Gernot Ruppelt
to succeed Anthony Gurnee as CEO;
Bart Kelleher to be appointed
President
HAMILTON, Bermuda, July 8, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE: ASC) ("Ardmore"
or the "Company") today announced that Founder and CEO Anthony Gurnee has informed the Board of
Directors (the "Board") of his intention to retire from his
executive and board positions later this year. Following a
comprehensive selection process, the Board of Directors has
appointed current executive and Chief Commercial Officer
Gernot Ruppelt as the Company's new
CEO, and expanded current CFO Bart
Kelleher's position to take on the additional role of
President, with the leadership transition to take effect from
September 16, 2024 at the Company's
upcoming quarterly board meeting. This transition represents the
culmination of leadership succession planning that has been
long-established and extensively discussed at the board and
management levels. Following his retirement from the Company,
current CEO Anthony Gurnee will
remain available to Ardmore as an advisor during the transition
period.
In connection with their promotions, both Ruppelt and Kelleher
will be joining the Board of Directors of the Company. Ruppelt will
maintain responsibility for Ardmore's commercial platform until
such time as a successor is selected. Kelleher will maintain his
role as the Company's CFO until such time as the Board of Directors
appoints a successor, after which Finance and Accounting will
remain among his responsibilities.
Curtis McWilliams, Chairman of
Ardmore's Board of Directors, stated, "On behalf of the entire
Board, I offer my sincere appreciation to Tony for what he has
accomplished at the helm of Ardmore Shipping over the past 14
years. He is passing on the leadership baton at a time when Ardmore
is more profitable, valuable, and better positioned than any time
in its history, which speaks to both his character and deep
commitment to making Ardmore a best-in-class organization. As we
transition to the next generation of leadership of Ardmore, we
believe that the strength of our team and our all-encompassing
dedication to performance and progress will keep Ardmore at the
leading edge of the shipping industry."
Mr. Gurnee noted, "It has been a privilege to work with so
many wonderful people in building Ardmore, starting in 2010 with
the acquisition of our first ship from our farm cottage in
Ireland with my wife, Marianne,
and with the support of Regg Jones
and Greenbriar Equity, to the formation of an amazing team and
culture with our COO Mark Cameron,
to our IPO in 2013 and subsequent capital raises, and onward
through all of the challenges and extraordinary market developments
that we have experienced while bringing the Company to its position
today. I want to thank all of you who have joined us on this
adventure and who made this possible.
"I must admit, it is not an easy decision to leave Ardmore at
this point with such an extended positive market outlook. But,
given our independent public company status, and indeed just good
governance practice, it is absolutely the right thing for me to
make a full departure and let the Board and new leadership team
forge their own pathway to continued success in this next chapter
for Ardmore. I have the utmost confidence in Gernot and Bart and
the talent they have around them, and I look forward to seeing the
Company go from strength to strength in what looks to be a bold new
era for both Ardmore and for the shipping industry as a
whole."
Mr. McWilliams continued, "We are thrilled with the
appointments of both Gernot as CEO and Bart as President following
the culmination of a very thorough and comprehensive selection
process supported by outside advisors and informed by best
practices. During their highly successful existing tenures at
Ardmore, each has exemplified our culture of continuous evolution
and innovation in the service of creating long-term shareholder
value. Gernot has been instrumental in establishing Ardmore as a
best-in-class commercial platform over the past 10 years and
demonstrated exceptional judgment in organizational and business
development. Bart during his two-year tenure at Ardmore has
transformed his part of the organization into a real strength for
the Company, and has brought his very broad and deep experience in
the shipping industry to bear on all aspects of Ardmore's business
activities."
Mr. Ruppelt commented, "I feel honored to be selected by the
Board of Directors to guide Ardmore through our next chapter and to
execute on our long-term strategy and vision in close partnership
with Bart. We have a great company and a strong team, and we
look forward to building further on the Company's substantial
success as we position Ardmore for the future."
Currently, Gernot Ruppelt serves
as Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Ardmore,
where he has built up, led and developed Ardmore's global
commercial platform. Mr. Ruppelt joined Ardmore as Chartering
Director in 2013 and was promoted to senior management one year
later. He has 23 years of experience across multiple sectors in the
maritime industry and acquired extensive international exposure
having worked in five countries across three continents throughout
his career. Before joining Ardmore, Mr. Ruppelt was a Tanker
Projects Broker with Poten & Partners in New York. Previously, he held various roles up
to Trade Manager for AP Moller – Maersk and Maersk Broker in
the United States, Europe and Asia. Mr. Ruppelt holds an Executive MBA from
INSEAD and later completed their International Directors Program.
He also graduated from the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers in
London, Maersk International
Shipping Education (MISE) and was accredited Shipping Merchant by
the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Ruppelt serves on the board of Anglo Ardmore Ship Management,
and he was Chairman for INTERTANKO's Commercial Markets Committee
from 2018 through 2024.
Bart Kelleher serves as Chief
Financial Officer at Ardmore, having joined in 2022. Mr. Kelleher
has over 25 years of progressive experience in the maritime,
finance, and industrials sectors. Prior to joining Ardmore, he
served as CEO at stainless-steel chemical tanker company Chembulk
Tankers, as well as COO at Suezmax crude carrier company Principal
Maritime. Earlier, Mr. Kelleher held roles in banking and equity
research in the maritime and energy-related industries at Bear
Stearns and HSH Nordbank. He also held management positions in both
the cruise industry and at a naval architecture firm, as well as
serving as a deck officer onboard US-flag crude oil tankers. He
holds an MBA from Columbia Business
School, an MS in Ocean Systems Management from MIT, and a BE in Naval Architecture from NY
Maritime College. He has also completed INSEAD's International
Directors Program. Mr. Kelleher serves as a Director of
methanol-to-hydrogen technology developer Element 1 Corporation,
and as an advisory board member to OrbitMI, an AI-based fleet
performance management solution provider.
About Ardmore Shipping Corporation:
Ardmore owns and operates a fleet of MR product and chemical
tankers ranging from 25,000 to 50,000 deadweight tonnes. Ardmore
provides, through its modern, fuel-efficient fleet of mid-size
tankers, seaborne transportation of petroleum products and
chemicals worldwide to oil majors, national oil companies, oil and
chemical traders, and chemical companies.
Ardmore's core strategy is to continue to develop a modern,
high-quality fleet of product and chemical tankers, build key
long-term commercial relationships and maintain its cost advantage
in assets, operations and overhead, while creating synergies and
economies of scale as the company grows. Ardmore provides its
services to customers through voyage charters and time charters,
and enjoys close working relationships with key commercial and
technical management partners.
Ardmore's Energy Transition Plan ("ETP") focusses on three key
areas: transition technologies, transition projects, and
sustainable (non-fossil fuel) cargos. The ETP is an extension of
Ardmore's strategy, building on its core strengths of tanker
chartering, shipping operations, technical and operational fuel
efficiency improvements, technical management, construction
supervision, project management, investment analysis, and ship
finance.
Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this press release may constitute
forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for
forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to
provide prospective information about their business.
Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans,
objectives, goals, expectations, projections, strategies, beliefs
about future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and
other statements, which are other than statements of historical
facts. In some cases, you can identify the forward-looking
statements by the use of words such as "believe", "anticipate",
"intends", "estimate", "forecast", "project", "plan", "potential",
"may", "expect", and similar expressions.
Forward looking statements in this press release include, among
others, statements regarding: future operating or financial
results; shipping market trends and market fundamentals; the
Company's business strategies and initiatives; and the timing and
expectations of leadership transitions. The forward-looking
statements in this press release are based upon various
assumptions. Although the Company believes that these assumptions
were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently
subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are
difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond the Company's
control, the Company cannot assure you that it will achieve or
accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. Important
factors that, in the Company's view, could cause actual results to
differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking
statements include, among others, those risks and uncertainties
described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year
ended December 31, 2023. The Company
cautions readers of this release not to place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their
dates. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are
not guarantees of the Company's future performance, and actual
results and future developments may vary materially from those
projected in the forward-looking statements.
Investor Relations Enquiries:
Mr. Leon Berman
The IGB Group
45 Broadway, Suite 1150
New York, NY 10006
Tel: 212-477-8438
Fax: 212-477-8636
Email: lberman@igbir.com
Or
Mr. Bryan Degnan
The IGB Group
Tel: 646-673-9701
Email: bdegnan@igbir.com
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SOURCE Ardmore Shipping Corporation