Cargotec has appointed Eric Nielsen as president of its maritime and offshore division MacGregor, succeeding Mikael Mäkinen. As a member of the executive board he will report to Cargotec chief executive Mika Vehviläinen.

Nielsen was previously vice president corporate development for mining equipment supplier Joy Global, where he was responsible for the company’s mergers and acquisitions as well as strategic planning activities. Before Joy Global, Nielsen held different senior executive positions at Terex and Volvo Construction Equipment.

Cargotec chief executive Mika Vehviläinen said: “MacGregor is heading towards new challenges, and it is time to bring in new executive management to accelerate the growth and renewal. Nielsen has a strong track record within global machinery and engineering as well as in enhancing performance and growing business. His international background and experience in Scandinavian and Asian business world demonstrate his excellent capabilities to respond to changing customer demands.”

On the resignation of former president, Vehviläinen added: “Mäkinen has headed the preparations to list MacGregor to the Singapore stock exchange and to drive the consolidation of the industry, and he has succeeded well in executing these plans. As per his own decision not to move to Singapore, as the listing would require, Mäkinen will leave his current position as president of MacGregor on 15th September. He will report to the new president during the transition period.”