About us
This is us
This is Portchain
Portchain was founded by three McKinsey project managers who saw the inefficiencies in how container carriers and terminals planned and aligned operations using spreadsheets, emails, and phone calls. They envisioned a digitized information-sharing system that could transform the industry, enabling Just-In-Time operations, and significantly boosting productivity while reducing emissions. By combining intuitive UX design with advanced analytics and cutting-edge web technologies, Portchain enhances operational performance for shipping companies. Our mission is to make shipping more predictable, efficient and green.
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Our values
High flexibility and high ownership
We provide high trust and flexibility, expecting high ownership and high performance.
We focus on the end goal and work as a team
We prioritize outcomes over outputs, avoid siloed thinking, and collaborate on our top joint priorities.
Disagree and commit, fast
We openly share our opinions but make decisions quickly, avoiding overanalyzing easily reversible choices.
Personal well-being is a goal in itself
We prioritize personal well-being by fostering a culture of inclusion, trust, care, and fun and providing a safe space for support.
Meet our international team
At Portchain, we are more than a diverse group of employees with backgrounds ranging from data science, software engineering, shipping, and management consulting; we are a community driven by a shared vision of transforming the maritime industry through innovation, trust, and continuous development.
Niels Kristiansen
CEO, co-founder
Anders Olivarius
CIO, co-founder
Thor Thorup
CCO, co-founder
Craig Halford
Vice President of Sales
Rasmus Holmann Sørensen
Vice President of Product
Rie Creasy Glentemose
Chief of Staff
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Born in Copenhagen,
working globally
Based in Copenhagen, Portchain employs a diverse, global team that is working tirelessly to digitalize backbone processes in one of the worlds’ most important industries.
Check out current openings
Meet our investors
They are senior executives and business leaders with diverse backgrounds across shipping, venture and technology.
Gil Dibner
Partner, Angular Ventures
Gil has been an active venture investor focused on enterprise technology companies born in Europe and Israel since 2005. As a venture investor and angel, he has backed companies in Israel and across Europe. The majority of these companies have successfully relocated to the US, and many have been backed by leading global venture firms. Prior to founding Angular Ventures, Gil was a Partner at DFJ Esprit in London, and a Principal at Index Ventures in London, where he helped manage Index’s pan-European seed portfolio. Previously, he was a VC in Israel at Gemini Israel Ventures and Genesis Partners, based in Tel Aviv. Gil grew up in Boston, calls Tel Aviv home, and works across Europe and Israel.
“We first met Portchain over a year ago and spent the past 14 months getting to know the team, their vision, the company, and the industry in which they operate. Our conviction level here is so high that we felt comfortable putting $5M to work here, one of our largest investments ever, and our second investment in Denmark.“
Klaus Eldrup-Jørgensen
CEO, TrackMan
Klaus Eldrup-Jørgensen is CEO of the sports data company TrackMan that he co-founded with his brother Morten Eldrup-Jørgensen. The two brother’s started Trackman back in 2003. Since then, the company has shown tremendous growth and its technology is being applied in major sports leagues all over the world, primarily within Golf and Baseball. The technology is based on Doppler radar, that was originally used in military applications to track projectiles and missiles. Prior to founding TrackMan, Mr. Eldrup-Jørgensen held executive positions within Novo Nordisk, Dako, and Nordic Bioscience.
“We decided to invest in Portchain because of its very strong and professional team, and a strong belieg in the business area“
Michael Hassing
Former CEO, Ports America
Michael Hassing is an experienced transportation and logistics executive. Mr. Hassing served as the CEO of Ports America 8 years. Prior to that Mr. Hassing served as CEO of Scandlines and as CEO of Samskip, where he was responsible for developing the container shipping and international forwarding business. Further, Mr. Hassing has served as senior executive in Maersk Group and has held several board and director roles for companies such as Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation and Stena AB. Today he works with a selective group of Private Equity firms within infrastructure projects.
“Portchain whas developed an impressive technical solution using AI and ML to optimize terminal berth planning and container liner scheduling. I am excited about the opportunity this tool provides“
Tommy Thomsen
CEO, Lauritzen Fonden
Tommy Thomsen has held various top-level managerial positions in A. P. Moller Maersk, Clipper Group and Nordic Tankers before he joined the Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) as CEO in 2013. In 2019, Mr. Thomsen took over as CEO of Lauritzen Fonden. Mr. Thomsen serves as Chairman of the Board for the Danish Maritime Fund, Chairman of J. Lauritzen, Chairman of C.W. Obel A/S, Chairman of NanoNord A/S and is a member of the Board for PSA International and Chemical Transportation Group, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Panama Canal Authority.
Klaus Holse
Vice Chair, GN Group
Klaus has a broad international management background with more than 20 years of experience in IT and software. He is currently Chairman of the Confederation of Danish Industry and Vice Chair of GN Group. He is also Chairman of the economic intelligence company Macrobond Financial; in the visual storytelling tools company Vizrt Group; in the software company EG; and in the CRM platform company SuperOffice. In addition, he has previously held the positions of CEO of SimCorp for 9 years, Corporate VP at Microsoft, and Senior VP at Oracle.
Jesper Kjaedegaard
Partner, Mercator International
Jesper Kjaedegaard has 40+ years of experience in container shipping, port planning, and international logistics. Mr. Kjaedegaard served as Senior Vice President and member of Maersk Line’s Executive Board, serving as Head of Maersk Line. Today, Mr. Kjaedegaard is an advisor to several companies and investment funds with an interest in the maritime space. He holds a number of Board positions and is also the past President of the British Chamber of Shipping and Chairman of Maritime UK
“The ability to optimize terminal and carrier assets and resources through AI is something the industry has been demanding for years“
Tom Behrens-Sørensen
Founder & CEO, Behrens-Sorensen Advisory P/S
Tom Behrens-Sørensen is a professional board member, senior advisor, and venture capital investor. Mr. Behrens-Sørensen has 30 years of experience from the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group where he acted as Group Executive Vice President and Chairman of Maersk China. Having been associated with China since 1981, he is a sought-after China advisor with extensive relationships with both Government and the Private Sector. During the past decade, Mr. Behrens-Sørensen has served as Non-Executive Director on the board of numerous maritime companies including China Merchants Group, NOL, RSGT, and RAK Ports as also participated as investor and advisory board member in select maritime start-up companies.
“Portchain is uniquely placed with a compelling value proposition to address structural challenges facing the container liner and terminal industries“
