Niels Smedegaard was born 1962 in Denmark. After high school and two years in the army as reserve officer he graduated in 1987 as a Master of Business (Cand. Merc.) with focus on finance and strategic planning, after which he, in 1988, joined Scandinavian Airlines, SAS, and in 1990 SAS Service Partner. In 1994, he was appointed Head of Strategic Controlling of Swissair Associated Companies and moved with his family to Switzerland. From 1995 until 2000, he was CFO of the Gate Gourmet Group, after which he moved with his family to USA to become President & CEO of e-gatematrix, a global subsidiary of Gate Gourmet. He held this position until 2007 when he was appointed CEO of DFDS. In addition he holds numerous other positions such as e.g.: Chair of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) and the Bikuben Foundation and Deputy Chairman of Danish Shipowners’ Association.