An ex-Maersk Exec’s Survival Playbook | Robbert van Trooijen, A.P. Moller-Maersk

Robbert shares rare insights from his career—from starting as a NedLloyd trainee in Rotterdam, to navigating the massive Maersk-P&O NedLloyd merger in 2005, to steering Asia-Pacific operations during the US-China trade war and COVID-19. He explains what Hamburg Süd’s “secret sauce” was, how Maersk’s integrated logistics strategy really works on the ground, and why taking responsibility as a leader is non-negotiable.

Key topics covered:
✅ Inside Maersk’s biggest acquisitions– P&O Nedlloyd & Hamburg Süd: what worked, what didn’t, and lessons learned.
✅ Navigating trade wars, pandemics, and piracy – firsthand stories from leading operations in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
✅ From ocean carrier to end-to-end logistics – why Maersk bet on integration and what it means for customers.
✅ Leadership under pressure – building trust, protecting your team, and why “the captain is the last to leave the ship.”

01:35 – From Family Legacy to Shipping Destiny
02:40 – A Management Trainee’s First Few Years
05:45 – Insides of a Merger: Joining Maersk After the P&O Nedlloyd Deal
06:56 – What P&O Nedlloyd Brought to Maersk.
10:48 – Maersk’s Merger Playbook: Explained
11:15 – “By Your Side”: The Unbeatable Customer Culture of Hamburg Süd
14:14 – 2 Trade War compared: 2016 v.s. 2025
17:00 – Is US-China Decoupling Destined to Happen?
23:04 – Piracy vs. Drones: What is the impact on the Shipping Lines?
27:27 – Public Company: Running a Shipping Line on Hard Mode.
28:13 – Maersk’s “Integrated” Transformation: The Jury is Still Out.
34:32 – Why TradeLens Failed?
38:39 – How Maersk Makes Important Decisions: From the Calculator or the Heart?
40:16 – One Non-Negotiable Rule to Lead across 4 Continents
45:00 – A Brutally Honest Investor’s View on Shipping
49:12 – The Billion-Dollar Optimization Problem No One Talks About
51:33 – Career Advice for New College Grads