Martin Kröger has been working for the VDR as Managing Director for 10 years and, in this capacity, has played a key role in the fields of European and international shipping policy

Effective 30 April 2022, former Senator Ralf Nagel (63) will step down after 12 years as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Member of the Presidential Committee of the German Shipowners’ Association (VDR). He will continue to serve the VDR in an advisory capacity until 31 December 2022.

“The Association’s Presidential Committee, which was newly elected in December 2021, is thereby also completing a generational change in the Executive Management of the Association,” says VDR President Dr. Gaby Bornheim.

Ralf Nagel had been working for the VDR since 2010 as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Member of the Presidential Committee.

During his time in office, he has successfully campaigned to uphold Germany’s status as a strong and competitive shipping hub. His term in office has also seen the establishment of the Stiftung Schifffahrtsstandort Deutschland, a Hamburg-based non-profit foundation that promotes the training and employment of seafarers.

The Association’s work in Brussels and at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London has been expanded and strengthened under Nagel’s stewardship.

Martin Kröger has been working for the VDR as Managing Director for 10 years and, in this capacity, has played a key role in the fields of European and international shipping policy, Germany’s competitiveness as a shipping hub, as well as environmental and climate protection in shipping.

“The challenges facing the shipping industry will remain enormous in the years ahead,”Kröger emphasises. “Crisis management, recruiting young talent, digitalization, maintaining Germany’s competitiveness as a shipping hub and, of course, the ongoing transformation of the shipping industry – these are currently the most important issues for the future of the association,” Dr. Kröger continues.

“Nationally and internationally, VDR will remain called upon and committed to the future. I am very much looking forward to leading the Association into this new era together with the highly motivated VDR team of experts and its members,” Dr. Kröger explains.

About the German Shipowners’ Association

The German Shipowners’ Association (Verband Deutscher Reeder, VDR) is responsible for representing the common business and social policy interests of German shipping companies at the federal and state government levels as well as in relation to European and international bodies. Founded in 1907, the VDR merged with the Association of German Coastal Shipowners in 1994. With a membership of around 200, the VDR represents the majority of Germany’s merchant fleet.