Maersk makes Asia-Pacific appointment

A.P. MOLLER–MAERSK has formally confirmed Scott Elliott as regional president for Asia Pacific, after filling the position on an interim basis since January this year having previously served as regional CFO for Asia Pacific, a role he took up after joining Maersk in 2020.

Before joining Maersk, Mr Elliott was president and division CFO, Global Forwarding at Toll Global in Singapore, and earlier held senior finance and general management roles at CEVA Logistics across the United States, China, the Netherlands and Australia.

Maersk says this gives him a rare combination of operational, commercial and financial leadership across the world's most dynamic trade lanes.

"Asia Pacific is the world's largest regional economy, key to global trade and central to Maersk's growth ambitions.” Mr Elliott said.

“It’s an honour to work with our exceptional team, customers, and partners across the region. We have built strong momentum together, and I look forward to deepening those relationships and supporting our customers' growth.”

The process of appointing a permanent regional head of finance for Asia Pacific is underway.

In its latest Maersk Trade Momentum Study, which looks at how companies are navigating tariff volatility by surveying 260 senior logistics and supply chain decision makers across APAC key findings include:

• Nearly three-quarters (72%) of APAC logistics decision-makers report being highly or very highly exposed to tariff and duty changes. Automotive (95%), fashion (87%), and retail (84%) face the greatest structural pressure.
• The most significant impacts from tariff changes are operational, including documentation (79%), administrative workload (76%) and customs clearance delays (70%).
• These are followed by financial impacts and structural impacts such as sourcing shifts. 89% of the respondents can implement logistics adjustments within four weeks of a tariff change, but 46% cite limited visibility as a key operational challenge.
• In response to tariff increase, the majority (71%) chose to pass on the costs to customers, while 30-49% optimise corridors, and only 21%-30% move to fundamental network change.
• AI adoption in tariff-related processes is notable: 74% are using AI for tariff forecasting, 26% are testing, and only 1% are not using it at all. However, only 47% have connected AI to trade compliance or customs platforms - an important step in turning optimisation into effective risk reduction.

Maersk’s latest Blue Paper, Trade Momentum APAC: Strategic Pathways Through Tariffs may be obtained through the line.