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As of 1 January 2022, Monjasa is pleased to announce that Rasmus Ravnholdt Knudsen assumes responsibility as Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Monjasa Holding A/S.

Rasmus steps up from an internal role as Group Vice President and will play a further important role in ensuring continuous robust corporate governance across the Group’s main business areas within oil and shipping, offshore logistics and IT consultancy.

Since his accession to the top management in 2019, Rasmus has contributed significantly to the strategic and financial development of Monjasa becoming a global top 10 marine fuels supplier.

Assuming key corporate financial functions

The role as Group CFO requires a deep understanding of Monjasa’s business and industry complexities arising from Monjasa’s global maritime operations. Rasmus Ravnholdt Knudsen will be overseeing key corporate functions such as financial reporting, treasury, trade finance and business intelligence. In addition, considering Rasmus’ background in law, he will continue to hold responsibility of Monjasa’s legal department.

“Rasmus has contributed significantly to the strategic and financial development of Monjasa becoming a global top 10 marine fuels supplier.”

As part of Monjasa’s Executive Management together with Group CEO, Anders Østergaard and Group COO, Svend Stenberg Mølholt, Rasmus Ravnholdt Knudsen will be navigating daily business according to Monjasa’s corporate purpose and report to the Board of Directors.

Strong internal career development

Rasmus started his professional career as an Assistant Attorney-at-Law in 2012, but decided to pursue a career in oil and shipping with the Monjasa Group in 2013.

Starting as Legal Counsel, Rasmus Knudsen soon demonstrated his strong corporate talent and has held various central internal positions in the Monjasa Group before being appointed as Group Vice President in 2020. From 2016-2018, he worked from Monjasa’s offices in Dubai, UAE before relocating to his native country and working from Fredericia, Denmark.   

Facts about Rasmus Ravnholdt Knudsen

Professional experience     

2022 –            Monjasa, Group CFO
2020 – 2022   Monjasa, Group Vice President
2019 – 2020   Monjasa, Group Director
2015 – 2019    Monjasa, Head of Legal & Advisory
2014 – 2015    Monjasa, Head of Business Partners
2013 – 2014    Monjasa, Legal Counsel
2012                Plesner Law Firm, Assistant Attorney-at-Law

Educational background

2009 – 2012     Aarhus University, Master’s degree in Law
2006 – 2009    Aarhus University, Bachelor’s degree in Law

Staying close to our customers and following the demand on new continents and in new ports is in the Monjasa DNA.

One of these moments was 2011, the year where Monjasa first set foot on American soil and established our first office in the US shipping hub, Stamford, CT.

Here, our small organisation soon felt the high entry barriers characterising the US marine fuels market. Therefore, challenging status quo was imperative for gaining foothold and supporting customers better across this time zone too.

Now, 10 years later, we are celebrating the Americas as an indispensable part of Monjasa’s global reach.  

Rasmus Jacobsen, Managing Director, Americas:  

“I went to Stamford as our first Trader and back then our main task was to be given a chance to demonstrate our way of business to the industry. We could see that once we earned the right to work with new customers and supply new vessels, we also continued to see fuel enquiries coming in.

” We have steadily earned our right to work with the greatest American shipping companies.“

So, we have always been focusing a lot on getting the right people on board. We have to be successful through our operations and personal service. In that way we have steadily earned our right to work with the greatest American shipping companies.

I also believe that establishing new supply areas in less crowded ports in Mexico or Colombia has meant new opportunities for many of our customers. Something you can expect from Monjasa in the future too.”   

Encouraging lasting relationships  

Another way to understand and engage with the North American shipping community was to start building new personal relations together with the Connecticut Maritime Association:

“The Monjasa team quickly became a valuable and integral part of the local community – joining the Association as members, sponsoring and supporting both the social events and also the annual CMA Shipping conference and trade show – the most significant shipping event in the Americas.

Most of all everyone at Monjasa operates with integrity and the whole team are just really fine human beings. We could not ask for better neighbours and supporters and wish continued success,” says Lorraine Parsson, Event Director, CMA.

Americas milestones

Overall, Monjasa Americas has recorded a soaring demand year on year. From supplying 40,000 tonnes of marine fuels in 2011 to reaching 1.4 million tonnes in 2020 – and continuing seeing positive developments.  

2011 – New Stamford office
2015 – New Panama City office
2015 – Panama Canal supply operations
2018 – Colombia supply operations
2019 – Annual supply volume reaching one million tonnes
2019 – Houston supply operations
2021 – New Houston office

With our most recent office opening in Houston, TX, our Americas organisation will keep broadening horizons for the shipping industry in the years to come.

Please contact our offices in Stamford, Houston and Panama for more information on our maritime services across the Americas.

Oil and shipping group, Monjasa, experiences an increasing demand across the Mediterranean following its market entrance with a permanent office in Limassol, Cyprus in 2016.

A new daily presence in the neighbouring Greek capital therefore comes as a natural next step to further broaden its Mediterranean horizons.

 Towards one million tonnes volume in Europe

In 2020, Monjasa supplied a total of 850,000 tonnes of marine fuels across European ports. This year, Monjasa expects to further increase its European volume and deliver close to one million tonnes of fuel products.

Zooming in on Greece, the country remains the world’s largest shipping nation controlling around 4,900 vessels. In fact, Greek ship owners account for around 20% of all global tonnage, equivalent to around 360 million deadweight tonnes.

 For Monjasa, the task is to offer new refuelling solutions to the Greek ship owners – both through Monjasa’s physical supply locations and global trading across 11 sister offices.

“With Monjasa always available in Athens, we are improving our understanding of the local demand and tightening customer relationships.”

“Tightening customer relationships”

Monjasa’s new Greek home is located in the Glyfada municipality, a fast growing shipping and commercial hub in Athens, housing some of the world’s largest ship owning companies.

“Our five-years presence in Cyprus has created new standards and expectations for our customers across the Mediterranean. And with Monjasa always available in Athens, we are improving our understanding of the local demand and tightening customer relationships,” says General Manager Mediterranean, Theodoros Mitsingas. 

Experienced Traders to lead Greek developments  

To offer more personal business in Athens, two of Monjasa’s experienced Traders, Trading Director, Mediterranean, Christos Doulaveris and Senior Trader, Minas Tsokopoulos, have relocated from Limassol, Cyprus to the Greek capital.

Athens makes it a dozen

Earlier this month, Monjasa also announced the opening of a new office in Houston, USA. Thereby, the new Athens’ office marks the company’s 12^th global office location across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa and Southeast Asia.

Overall, Monjasa controls a fleet of 25 tankers and barges and supplied a total of 4.9 million tonnes of marine fuels in 2020.

New visiting address
Monjasa Ltd
54 Grigoriou Lampraki, 1^st  Floor
166 74 Glyfada
Athens, Greece

Contact our new office in Athens.

Following 10 years of presence in Stamford, Connecticut, oil and shipping group Monjasa, now expands further west and joins America’s largest oil and shipping community in Houston, Texas.

With an increasing number of customers and suppliers located in Houston, this is a natural next step for Monjasa Americas. Located downtown Houston, this daily presence brings new opportunities to bridge upstream and downstream business relationships as well as offering a new recruitment channel in the US Gulf region.

Soaring demand across the Americas

Since opening the first US-based office in Stamford, volumes have increased year on year.

Rounding 40,000 tonnes in 2011, Monjasa has experienced a soaring demand across the Americas region with total volumes reaching 1.4m tonnes in 2020. Strong demand in the Panama Canal and across US ports represent important drivers for this development.   

Matching supply and demand across the supply chain is exactly where Houston and Monjasa are good for each other

“Houston and Monjasa are good for each other”

Monjasa introduced own supply operations in Houston just ahead of the IMO 2020 transition to more environmentally friendly marine fuels with a maximum 0.5% sulphur content.

“Today, we believe that Houston reflects a contemporary oil and shipping hub, where shipowners are giving more focus to logistics and product specifications than before IMO 2020. This massive area holds opportunities for making a real difference by bridging our oil and shipping relationships and ensuring availability of several different fuel grades and specifications. Matching supply and demand across the supply chain is exactly where Houston and Monjasa are good for each other,” says Rasmus Jacobsen, Managing Director, Monjasa Americas.

Monjasa operates three barges and supplies all main bunker grades across the Houston Greater Area, which includes 12 different supply locations ranging across more than 400 km.  

Kelsey Ware leading developments

Trading Director Americas, Kelsey Ware, will be leading developments in Houston. Kelsey is originally from Houston and brings 13 years of experience from the oil and gas industry to Monjasa. At the same time, Trader, Thomas Cirillo is relocating from Stamford to Houston and will play an important role in securing a steady developing Monjasa presence in the US Gulf region.

New visiting address
Monjasa Inc.
1000 Main Street
Suite 3225, TX 77002
Houston, USA

It is with great sadness that the Monjasa Holding Board of Directors has received notice that our skilled and beloved Chairman, Christian Merrild, has passed away all too soon caused by sudden illness. Christian Merrild died at the age of 67.

Christian joined the Board of Directors just over 11 years ago and he served as Chairman for the past 10 years.

Christian was originally educated as State Authorised Accountant at KPMG before entering the Danish Shipping industry, where he served for a number of years as CFO at J. Lauritzen Holding and ending his full-time career as CFO of DFDS in 2009. With a professional career dating back to 1974, Monjasa enjoyed Christian’s broad industry and life experience throughout our time together.

Christian’s personality possessed a great sense of justice and loyalty and he always wished the best for everyone around him. His profound personal interest in all parts of the Monjasa Group was admirable and we will come to miss Christian and his presence and friendship immensely.

Though this announcement, we would like to honour the memory of Christian and extend our thoughts and sympathy to Christian’s family and loved ones.

Flemming Ipsen assumes responsibility as Chairman

In light of the circumstances, we are at the same time announcing our current Board Member since 2016, Flemming Ipsen, as new Chairman of the Board with immediate effect.

We are pleased that Flemming promptly accepted his new role and thereby also ensures continuation of the ongoing work in the Board of Directors.

With his thorough experience and profound knowledge of international shipping, we are confident that Flemming is the right person to uphold our well-functioning board services and oversee continual improvements across the Monjasa Group’s global activities and organisation.

Flemming Ipsen holds an educational background as lawyer, and he has served 33 years with the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group. In addition, Flemming acted in the role as Chairman of the Board in international shipping group TORM during 2013-2015.

The Monjasa Holding Bord of Directors now consists of:

• Flemming Ipsen (chair)
• Lotte Grønborg Lundberg
• Peder Gellert Pedersen
• Anders Østergaard

More information about the Board of Directors is available here

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