Wilhelm Wilhelmsen, the fourth generation owner of the Norwegian maritime group Wilhelmsen, died on Saturday at the age of 82.
Born in 1937, Wilhelmsen was one of the most-respected business leaders in the Norwegian shipping industry. He joined the Wilhelmsen group, established by his great grandfather in 1861, as a partner in 1964 and became chairman of the board in 1992, serving in the role through to 2010.
Wilhelmsen was instrumental in developing the Wilhelmsen group from a traditional liner company with trades all over the world to one of the largest maritime industry groups with almost 15,000 employees in more than 70 countries.
Today, the Wilhelmsen group operates a series of maritime businesses including car carrier shipping, logistics, ship agency, shipmanagement as well as marine products.
Thomas Wilhelmsen, the current CEO, is the fifth generation of his family to lead the maritime group.
