy that has been providing a comprehensive range of design, engineering and project management services to shipyards and ship owners around the world since 1937. Our innovative and customised solutions cover areas ranging from concept and basic design to the building and conversion processes of all types of vessels and offshore structures.
Go to website KNUD E. HANSEN.
For more information please contact:
Javier Suárez
Managing Director
DK: +45 61 88 48 58
jss@knudehansen.com
Finn Wollesen
Managing Director, KNUD E. HANSEN USA Inc.
DK: +45 40 84 25 75
US: +1 (954) 805 6143
fwp@knudehansen.com
