Owner Family
Who we are
Powering the infrastructure of global trade through family values and future-focused leadership
Founded in 1876 on the Danish coast, USTC has grown from a local shipbroker to a global group spanning six industries and more than 4,300 employees worldwide. With activities across bunkering, shipping, logistics, IT services, sustainable energy, and risk management, we are united by a shared commitment to move global trade forward.
At the heart of it all is our family ownership, empowering long-term decision-making, stability, and a value-driven culture. USTC is privately held by the Østergaard family through the parent company Selfinvest, ensuring continuity across generations.
The Group is owned and led by Torben Østergaard-Nielsen, Nina Østergaard, and Mia Østergaard Rechnitzer, who are actively involved in shaping the long-term direction of USTC and our companies.
Our Heritage
From Danish Shipbroker
to Global Conglomerate
Our story began in 1876 on the Danish coast, in the town of Fredericia, with a modest shipbroking company. Nearly a century later, in the late 1970s, Torben Østergaard-Nielsen became Managing Director of the shipbroking small subsidiary in Middelfart and saw potential far beyond the horizon.
Torben Østergaard-Nielsen pioneered a new, independent model for bunker trading, laying the foundation for what is today Bunker Holding, the world’s largest bunker trading company.
Over the next four decades, Torben Østergaard-Nielsen propelled the business forward through a combination of strategic ownership, organic growth, and targeted acquisitions. Driven by an entrepreneurial mindset and a commitment to innovative thinking, he transformed a single company into a global group comprising a solid portfolio of independently managed businesses.
USTC ownership today
Stewardship
Across Generations
USTC is, and will remain, a family-owned Group, actively led by the Østergaard family.
In 2020, ownership transitioned to the next generation, Nina Østergaard and Mia Østergaard Rechnitzer becoming co-owners.
In 2022, Nina Østergaard was appointed CEO of USTC, taking over operational leadership of the Group while Mia Østergaard Rechnitzer became Chief Governance Officer, playing a leading role in the Group’s ESG and governance agenda. Torben Østergaard-Nielsen remains active as Working Chairman of the Board, guiding strategy and growth.
The transition reflects a carefully planned succession and a commitment to long-term stewardship. All three family members are actively involved across boards, ownership strategy, and day-to-day development, ensuring continuity of values, vision, and leadership.
Words from our CEO
As the industries we operate in continue to become more complex and demanding, USTC too, must continue to evolve to provide the right leadership and support in serving our stakeholders to the best of our abilities across every industry we are involved in.
Nina Østergaard, CEO of USTC and co-owner
Our values
The foundation of
how we lead, grow, and
support our industries
Our values are not a set of rules or ambitions, they are part of how we think and operate across the entire USTC Group. Carried through decades of family ownership, they shape how we make decisions, how we lead our people, and how we engage with the world around us.
- Business Acumen
We are commercially minded, long-term in our thinking, and pragmatic in execution. - Leadership
We believe leadership is something you show, not something you state. - Decency
We treat people right. It’s how trust is built, and how it lasts.
