Per Gullestrup
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Biography
Per Gullestrup is a ship owner, shipping executive and philanthropist, best known for successfully negotiating the release of the Clipper Group ship CEC Future and its crew, held hostage by Somali pirates in November 2008. The incident was the basis for the subsequent film, A Hijacking, released in 2013.
Gullestrup was born on October 6, 1955 to Lars and Gitta Gullestrup in Copenhagen, Denmark, and is the eldest of three children. His mother, Gitta, physically disabled from birth, encouraged him to pursue a career in shipping when he left school at the age of 15.
Joining A.P Moller Maersk as an apprentice in Copenhagen, Denmark, Gullestrup was later transferred to London, United Kingdom in the late 1970s. During this time he met Helle Henriksen, a former model and nurse. They married in 1979 in Copenhagen and had two children, Tanja (born 31 March 1981) and Peter (born 6 September 1984).
Gullestrup joined Armada Group in their Houston, Texas office in 1983, relocating his family to the United States for the next 16 years. During their time in Houston, Armada changed management and became Clipper. Helle worked as a researcher for various institutes including MD Anderson and managed the family's involvement in various charities.
In the late 1990s, the Gullestrups moved back to Copenhagen, Denmark where they sent their children to Herlufsholm Boarding School to complete the International Baccalaureate. It was at this time, Clipper merged with another shipping company, Elite. The newly merged company became known as Clipper-Elite, and later Clipper Group, and Gullestrup became the CEO. Gullestrup is accredited with helping drive Clipper Group to become the world's largest shipping company within a number of bulk segments and project vessels.
Per Gullestrup currently sits on the board of numerous companies and as of 2013 stepped in as chairman of ISWAN, an organisation that promotes the welfare of seafarers globally.
2008 hijacking
It was during his tenure as CEO that in November 2008, that one of Clipper's ships, the CEC Future, was seized by Somali pirates. Gullestrup took the lead in negotiations with the hijackers, resulting in the successful release of both the ship and its crew. A documentary was produced on the story and subsequently, a Danish film, A Hijacking, based on the incident and loosely around Gullestrup's role in it.
As a direct result of the incident involving the Somali pirates, Gullestrup and other industry leaders started the Danish-Somali charity initiative called Fair Fishing in Somaliland. Fair Fishing teaches locals how to fish and live off the natural resources in order to make an honest living. Gullestrup sits on the board of Clipper Group but has stepped down from the daily running of Clipper Group.
Personal
He and his wife reside in London, near his children and grandchildren, Athena and Konstantin. The family's two children have founded The Giving Tree Foundation, a charity aimed at providing Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapies for children with autism. Peter Gullestrup, an analyst with one of the world's largest oil companies, is co-founder and chairman of the foundation, while Tanja Gullestrup, psychologist, entrepreneur and former model, is co-founder and trustee of the foundation.