Naved Zafar has been appointed as the new managing director of APM Terminals’ West Africa Container Terminal Nigeria (WACT) in Onne, Rivers State. He will be responsible for the expansion and transformation of the global terminal operator’s strategic gateway terminal in Eastern Nigeria.
Until his appointment, Zafar was the managing director of APM Terminals Cotonou.
He will report to Klaus Laursen, the Country Manager of APM Terminals in Nigeria and will work closely with the senior management team in Nigeria and the regional team in Dubai.
“I am happy to be back in Nigeria and to contribute to the realisation of the country’s economic aspiration. Nigeria, which is the largest economy and most populous country in Africa, remains an important market in the region. I look forward to working with relevant stakeholders towards the successful implementation of our strategic priorities in WACT. I also look forward to expanding the frontiers of service delivery to our numerous customers,” Zafar said.
Zafar joined Maersk Group in 1997 as a Maersk International Shipping Education (MISE) trainee in Pakistan and spent his early years in commercial and operations functions for Maersk Line in Pakistan and Germany.
He spent the last 13 years in sub-Saharan Africa in various leadership roles in Nigeria, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo and Benin. Before joining APM Terminals, he had also worked as CEO for Damco West and Central Africa area.
Prior to working for Damco, he served as Head of Operations for Maersk Line for the Central West Africa cluster comprising Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana as well as Country Manager for Maersk Line in Ghana and later in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
With deep knowledge and passion for Africa, Zafar has shown strength in his people leadership – building and growing the business he has led, whether it is deployment of WAFMAX vessels for Maersk Line in West Africa, pushing for double taxation treaty between Denmark and Ghana, setting up new intermodal corridors between the two Congos thereby connecting Pointe Noir to Kinshasa by land or establishing a new inland office in mines rich Lubumbashi region in the Eastern DRC.
Zafar has been in the forefront of delivering solid results while improving engagement with the stakeholders of Maersk Group. He holds a Masters in Commerce from University of Karachi and has attended leadership development courses at IMD.
WACT, which started commercial operation in 2006, is the first Greenfield container terminal in Nigeria to be built under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. The terminal is located within the Oil and Gas Free Zone in Onne Port, Rivers State.
