Jochen Thewes, the international logistics executive who steered DB Schenker through a transformative era culminating in its sale to Danish transport giant DSV, has been appointed chief executive officer of AD Ports Group's Logistics Cluster, effective December 1, 2025. The appointment marks AD Ports Group's attempt to elevate the sprawling logistics assets acquired through its 2023 purchase of Noatum into the ranks of global industry leaders, a stated ambition from the Abu Dhabi state-backed company that has been aggressively expanding beyond its regional core.
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, managing director and group CEO of AD Ports Group, said the appointment reflects the group's drive to build a world-class global logistics portfolio and accelerate transformation of its logistics business by leveraging synergies across the company's multi-cluster ecosystem. Thewes declined a board position at DSV following the completion of the Schenker acquisition in April 2025, instead choosing to pursue what he described as a transformative opportunity to position AD Ports' Logistics Cluster among leading global logistics providers, anchored by Noatum's strong core business. The appointment involves bringing senior executives from Thewes' previous circles, including Thorsten Meincke, who previously served as chief operating officer and management board member at DB Schenker overseeing global air and ocean freight operations, now appointed executive vice president of ocean and air freight at Noatum Logistics.
Thewes, born in 1971 in the German city of Rheda-Wiedenbrück, spent nearly a decade as CEO and management board chairman at DB Schenker, overseeing a company with EUR 19.2 billion in revenue in 2024 before orchestrating its sale to DSV in a transformative EUR 14.3 billion transaction completed in April 2025. His career spans more than 20 years in senior logistics roles across multiple continents. He previously served as CEO for DB Schenker's Asia-Pacific region, where he managed 13,000 employees across 200 locations in 20 countries, and earlier held the position of senior vice president for global ocean freight. Before joining DB Schenker, Thewes held various senior management positions at global logistics firm Kuehne and Nagel, spending over twelve years in Asia and Latin America, including tenures as president in Brazil, general manager for Central China in Shanghai, and chief representative in Vietnam. He holds a diploma in business administration from Fachhochschule Heilbronn, completed in 1997.
AD Ports Group, established in 2006 in Abu Dhabi, has evolved into one of the world's fastest-growing integrated trade and logistics companies. The group is 75 percent owned by Abu Dhabi investment firm ADQ and trades on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Since 2020, AD Ports Group has quintupled annual revenue while more than quadrupling net profit, reaching AED 17.29 billion in 2024 revenue with record earnings. The company operates 34 terminals globally, controls the Middle East's largest integrated system of economic cities and free zones through KEZAD Group encompassing more than 550 square kilometers, and manages a fleet exceeding 270 vessels, including the world's largest pure independent feeder container shipping line. The company completed its landmark AED 2.65 billion acquisition of Noatum in July 2023, giving it presence in 26 countries and integrating the Spanish logistics company's diverse operations spanning freight forwarding, contract logistics, maritime services, and terminal operations across 16 ports.
Thewes' appointment reflects AD Ports' need to impose coherent global strategy on acquisitions made across multiple geographies and asset types. The company's expansion into 50 countries across five continents has created a sprawling portfolio, and recent earnings show the Logistics Cluster contributed to 26 percent organic revenue growth in 2024. By hiring an executive with decade-long experience running one of the world's top freight forwarders through integration challenges and consolidation pressures, AD Ports appears to be betting that Schenker's former CEO can replicate that playbook for a still-maturing logistics platform. The timing suggests calculation; with the global freight market consolidating as shipping lines diversify into logistics to offset containerized trade volatility and declining rates, integrating Noatum effectively could position AD Ports to compete for multinational customer accounts and expand beyond its regional strength into established European and Asian logistics markets where scale and networks matter considerably.
