Executive Team

Henrik L. Pedersen was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Board of Associated British Ports Holdings in August 2018. Henrik joined ABP from APM Terminals, a global ports company owned by the Maersk Group, where he served as Chief Commercial Officer. During his 20-year tenure with the Maersk Group he held a wide range of senior leadership roles based in Denmark, USA, China, Panama, Singapore and the Netherlands. Henrik, a Danish national, holds a finance degree from Copenhagen Business School as well as having completed various executive studies at Columbia, Harvard and IMD business schools.

Julian Walker became ABP Chief Commercial Officer in September 2019 and additionally Regional Director, Wales and Short Sea Ports in July 2023. Prior to joining ABP, he held the role of Chief Operating Officer at Cory Riverside Energy. He has also held senior roles at P&O Ports (now DP World), Euroports and, most recently Impala Terminals, which is part of the Trafigura Group, where he held the position of Chief Operating Officer. He holds an MBA from Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford.

Francis Paonessa was appointed Capital Projects and Engineering Director of Associated British Ports (ABP) in April 2024. Francis joined ABP from Thames Water, where he led the capital projects portfolio. Prior to that, Francis was Managing Director of Infrastructure Projects at Network Rail where he headed up the UK’s largest programme of infrastructure delivery. Francis holds a PhD in Fluid Mechanics and a BSc in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Manchester. He is also a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Alastair joined ABP as Regional Director for the Southampton Region in May 2016. Prior to joining ABP Alastair spent much of his career in the aviation industry, where his degree in mechanical engineering, along with his accountancy experience, enabled him to support airlines and airports worldwide in strategy formulation, business and performance development and restructuring. This experience has helped develop Southampton’s profile as the UK’s number one export port, Europe’s number one cruise turnaround port, and a critical link in supply chains serving businesses and manufacturers throughout the nation.

Alison Rumsey joined ABP as Chief HR Officer in July 2019. Prior to ABP, Alison was Group HR Director and member of the Executive Committee at Network Rail.

As a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Alison has over 30 years’ experience in providing HR leadership to major organisations for Infrastructure, Rail, Financial Services and Government.

Alison is proud to have been nominated for Chief HR officer of the year, EMEA leaders of distinction in 2017.

Angela Morgan has been the General Counsel and Company Secretary of Associated British Ports since 1 July 2019, having previously held the role of Senior Solicitor.  Angela has been at ABP for a number of years having first joined the legal team in 2008 and has extensive experience in dealing with the diverse range of matters which arise in relation to ABP.  Prior to ABP, Angela worked as a solicitor at leading law firms in both London and New Zealand. Angela holds a double degree in Law and a Bachelor of Arts from Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand.

Andrew Dawes joined the ABP Executive Board on 16 October 2024 and is the Humber Regional Director, responsible for the four major ports of Goole, Grimsby, Hull and Immingham. Andrew has almost 30 years of experience from the global ports and terminals industry, working with companies such as DP World, APM Terminals and ICTSI. Alongside strong leadership credentials, he has a wealth of experience in safety, operations and commercial, and experience both as Managing Director with profit responsibility for terminals, as well as regional portfolio responsibility.