Fred Olsen steps aside after seven decades at Bonheur
It happened last May, and not a line in the island press about an entrepreneur who was key to the development of the islands. At 97, the veteran Norwegian shipowner Fred Olsen is stepping away from the formal functions of the board of the group’s holding company to focus on business development, ushering in a historic transition in the conglomerate that owns Fred. Olsen Express and Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.
The international maritime and industrial sector has reached a historical milestone. After seven decades at the helm of the board of Bonheur ASA, the Norwegian shipowner has decided to leave the presidency and his role as a director at the listed investment company on the Oslo Stock Exchange that sits at the financial and operational core of his family. The decision, made public before the annual general meeting of shareholders held in late May 2026, marks the start of a significant generational shift in one of Europe’s longest-running and most respected business dynasties.
Progress in La Gomera
Casimiro Curbelo, leader of the progressive right in La Gomera, says the family’s link to the islands began with La Gomera in 1904, through its agricultural business, which helped enable the export of bananas and tomatoes from the south of the island to the rest of Europe. “Based on that recognition and that deep-rooted connection, the first pages of a story full of progress began to be written, the values that have always been prioritized and shared between the Olsen family and Gomera society,” he said, adding that “Bonheur has become a vital piece in connectivity and development, because it has known how to become part of the island, to be the island, and to be part of us.”
At 97, the veteran magnate does not plan a definitive retirement from business activity. The company confirmed that Olsen will redirect his efforts to support the Bonheur group’s subsidiaries in the area of business development and strategic expansion, freeing himself from the regulatory and institutional obligations linked to board management. “Our companies are in good shape. Now, more than ever, it is about leveraging opportunities, and that is what I want to focus on,” Fred Olsen said as he assessed his replacement.
Governance restructuring and legal succession
The succession at the top of Bonheur responds to legal requirements and a carefully planned reorganization of corporate governance. The shipowner’s daughter, Anette Olsen, will continue to lead the conglomerate’s executive management as managing director through the management company Fred. Olsen & Co. AS. Under Norwegian commercial legislation, holding both roles at the same time prevents the first executive from taking the chair of the board of directors.
Given this restriction, Bonheur’s shareholders’ committee formalized the election of Gaute Gjelsten as the new non-executive chair of the board. Gjelsten, who has been on the board since 2025 and has previous experience on the shareholders’ committee, has a strong reputation in the field of international maritime law.
After 25 years at Wikborg Rein—where he led the shipping and offshore department—he co-founded in 2022 the specialized firm Gjelsten Herlofsen Law. “It is a privilege to assume this position following the extraordinary management of Fred Olsen. Bonheur has a solid foundation, and I hope to keep working with the board of directors and with Fred. Olsen & Co. AS,” Gjelsten said. The board also ratified the mandates of directors Jannicke Hilland, Carol Bell, Kristin Gjertsen and Nick Emery.
A maritime and industrial empire born in 1848
Fred Olsen’s resignation from the Bonheur chair symbolizes a handover in a dynasty whose shipping imprint began in 1848 in the town of Hvitsten, on the shores of the Oslofjord, when the brothers Fredrik Christian, Petter and Andreas Olsen bought their first sailing vessels. Over nearly two centuries, the firm evolved from transporting timber cargo to encompass aviation, shipbuilding—through the historic control of the Aker shipyard—and energy prospecting.
Today, Bonheur ASA leads a diversified industrial giant in the Canary Islands, with tourism and, with particular weight in Northern Europe, in renewable energy through Fred. Olsen Renewables, Fred. Olsen Seawind, Fred. Olsen Windcarrier and Global Wind Service. These subsidiaries employ more than 2,600 professionals in offshore and onshore wind.
In the passenger transport and maritime logistics sector, the group’s transition has a direct impact in Spain and the Macaronesia. Bonheur is the parent company of Fred. Olsen Express, the leading inter-island shipping operator in the Canary Islands with its fast ferry fleet, as well as the British Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, which operates transatlantic cruises and commercial passenger services. The institutional handover in Oslo consolidates the direction stability of the family group as it moves ahead with the decarbonization of its fleets and the expansion of its wind assets in the Atlantic.
The entry “La nueva era de Fred Olsen al ceder la presidencia de Bonheur tras siete décadas al frente de la dinastía” was first published on canarymaritime.com.
