Poul Hestbæk

CEO

Poul Hestbaek is Chief Executive Officer of Folk Maritime, Saudi Arabia's feeder shipping operator established in 2023 to connect regional ports and grow trade across the Middle East, India and East Africa. A master mariner with a master's degree in Shipping, Trade and Finance from Cass Business School in London, he began his maritime career at Maersk in Copenhagen in 1993, later becoming Vice President and Head of Africa Trades and then Senior Vice President Network at Maersk Liner Business. Before joining Folk Maritime he spent several years at Hamburg Sud, latterly as Chief Executive Officer directing operations across Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. His opening session at the congress addressed how shipping networks built for open, predictable trade are being redrawn by geopolitical fragmentation and the drive for supply chain security.