Dheeraj Bhatia, an Indian-origin executive, has been appointed to Hapag-Lloyd's executive board and as chief executive officer of its international terminals business. "On the executive board, a new terminal and infrastructure portfolio will be established." Bhatia will be the first Indian national and the fifth member of the executive board, joining CEO Rolf Habben Jansen, CIO/CHRO Donya-Florence Amer, CFO/CPO Mark Frese, and COO Maximilian Rothkopf, according to Hapag-Lloyd.

The Hamburg-based company is one of the world's top five shipping companies.

The founding companies of Hapag-Lloyd AG, Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (Hapag) and North German Lloyd, sent their first ships to sea in the 19th century, carrying general cargo and passengers to New York. From these humble beginnings grew the leading and globally active container liner shipping company that we are today, in an exciting history marked by changes and upheavals.