Transportation: WILLIAM E. ‘BILL’ WOODHOUR

A.P. Moller-Maersk lost its quarter-century reign as the world’s largest shipping company when it was overtaken by Mediterranean Shipping Company in January. Woodhour has been at the helm of the Danish shipping giant’s U.S. arm, Maersk Line, a Norfolk-based subsidiary founded in 1983 to support the U.S. Navy, since 2016.

Maersk Line’s fleet of more than 700 container vessels operate around the world in support of U.S. military, government and humanitarian missions. It also serves commercial customers and has helped to train as many as 700 cadets from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

Maersk launched an investigation and suspended five crew members after an academy cadet alleged in an October 2021 post on the Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy’s website that she was raped aboard one of its ships. Woodhour called the account “heart-wrenching and devastating,” but told The Washington Post that incidents like these are isolated. Earlier this year, the company fired two employees for not cooperating with an investigation of the incident. In June, the cadet, Hope Hicks, filed suit against Maersk in New York.

A University of Delaware alumnus, Woodhour received an Admiral of the Ocean Sea award from the United Seaman’s Service in 2021. He serves as vice chairman of the National Defense Transportation Association’s board.