Posted on May 21, 2025
Copenhagen, 19 May 2025: Hempel A/S announces the appointment of Anne-Christine Ahrenkiel as Chief People & Culture Officer (CPCO) and Executive Vice President, People & Culture, joining its Executive Group Management.
“I am very excited to welcome Anne-Christine to Hempel,” says Michael Hansen, Group President & CEO of Hempel A/S. “With her background spanning all areas of the people-related field, and a deep experience in leading large-scale transformations, I have no doubt that Anne-Christine will be a very strong addition to our Executive Group Management and to Hempel as a whole.”
Anne-Christine will join Hempel on 1 July 2025 from a position of Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer for the People Division at DFDS, northern Europe’s largest integrated shipping and logistics company. With a career spanning both public and private sectors, Anne-Christine has, in addition to DFDS, held senior HR and leadership roles at global companies, including A.P. Moller-Maersk, Accenture and NNIT, as well as at Egmont, a leading Nordic media group.
“I am delighted to be joining Hempel in a couple of months. Over the years, I’ve followed Hempel’s impressive development and have been truly inspired by its strong business performance and ambitious sustainability goals,” says Anne-Christine Ahrenkiel, Hempel’s incoming Chief People & Culture Officer (CPCO) and Executive Vice President, People & Culture. “I especially look forward to getting to know the business, working with colleagues across the organisation and helping to take this amazing company to even greater heights.”
Anne-Christine replaces Pernille Fritz Vilhelmsen who left Hempel in April.
About Hempel
As a world-leading supplier of trusted coating solutions, Hempel is a global company with strong values, working with customers in the decorative, marine, infrastructure and energy industries. Hempel factories, R&D centres and stock points are established in every region.
Across the globe, Hempel’s paints and coatings can be found in almost every country of the world. They protect and beautify buildings, infrastructure and other assets, and play an essential role in our customers’ businesses. They help minimise maintenance costs, improve aesthetics and increase energy efficiency.
At Hempel, our purpose is to shape a brighter future with sustainable coating solutions. We firmly believe that we will succeed as a business only if we place sustainability at our heart. Not only is it the right thing to do, it will strengthen our competitive position, make ourselves more resilient and reduce our risk.
Hempel was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1915. It is majority owned by the Hempel Foundation, which ensures a solid economic base for the Hempel Group and supports cultural, social, humanitarian and scientific purposes around the world.
