Bronson Hsieh, Evergreen Group vice chairman, has been appointed chairman of rival Taiwan carrier Yang Ming Marine in a stunning development that follows a succession battle sparked by the death of Evergreen Chairman Chang Yung-fa in January.
At a board meeting in Taipei, Yang Ming elected Chih-Chien Hsieh, better known as Bronson, to succeed the retiring Frank Lu as its chairman.
“Facing several business cycles, he could always overcome all obstacles during the recessions. Recognizing his solid working experiences and outstanding performance, the board of directors voted him unanimously for the chairmanship,” Yang Ming said in a statement.
The ocean carrier said Hsieh had worked in the shipping industry since 1976 and his experience included a 20-year assignment in Germany, the U.K., the U.S., Italy, Hong Kong and China.
But Hsieh was caught up in the succession fight among four sons of Evergreen founder Chang following his death on Jan. 20. Chang Kuo-wei, chairman of EVA Air and the only son of Chang Yung-fa’s second wife, staked claim to the chairman’s position last week, citing the handwritten will left by his father.
The three sons by Chang’s first wife immediately expressed “regret” that Chang’s will was revealed while “the process of succession was still being discussed,” and used their voting power to abolish the group’s chairman position.
Hsieh was named as an adviser of Evergreen International Corp., a subsidiary of the giant Evergreen Group whose interests include hotels and the group’s shipping agency.
The new Yang Ming chairman takes over the world’s 10th-largest shipping line at a difficult time. Yang Ming’s profit collapsed in the first quarter with a loss of 3.66 billion Taiwanese dollars ($114.5 million) against a profit of 303 million Taiwanese dollars in the same period last year. Revenue dropped 18.2 percent year-over-year to 27.1 billion Taiwanese dollars.
Yang Ming will join the THE Alliance by the end of the first quarter of 2017, hooking up with MOL, NYK Line, “K” Line, Hanjin Shipping and Hapag-Lloyd.
Source: JoC
Source: JoC