2019 Conference Speakers

Angus Campbell was appointed Director – Energy Projects in 2016 to support the achievement of Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement’s (BSM) business growth objectives in the energy sector, focusing on the development of commercially viable gas supply and energy infrastructure projects.  Previously, Angus served as Managing Director of BSM United Kingdom, appointed in 2013, and bringing extensive experience with him to the role.

Before joining BSM, Angus held the position of Owner/Principal Consultant at CH4 Marine Advisory, a consultancy company dealing with the commercial development of marine transportation related to oil, gas and maritime security.

Angus has been in the shipping industry for over 40 years, working at Denholm Ship Management, Seatrain and for 30 years in senior positions at Overseas Ship Holding Group. Angus’ operational background is specialised on managing dry/wet and gas carriers and his focus is energy transportation.

Lois K. Zabrocky has been President and Chief Executive Officer of International Seaways, one of the largest tanker companies worldwide since 2016.  The Company owns and operates a fleet of 48 vessels including 13 VLCCs, 2 Suezmaxes, 6 Aframaxes/LR2s, 11 Panamaxes/LR1s and 10 MR tankers.  Through joint ventures, it has ownership interests in 4 LNG carriers and 2 Floating Storage and Offloading Service vessels.

Before assuming leadership for International Seaways, Lois served as Senior Vice President for OSG’S International Flag strategic business unit with P&L responsibility for commercial management and oversight of fleet operations. Previously she was Chief Commercial Officer, with responsibility for OSG’s international flag crude, products and gas businesses.

Ms. Zabrocky began her maritime career sailing as third mate aboard a U.S. flag chemical tanker. Ms. Zabrocky holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Merchant Marine Academy, holds a Third Mate’s license and has completed Harvard Business School Strategic Negotiations and Finance for Senior Executives.

Rich Pruitt is responsible for overseeing all onboard and shoreside environmental operations for a fleet of 26 ships deployed in North America, the Caribbean and Australasia.  He also evaluates new technologies, establishes newbuilding specifications, develops company vision and strategic initiatives and sets policy for all sustainability and environmental stewardship activities.

Rich Pruitt is the founder and Principal of RMP Sustainability LLC, providing maritime safety, environmental compliance and sustainability solutions to organizations.

Rich Pruitt also served as Vice President, Safety and Environmental Stewardship at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. He was responsible for evaluating new technologies, establishing newbuilding specifications, developing corporate vision and strategic initiatives and setting policy for all sustainability, environmental stewardship, situation/crisis management, injury prevention, maritime safety, and management systems programs for the corporation.  He also served in various other roles at RCL during his tenure from May 2003 until November 2016, including Director, Public Health and leading RCL’s humanitarian relief efforts following the Haitian earthquake in January 2010.

Prior to joining Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Rich served in the United States Air Force and the United States Coast Guard. From 1980 to 1990, Rich was an Air Force airborne Russian linguist and Airborne Mission Supervisor, assigned to various units and the National Security Agency. He also served in various national security and marine safety positions with the United States Coast Guard from 1990 to 2003.

He has earned an Environmental Master of Business Administration degree from Florida Atlantic University, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management from National Louis University and an Associate’s degree in Russian Interpreting from the Community College of the United States Air Force.  Rich is currently a Guardian Ad Litem in the 17th Circuit and is actively engaged in various industry, charitable and environmental organizations.

Aziz Bamik joined GTT, the leading engineering company in the shipping and storage of LNG and other liquefied gases, in 1999 and has served as General Manager of wholly-owned subsidiary GTT North America (GTT NA) in Houston since its formation in 2013.  Based in Houston, he manages all the activities in the American continents.

Before assuming this position, he occupied various positions at GTT SA in France, including R&D Engineer, Project Manager, and Director of Business Development.   As Project Manager, for nine years he was in charge of the relationships with Shipbuilding Yards (China, Korea, Japan) with the delivery of approximately 100 LNG carriers, including the Regas-LNGCs, Large and very Large LNGCs for Qatari Projects, etc.   As Director of Business Development, for almost four years he was in charge of the relationships with Shipowners, Charterers, Gas Companies, EPCs, Engineering Companies, Classification Societies, etc.

Mr. Bamik is currently a member of AAPA (American Association of Port Authorities), NAMEPA (North American Marine Environmental Protection Association), and Program Committee of the LNG X events, the largest international LNG event.   He is a frequent speaker and contributor to SGMF, SIGTTO, U.S. Coast Guard Senior Executive Forums, and other prominent industry events around the world.

In early 2017 Mr. Bamik was awarded the U.S. Coast Guard Meritorious Public Service Award for his advocacy of the safe, clean, and secure transport and use of liquefied gases within the maritime industry.

In February 2018, Mr. Bamik has been nominated as French Foreign Trade Advisor for the French Government.

Mr. Bamik received his degree in Engineering in France.

Ravi Singh has served as Chief Technical Officer of Northern Shipping Fund Management LLC since December 2012. Prior to that, Mr. Singh headed Marine Risk Management at Liberty Mutual, served as Head of Technical Operations for American Commercial Lines, led Americas Marine Management Consulting group at DNV, served as Head of US Operations for ABB Marine & Turbocharging and was a Fleet Manager at Sea-Land. He began his career at sea and sailed for 7 years. Mr. Singh graduated with a degree in marine engineering from the Indian Merchant Marine Academy, earned a Chief Engineer’s license in the U.K., a BSE in Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering from the University of Michigan, and a MBA in Finance from Rutgers University.

Joshua Shapiro joined Liberty Maritime Corporation (“LMC”) and Liberty Global Logistics (“LGL”) in 2009 as part of the Operations and Strategic Planning departments.  He was named the Chief Operating Officer of LMC and Executive Vice President of LGL in April 2016.  As Executive Vice President of LGL, Mr. Shapiro is also integrally involved in the ocean transportation and logistics company, overseeing all modes of its diversified point to point logistics solutions including – ocean, trucking, air and rail.  He is a member of the Executive Management Committee which is responsible for the business performance, strategic partnerships and growth strategies of the companies.  He is an elected member of the American Bureau of Shipping, the Young Shipping Professionals of New York.

Captain Mohan Muppidi is a Master Mariner who started his sea career with Shipping Corporation of India in 1974.  Captain Muppidi got his command in 1984 and sailed on various types of vessels, tankers, bulkers, and container vessels. He joined OMI in 1988 and sailed till 1992, having had the privilege of being in command of OMI’s ULCC, TT Settebello.  Captain Muppidi moved to the US in 1994 as Port Captain with OMI and reached the position of Vice President Safety and Quality in 2004.  He joined TORM Tankers in 2007 when OMI was sold and subsequently worked with Heidmar.  Since 2012, Captain Muppidi has been with Fleet Management and is currently working as Senior Vice President in Connecticut.

Jayant K Roy Choudhury has 25 years’ experience in the maritime industry with a strong background in strategic planning, auditing, team leading, quality assurance, project management, regulatory compliance, risk analysis/mitigation, sales support and safety.  Before joining Crowley in 2012, Roy worked with Teekay Corporation, Canada and Great Eastern Shipping, India. His responsibilities at Crowley include Engineering Strategy and selection and procurement of major Capital Equipments.  Roy’s interests include Energy Efficiency and promoting Entrepreneurship.  He has worked extensively on Crude Oil heating procedures for Oil Tanker and co-founded Blue Water Trade-Winds; a leading provider of Crude oil heating consultancy for ship operators. Blue Water Trade-Winds received 2015 Lloyds’s award for Technical Innovation for Crude Oil Heating solutions. Roy is a Marine Engineering graduate of DMET (India) and has a Master’s degree in Business Management from Bauer Collage, University of Houston.

Captain Tom Hudson is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York. After graduation, Tom sailed on US Flag tankers for over 20 years. Following retirement from the IOMM&P, Tom began working for oil companies primarily in safety and emergency response. Tom’s background includes time as a SIRE inspector and Vetting Manager.

Captain Hudson joined Mitsui O.S.K Bulk Shipping in 2007 and has since represented the company’s interest at forums and with the USCG. Tom’s constant involvement with the US Coast Guard during his long career and his personal contact with the oil companies in Houston mean he can usually find a friendly contact to help solve any issue.

Captain James C. DeSimone is employed by the New York City Department of Transportation as Deputy Commissioner & Chief Operating Officer of the Ferry Division. Prior to joining the New York City Department of Transportation, DeSimone held senior management positions in the high-speed ferry and towing and transportation sectors of the maritime industry and served on the administration of our nation’s oldest maritime academy. During his seagoing career, he sailed in all shipboard capacities up to and including master and as port captain for various companies and holds a United States Coast Guard License as Master of Steam or Motor Vessels of Any Gross Tons upon Oceans.

Ramesh Bhat is a highly accomplished top executive in the maritime industry with over 39 years of experience specializing in shipbuilding, technical management, operations and crew management. He brings a global perspective and experience building high performance teams in complex organizations on any role he serves, and emphasizes strategic focus, collaborative partnerships and bold actions.

Ramesh Bhat is the Maritime Technical Director at Mangrove Partners, where he is leading the Company’s initiatives of building 6 X Newcastlemax vessels in China and overseeing the Managers of their 9 in-water vessels. He has served as a Chief Technical Officer for a US flag owner / operator where he was the driving force behind streamlining company’s operational processes, reducing costs and negotiating contracts. In his prior experience at US listed Shipping Company, he served as Technical Director where he played a critical role in transforming the company’s assets from 6 Supramax vessels to 56 vessels in a span of 10 years. He played a vital role in managing five offshore teams globally in China, Japan, Singapore, Russia and Myanmar. He was instrumental in building 39 new vessels from Japan and China where he managed and negotiated all aspects of ship building. He was instrumental in starting the company’s in-house technical management department and thus improving ship performance while making it cost effective. In the area of crew management, he scouted for the best of the breed from Ukraine, Myanmar, India, Philippines and the US. In the early 2000s, he was instrumental in starting a US operation for Hong Kong – based Ship Management Company where he focused not only on ship management but also marketing.

Bhat holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and in Marine Engineering. He also holds an advanced degree of Masters in Maritime Management.

He is a former board member of Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA), member of American Bureau of Shipping’s global technical committee and Class NK US owners committee and has been a key note speaker at various conferences. He has also involved in mentoring young maritime graduates and recruits.

Sherice Arman joined Maples Group as counsel in 2013, was elected as a partner in 2016 and heads up the shipping group. She has over 20 years of experience advising on corporate and commercial law, specializing in financing transactions, including banking and asset finance, fund and corporate finance.  Sherice is the founding president of WISTA Cayman Islands, the Country Liaison for the Cayman Islands for the Women in Maritime Association, Caribbean, a member of the International Aviation Women’s Association, the Deputy Chairman of the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands and a member of board of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands.

Todd Allen is the Regional Manager of NAVTOR USA Inc. located in Seattle WA.  NAVTOR is a company headquartered in Egersund, Norway.  They are a leading force in the provision of innovative e-Navigation solutions, and a total supplier of Navigational products and services for the maritime sector.  Thousands of ships and hundreds of shipping companies from all over the world use NAVTOR’s tools and services for their navigational needs.  Before being appointed Regional Manager of NAVTOR USA Inc in August 2017, Todd worked for the head office in Norway.

A maritime professional with over 35 years of restructuring experience, Randee Day has been designated one of the world’s most influential global maritime executives. She has expertise in restructuring, executive leadership, corporate governance and maritime finance.  She serves as a Senior Advisor to Goldin Associates and Chief Executive Officer of its maritime asset management affiliate, Goldin Maritime LLC.

Randee has extensive experience managing shipping entities and orchestrating deals relating to distressed shipping portfolios, including various classes of vessels and other maritime assets.  Notably, she advised General Maritime Corp., one of the world’s largest publicly-traded oil tanker companies, on its restructuring in bankruptcy.  She was previously the interim CEO of DHT Holdings, Inc., a publicly-traded owner/operator of crude oil tankers, and before that, Head of Maritime Investment Banking at the Seabury Group, CEO of her own advisory firm, Day & Partners, Inc., and Division Head of JP Morgan’s Shipping Group.

Randee has sat on the Boards of Directors of TBS International, Ltd., Ocean Rig ASA, Excel Maritime and Eagle Bulk.  In these positions she served on numerous committees, including as Chair of Audit (DHT) and Governance (DHT and Eagle Bulk).

Gavin Allwright is the Secretary of the International Windship Association (IWSA). Established in 2014, this grouping of maritime wind propulsion companies and projects supported by academia, NGO’s and seafarers is working to promote and facilitate the uptake of wind propulsion solutions in commercial shipping. Alongside his work as association secretary, he also leads the policy and finance work streams, requiring regular attendance at IMO, OECD and EU meetings and sits on the stakeholders advisory committee for the MTCC network at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Gavin has presented at over 100 international fora, including CMA, SMM & Green Ship Technology along with regularly chairing the Natural Propulsion Seminar as part of Blue Week each year. He was also the coordinator for the ground breaking ‘Ambition 1.5C: Global Shipping’s Action Plan’ summit at COP23 in Bonn in 2017. His work extends to being an active non-executive board member for the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) and he is a regular guest lecturer at the UN World Maritime University (WMU) in Malmo, Sweden among others.

He has worked closely with the Oceania Centre for Sustainable Transport (now Micronesian Centre for Sustainable Transport) on the development of a sustainable shipping network in the South Pacific and gained extensive knowledge of the small vessel sector from his work as the Commercial Director for the Greenheart project, a not-for-profit organisation he joined in 2005, designing a zero-emissions, sail/solar electric cargo vessel for least developed regions.

Gavin holds a master’s degree in Sustainable Development, specialising in small scale sustainable shipping and logistics in developing countries. He has contributed to numerous studies, projects, books and articles on alternative propulsion solutions and helped coordinate and contributed to the UN-affiliated IRENA technical brief – Renewable Energy Options in Shipping and most recently was an expert reviewer for the IPCC special report on 1.5C climate change.

Cosmo King is the CEO and co-founder of Seattle based ioCurrents, the leading real-time predictive analytics platform for the maritime industry. The company’s platform, MarineInsightTM, analyzes and transmits vessel equipment data in real time to help operators prevent machinery failures, reduce maintenance costs, increase fuel efficiency, and minimize downtime.

With more than 20 years’ experience in the tech industry, King has worked at various tech companies, honing his expertise on system automation for storage and cloud products.  Before launching ioCurrents, King was part of the original engineering team at Isilon Systems as they grew from startup to a global storage industry leader acquired by EMC. King is an industry expert in cloud computing, distributed systems, data storage, and security. Having grown up on the Chesapeake Bay and now calling the Pacific Northwest home, King was inspired to start ioCurrents after working with geospatial IoT and sensor data and seeing the benefits that edge analysis technology could provide to the maritime industry.

King enjoys spending his spare time on the water with his family, having fully restored his vintage Coronado 41 sloop “Northern Lights.”

Joseph Gross joined d’Amico in December 2013. A US Coast Guard licensed Master Mariner, he has nearly 30 years of experience in the maritime industry, both at sea and ashore.  Coming ashore in 1997, he spent two years working in vessel operations at Charles R. Weber Company, followed by eleven years there as a spot tanker broker.  From 2010 until 2011, he worked as a dry cargo broker at John F. Dillon & Company, and from August 2011 to December 2013 as a ship broker on the projects desk at Maersk Broker America, Inc.  Mr. Gross has been the President of the Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA) since 2016. 

Kevin Humphreys is General Manager for Merchant & Gas Carrier Segment sales at Wärtsilä, Inc. where he has held various positions for the past seven years.  Kevin has 25 years of experience as a senior executive and manager in a variety of fields including private equity and venture capital backed start-ups, OEM, software, international shipping, and government. Before entering the private sector, Kevin was a Special Agent with The Federal Bureau of Investigation, sailed as a licensed chief engineer in the merchant marines, and served as an officer in the US Naval reserve.  Kevin is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in marine engineering systems, holds a Chief Engineers License Unlimited steam and diesel, and has a Master of Arts degree in the Philosophy and Theology of Science from Biola University.  

Martin is a Master Mariner and Marine Engineer by profession and has sailed on Tall Ships, Container Vessels and Tankers. He came ashore in 2002 to join Columbia Shipmanagement, where he progressed up to Commercial Director and where he was involved in all corporate matters and all departments in a phase of significant fleet growth.  In 2014 Martin joined Fednav Ltd., Canada’s largest ocean-going dry-bulk shipowning and chartering group. As Vice President, Shipowning and Technical Services, Martin is responsible for Fednav’s growing, 65+ strong fleet.  He holds a M.Sc. in Nautical Studies and Marine Engineering from HAW Hamburg, a business degree from AKAD Leipzig and an LL.M. from University of Saarland. Martin is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s High Potential Leadership Program.

Jeff Lantz is Director, Commercial Regulations and Standards for the Coast Guard’s Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship. His responsibilities include the development of U.S. national maritime safety and environmental protection regulations and policies and overseeing U.S. initiatives in the development of international maritime safety, security and environmental protection standards. 

In addition, Mr. Lantz serves as the U.S. Head of Delegation to the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Maritime Safety Committee, Marine Environment Protection Committee, and various sub-committees. In this position, he represents the US position on numerous regulatory issues within the international commercial maritime industry including piracy and maritime security, green house gas emissions, human element, ballast water management, and passenger vessel safety. Mr. Lantz has also been elected and currently serves as the as the Chairman for the IMO’s Council, the organization’s second highest governing body. 

Mr. Lantz retired from active duty with the Coast Guard at the rank of Captain in 2001 after numerous assignments in marine safety, including Chief of the Office of Design and Engineering Standards and Commanding Officer of the Marine Safety Center. He graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1974 and the University of Michigan in 1978, where he obtained advanced degrees in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and in Mechanical Engineering. 

Alex is the Director of Moran Cyber, where he leads a capability that offers industrial cybersecurity solutions and testing, industrial cyber risk advisory, and strategy development to improve safety and security of commercial ship and port operations and logistics.  Moran’s cyber capability is built upon a foundation of IT and information security integration with the business of shipping, port operations, finance, and the global supply chain.  Alex is a master mariner and a state harbor pilot in Massachusetts and is also a Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve, with 25 years of service.

Jason Kelly serves as Executive Vice President of Moran Shipping Agencies and is a co-founder of Sea Ahead, a startup blue–tech incubator.  An active member of the maritime community, Jason volunteers with ASBA (Treasurer), the Chamber of Shipping of America, the Dean’s Advisory Council, URI Graduate School of Oceanography, Chair, Providence Harbor Management Commission, and member, Mystic Aquarium President’s advisory board.  Jason holds an MBA from Middlesex University in Shipping & Logistics and a Bachelor of Business from Boston College.  Jason is a passionate advocate for commercial shipping and smart-ocean planning, strongly supporting industry best practices in safety, security, and environmental stewardship. 

Jan-Willem van den Dijssel is an accomplished trader and business leader with over 20 years’ experience in the maritime trading industry. In his current role, Jan-Willem is responsible for the general management of Cargill’s business across the Americas.  Jan-Willem joined Cargill in 1996 as a grain trader in Santiago de Chile within the Latin America business unit. Later, he successfully held trading roles in Cargill’s global corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota and in Miami, Florida.  In 2004, Jan-Willem moved to the Panamax desk of Cargill’s Ocean Transportation business in Geneva, Switzerland before he became manager of the Americas Handy desk.  In 2011, Jan-Willem joined the New Jersey office as Americas Commercial Manager. In 2014, he was promoted to his current role of Americas Lead.  In January 2018, Jan-Willem was named as Cargill’s board representative of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association. 

Rajan Vasudevan has served as the CEO and Founder at OceanManager Inc. since 2011.  OceanManager is a leading maritime software solutions company with innovative products that streamline vessel management and help our customers enhance safety, improve efficiency and reduce costs. OceanManager‘s comprehensive suite of products and services deliver technical management, HSEQ, vessel tracking, regulatory compliance and ship-to-shore communications.  Rajan has over two decades of entrepreneurship and technology consulting across industries. He holds engineering graduate degrees from Stanford University and undergraduate from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IITD). 

Dr. R. Vis is first a Marine Engineer and has a Doctorate in Metallurgical Engineering and a Master in Internal Combustion.  He is on the Roster of Experts of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a Consultant to the Department of Transportation (Maritime Administration – Federal Government of USA), and a member of CIMAC Working Group for Heavy Fuels and Lube Oils and ASTM D2 Committees.  Dr. Vis has personally inspected over 4,000 ships as a Classification Surveyor, has had many publications in highly regarded journals, and is globally referred to as the “bunker guru”.  After his career with American Bureau of Shipping, he worked as a scientist with NASA for 6 years before starting Viswa Lab and now Viswa Group. 

Dan is a partner in the finance group and head of the firm’s New York office. Dan’s practice involves a broad scope of finance work ranging from asset-based lending and project structured financings (including bilateral and syndicated loan facilities, letter of credit and guarantee facilities, and restructuring work) to lease financings and US capital markets transactions. His diverse client base includes financial institutions, borrowers, participants in lease transactions, and issuers of debt and public and private equity. Dan has a special focus on transactions in the shipping and offshore industries, in which capacity he also advises on matters of Marshall Islands and Liberian corporate and maritime law and Vanuatu maritime law, including issuing opinions. He is recognized as one of the leading shipping finance lawyers in the USA by legal directories Chambers USA, Chambers Global and Legal 500 US. In 2019, Chambers reported he was “a significant figure in the business”.  Dan received his J.D. degree from Tulane University and his A.B. degree from Dartmouth College.   

Jack Noonan is a maritime industry professional with 40 years’ experience.  He was CEO of Chembulk Tankers, from which he retired in December 2017.  He subsequently formed Binnacle Maritime LLC to provide consulting services within the shipping and related maritime services industry.  Prior to Chembulk, Jack worked for Stolt-Nielsen, Sound Tanker Chartering, and Clipper Group.  Following graduation from the US Merchant Marine Academy, he sailed with the US Flag Tanker Fleet of Texaco, advancing his USCG License to Chief Mate.  In 2017, Jack was recognized by the Connecticut Maritime Association as Commodore, its highest honor for its annual shipping industry symposium.  Additionally, he was named Alumnus of the Year by his alma-mater the US Merchant Marine Academy.   

Anuj leads the RightShip team for the Americas region.  He began his seafaring career as a deck cadet working his way up to Captain and holds a Commonwealth Extra Masters Certificate of Competency, and Shipping Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.  

Anuj is a Fellow of The Nautical Institute and chairperson of the US Gulf Branch, an active supporter of seafarer welfare as an Ambassador for the Sailor Society, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Houston International Seafarers Center. He was elected President of the Industry Advisory Board for the Supply Chain & Logistics Technology Degree at University of Houston, and on the Board (and Treasurer) of NAMEPA – North American Marine Environment Protection Association. Anuj became a member of NOAA’s Hydrographic Services Review Panel at the beginning of 2019. 

Wajdi Abdmessih, President of Seahawk Services, has 25 years’ experience in fuel oil testing and inspection.  He has personally analyzed hundreds of thousands of fuel oil samples from across the world, troubleshooting hundreds of fuel problems and effectively help fuel oil management/operator on navigation problematic fuels. He has worked on fuel blending and was the first to analyze and report on the 0.10% sulfur fuel quality before it became available in the market January 2015 and now working on 0.50% Sulfur fuel blends where he blends/analyze more than 400 samples.  

Wajdi created internal methodology to detect problematic fuels which assist fuel purchaser management in deciding to use or reject the fuel.  He has published papers on fuel quality, presented at many international fuel conferences, and assisted with many legal dispute cases as an expert in fuel oil testing and handling. His laboratories have been trusted by many companies as the referee laboratory for quality dispute.

Arlie G. Sterling, as President and co-founder of Marsoft Inc., leads the development and commercialization of Marsoft’s decision support and risk management services for the maritime industry. Dr. Sterling has an S.B. from MIT, an M.S. from Northwestern and a Ph.D. in Applied Economics from MIT Sloan School. Marsoft prepares clients for the lending and investment decisions they face in this volatile and cyclical industry by signaling the key risks and structural changes and the potential impact of geopolitical instability. Marsoft is developing a platform aligned with the Poseidon Principles to report on the implications of climate change for earnings and values and how shipowners can best respond. 

Cynthia A. Hudson is CEO and founder of HudsonAnalytix, Inc., a global maritime risk consultancy serving the maritime transportation sector, including port and cyber security, headquartered in the Philadelphia, US and internationally from Piraeus to Jakarta.  Well-known and highly regarded throughout the maritime transportation industry for her work and contributions in her field, Ms. Hudson was most recently honored by the Organization of American States (OAS) Inter–American Committee on Ports with the 2016 Maritime Award of the Americas: Outstanding Women in the Maritime and Port.  Ms. Hudson serves on a number of industry boards and is President of WISTA Delaware River & Bay Chapter and a Director of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA). 

Alexandra Anagnostis-Irons is the founder and President of Total Marine Solutions (TMS) headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Alex started her shipping career in the cruise sector and enjoyed over 16 years serving in a number of executive roles within Marine & Technical Operations.  She left the cruise industry in September 2000 as Royal Caribbean’s Director, Technical Purchasing to launch Total Marine Solutions.   

Her objective was to develop an organization with a focus on supplying MARPOL compliant solutions to ship owners and operators with the highest levels of support and customer service.  The combination of strong, long-standing partnerships with solid manufacturers of proven technology and razor sharp customer focus has proven to be a solid foundation from which TMS has evolved and continues to prosper.  With global support and presence, TMS works closely with their clients in strengthening their compliance culture from all markets of the industry – cruise, commercial, offshore, government and mega yachts.  

Alex holds both her Master’s Degree in Business Administration and undergraduate degree in Accounting from Barry University in Miami.  She is actively involved in a number of marine organizations and currently serves as Membership Secretary of WISTA USA – Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association, is a Board Member for Seafarers’ House Port Everglades, Coast Guard Foundation, as well as Broward Navy Days. 

Antonios (Tony) Backos has over 22 years of experience advising on and completing transformative public/private corporate transactions and fundraisings for maritime companies and startups.  Currently, Tony is co-founder of Bluewater Acquisition Corp., the first “capital pool company” listed on the TSX Venture, focused on acquiring businesses or assets in the maritime space.  Tony also serves as Advisor (US & Canada) to the Athens Maritime Innovation Center, a new incubator and technology lab in Greece, seeking its first cohort of maritime technology companies this Fall, and he participates as one of the Center’s international mentors.  

Kevin Cote serves as the Marine Technical Sales Manager (Americas) for Innospec Fuel Specialties, LLC, a global specialty chemicals company focused on bringing to market innovative new technologies combined with fast and responsive service. He has worked in the public sector for organizations such as: Supervisor of Shipbuilding; United States Coast Guard and Military Sealift Command. Since entering the private sector in 1996, Mr. Cote has worked for companies such as: ExxonMobil; RCCL; Shell; Caterpillar; MAN; and Wartsila. Mr. Cote holds his BS in Marine Engineering Systems from the USMMA, a Master’s in Public Administration from Norwich University and sailed as a Third Assistant Engineer in the Merchant Marines.

Dana Erskine-Pando, BSN, FNP, earned her ADN in 1990.  She attended North Carolina Central University where she earned her BSN in 1997 and began her career working in ICUs and ERs in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and Hawaii.  She returned to school and received her Family Nurse Practitioner degree from Duquesne University in 2009.  Dana has been with Flying Nurses International for 23 years, serving as a flight nurse and coordinator, and now filling the role of COO.   She has worked with the maritime industry for most of those 23 years and is thoroughly familiar with the challenges presented in moving injured or ill crew members. 

Carl launched, grew and exited two bootstrapped startups in Fintech before transitioning into Impact Investing. In 2018 he teamed up with Columbia University’s Prof. Esposito to put his patented membraneless electrolyzer at the center of clean energy startup sHYp B.V.  sHYp B.V. is working on technology to produce green hydrogen from renewable energy and sea-/ballast water or even brine for the maritime and renewable energy industries. sHYp was awarded a NYSERDA validation grant in 2019 and was included into cohort #4 of www.portxl.org. the premier maritime accelerator in Rotterdam.  

Dick serves, via Silver Trident, as Consultant to SMIT Salvage Americas, LLC, the American arm of SMIT Salvage B.V.  He also serves as Manger-Marketing and Sales for Donjon-SMIT, LLC, an OPA 90 salvage and marine firefighting provider, and as Executive Director of the American Salvage Association. He is also President of Maritime Solutions, Inc. whose mission is the introduction of more effective treatment of ballast water.  Dick has more than fifty years of experience in the maritime industry, is a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, the U.S. Navy School of Diving and Salvage, and the NYU Graduate School of Business Administration. 

Sergio Garcia is a Naval Architect & Marine Engineer who has been working 34 years in the Maritime and Oil & Gas industries.  Mr. Garcia has worked in shipyards and classification societies in various production and managerial roles.  His career has taken him around the globe, from South America to North America to West Africa. In 2000, Mr. Garcia began working for DNV GL as a surveyor then operations manager and is presently Regional Business Development Manager for Maritime Americas.  

Peter began his career at ASR immediately after graduating from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1986. Founded in 1951, ASR proudly represents a global portfolio of principals and serves the shipping industry with technical and environmental solutions.  The second generation of his founding family’s ownership of the company, Peter has been instrumental in establishing international partnerships for ASR, and for tailoring the scope of the company to the changing challenges of its customers. Peter is a member of ABS, ASNE, SMPE, and SNAME. 

Fred Gordon has been with Navios since March 2010, serving as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Navios Maritime Holdings.  He has over 40 years of experience working for shipping and project development companies in business development, strategic planning, finance, chartering and technical capacities.  Mr. Gordon has worked for drybulk, tanker, gas, container and reefer ship owners and operators and has developed power projects and ports in Romania, Turkey, Pakistan, Russia and China.  He received his BS in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from Webb Institute and his MS in Operations Research from Columbia University. 

A University of Michigan Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering graduate in 2012, Tom Hazen has spent his entire career with Hyde Marine.  All technical inquires for the Hyde GUARDIAN ballast water treatment system pass through Tom. He has the responsibility of managing the company’s third party partnerships with organizations that specialized in retrofit solutions of these systems and has developed a training program for these organizations to ensure effective integration of the BWTS onboard.  Over time, Tom was promoted to the role of Sales Engineer and is now responsible for the sales and promotion of the ballast water treatment system while maintaining his existing technical sales support role on a global scale.

Rick Jeffress resides in Houston, TX and has over 26 years of fire protection experience in technical services, sales and business development, currently Director, Business Development at Fike Corporation for Fike Video Analytics products. Rick has held positions as Int’l Construction and General Manager Special Hazards/Marine, Marine/Offshore at Tyco Fire and Security and Sales Manager, Industrial and Marine/Offshore Fire Protection, Total Safety US. Rick holds NICET Level III in Fire Alarm and Special Hazards Suppression Systems, NFPA Certified Fire Protection Specialist with secondary education at University of Maryland and Risk Management at The Institutes. Rick is currently on the ISO/TC 21/SC 3/WG 24 committee “Installation Standard for Video Image Detection”. 

After completing his degree in Anthropology at University College London in 1982, Alistair Johnson did post graduate research work in an inner-city area of south east London on leisure provision for young black men. In 1986, Alistair began running, overhauling, and upgrading the family lettings business while caring for his Mother’s foster children.  In 1994, Alistair produced and directed a short film, Just Ten, for Carlton Television and The Arts Council which was broadcast in 1995.  In 2008, a discussion with a shipping lawyer about the early Tig Rig design and the key mechanical safety overrides led to nearly a decade of drawing and design.  Alistair’s hard work has been realized with a solid patented protected design which is being engineered for the prototypes to be sea trialled in the first Tig Rig installation.   

Linda Kreter is a serial entrepreneur with companies in clinical drug development, marketing, advertising, telecommunications, multimedia outreach, veteran/caregiver advocacy, and augmented communication strategies. Today as CEO of WiseHealth, Inc., Linda uses this experience to enhance outreach, education, and engagement for large, significant populations (veterans, family caregivers, seafarers/maritime, and women over 40) via edu-training videos, syndicated podcasts reaching 4,000,000 monthly listeners, and traditional media/social media communities. Linda is a military and family caregiver Subject Matter Expert who speaks, writes, and advocates for improvements in health and wellness delivery, and is a John Maxwell Team certified coach. She earned her degree in biology at Smith College.  

Kevin Kennedy manages the MC-Seamax Shipping Opportunities Fund LP and its fleet of 12 post-panamax container vessels. Prior to joining MC-Seamax, he was CFO of Nautilus Holdings Ltd, and Seaspan Corporation. Formerly a Managing Director and head of the marine financing group at GE Capital and a partner in Great Circle Capital, Mr. Kennedy began his career in finance in the Marine Transport Department of the Irving Trust Company.  He received his BS degree from the USMMA and spent several years at sea before attending the Columbia University Graduate School of Business and obtaining his MBA.   

Michael joined Ultraclean Fuel (Marine) Limited and its associated company Ultraclean Fuel Limited as Chief Commercial Officer. Ultraclean Marine is at an advanced stage of developing a solution for the removal of Sulphur from marine fuel for compliance with IMO 2020 while Ultraclean Fuel is now commercialising its patented technology for the removal of sulphur from diesel, jet fuel and natural gas condensate.  Prior to joining the Ultraclean companies Michael advised companies that had a profile of low emission and/or renewable energy technologies. Michael has 23 years banking experience, and has a BS from University of New England and Master of Business from University of Technology, Sydney. 

Roberto Llames is the President and CEO of Enterprise Solutions, Inc. (“ESI”), a successful technology management consulting company supporting commercial and government clients for over 20 years. Among ESI’s notable accomplishments is assisting Fairfax County, VA in transformational changes to become one of the top digital counties in the U.S.  Leveraging ESI’s experience in supporting cities and municipalities, Roberto and his team developed SMART MoBee to create Smart Communities that provide vital inclusive services for its citizens giving access to public, private, and academic services. They also created the Globally Inclusive Virtual Enterprise (GIVE) mobile app to service the global maritime industry. 

Jim joined Perceptive Sensor Technologies (PST) two years ago and has been pivoting their NDT sensors from homeland security towards fuel verification.  Building on successful interest in the midstream sector, PST’s technology has resonated with the marine industry and their similar needs for testing and certification.  With a background in banking, he saw a need for real-time identification of fluids and has been pushing the limits of this technology into digitalization, IIoT, condition monitoring and potential blockchain applications.  He holds a BS in Economics from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA and an MBA in Finance from Youngstown State University. 

Michael Parker joined Citibank N.A. in London in September 1977 and was recently appointed Chairman of Citi’s Global Shipping, Logistics and Offshore business having been Global Industry Head since 1997 until now. He is also Vice Chairman of Corporate & Investment Banking (EMEA) and Chairman Corporate Banking EMEA. Michael was named Marine Money’s Dealmaker of the Year in 2012. In 2017 he was appointed to the Board of The Global Maritime Forum. He is Chairman of the drafting Committee of the Poseidon Principles launched in New York June 2019. 

Alissa was most recently the VP of Product Marketing & Planning at NanoSteel, an advanced materials company creating scalable solutions for vehicle lightweighting and 3D printing. Prior to NanoSteel, Alissa was Director of Product Marketing & Business Development at Primus Power, a venture-backed grid-scale energy storage technology company. Through her work at NanoSteel and Primus, she has managed business development, strategic planning, marketing, government relations and M&A. Prior to her startup experience, Alissa was a consultant in McKinsey’s Global Sustainability & Resource Productivity Practice in the US and Europe. She serves as a mentor through the Cleantech Open, MIT Clean Energy Prize and Year Up. 

Nikos Petrakakos has focused his career around global shipping, with deep knowhow in both the commercial and technical aspects of the industry, and is a go-to specialist for environment and sustainability projects. Prior to joining Seabury in 2018, Nikos co-founded Ursus Maritime Capital, a specialty finance firm providing turn-key project finance for fuel efficiency retrofits and alternative propulsion for the Maritime industry. He began his career with Oldendorff Carriers, followed by executive roles at ship managers HART Shipping. Nikos holds an MSc degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Ocean Systems Management, and a BSc in Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering from the Webb Institute. 

Commander Runyon is a native of El Paso, Texas and enlisted in the Coast Guard in September 1988.  From 1990-2003, he served as Aviation Electronics Technician at Air Stations Astoria, OR, Kodiak, AK, and Cape Cod, MA.  In July 2003, he graduated from Officer Candidate School and started his Prevention career in 2006 as a Marine Inspector at Sector Southeastern New England. Subsequent assignments included Marine Safety Detachment Supervisor at New Bedford, MA and American Samoa; Inspections/Investigations Chief at the First District Office in Boston, MA; and Chief of Inspections at Sector Southeastern New England from 2017-2019 prior to assuming the duties of Prevention Department Head at Sector New York in June 2019.  

Currently an Independent Non-executive Director, Kirsi Tikka was Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor at American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) until July 2019, with a focus on shipping sustainability. She was with ABS for almost 20 years in various senior positions both in Europe and the US. She is Foreign Member of the United States National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and a recipient of SNAME’s David W. Taylor Medal, the highest technical honor for naval architecture or marine engineering. Before joining ABS in 2001, Tikka was professor of Naval Architecture at Webb Institute in New York. She has also worked for Chevron Shipping in San Francisco and for Wartsila Shipyards in Finland.  

James Thomas has more than 30 years of financial and investment experience across multiple sectors and geographies.   Having begun his career in the fixed income group at Goldman Sachs in London during the early 1980s, he transitioned to private equity investing in 1989, joining Warburg Pincus in their New York office.   Mr. Thomas was named a partner in 1995 and headed the firm’s biopharmaceutical and med–tech practice until 2000.  Beginning in 2016, Mr. Thomas began to actively invest in the international shipping industry through Thomas Maritime International.   He is the majority owner of Ithaca Marine which owns controlling interests in five handy size dry bulk carriers.   

Matthew Werner joined Webb Institute in 2002.  He was named Webb’s ABS Chair of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in 2010 and was appointed Dean of Webb Institute in 2015.  He holds a BS in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and a MS in Ocean Technology and Commerce from Webb Institute and an MBA from LIU.  Prior to joining Webb, he worked in industry in the areas of ship design, construction, and management. Dean Werner has taught as an adjunct professor for the University of Michigan, USMMA and Stevens Institute.  He is a member of ABS and SNAME and is a registered professional engineer in New York.  

Michael Francis was appointed as the Technical Manager of Total Lubmarine in North America in 2016. Total is the world’s 4th largest energy major operator and Total Lubmarine is present in 1000 ports in 100 countries.  Michael is responsible for providing marine lubrication solutions for shipowners in many ways including overseeing the used oil analysis program, generating lubrication charts, and conducting main engine scavenge port inspections. Before assuming this position, he sailed as a Third Assistant Engineer. Michael is a graduate from the US Merchant Marine Academy. He now holds a degree in Marine Systems Engineering. 

Asad has a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Lamar University.  He is working as a Process Engineer/Project Manager for CR Ocean Engineering and is involved with process design, proposals and applications and project management for marine exhaust gas cleaning projects. 

Ian Workman started in the Maritime Industry in 1985 as an Oil Trader with the Mitsubishi Corporation in London. In 1988 he joined Bunkerfuels UK Ltd as a Bunker Broker and in 1996 went on to be the General Manager of GAC Bunker Fuels UK Ltd. before coming to America in 2001 where a brief stay with a dot.com startup was followed by joining World Fuel Services Ltd as VP of International Bunker Sales in August 2001.  In 2017 Ian joined VPS Testing & Inspection Inc in his current position as Account Manager.  Ian joined the Board of the CMA in 2009 and became President from 2012– 2016 and is currently a Board Member of the CMA Education Foundation.  

Marina Hadjipateras is the co-founder and General Partner at Trail Mix Ventures. Previously, Marina was VP of Investor Relations for Dorian LPG, during which time, Marina was a key participant in taking her family’s 150-year old shipping company public in 2014 (NYSE: LPG, mkt. cap: $560M). She restructured Dorian and oversaw talent, PR and IR, accepting the Tanker Company of the Year award. Marina serves as vice chair of the INTERTANKO Environmental Committee, is a Board member of NAMEPA, and is also a member of the Athens Innovation Committee. In 2018 Marina received the NYOT Innovators and Disruptors award for venture capital.  

Katie Weaver has been the Technical Sales Manager for Ecochlor since 2014.  Ms. Weaver has spoken globally and written feature articles on BWTS retrofits, case studies and USCG Type Approval processes.

Skilled in interpreting and communicating scientific and regulatory topics to a wide audience, she has 15 years of experience in the field of environmental science, working in disciplines including ballast water; ecological research; environmental remediation; and, human health and ecological risk assessment. Prior to Ecochlor, she served as a human health risk assessor, quantifying the effects of environmental contaminants on human health.  Ms. Weaver holds a B.A. In Biology from Bucknell University and has spoken globally on topics concerning ballast water management.

Captain Cook graduated from SUNY Maritime College in 1980 with Bachelor of Science degrees in Physical Oceanography and Meteorology as well as an Unlimited US Coast Guard 3rd Officer’s license. After graduation, Captain Cook worked with Military Sealift Command Atlantic for 10 years. Captain Cook served on a MSC Hydrographic Surveillance ship and received the National Unit Citation Award for work done in the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea. In 1993, Captain Cook became a partner in the Pilot’s Association for the Bay and River Delaware. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Maritime Academy Charter School, Grades 4-12, in Philadelphia.

Hew has operated, financed and invested across every corner of the maritime sector globally, including shipping, ports, terminals, offshore oil support and other infrastructure. His experience as an investor, owner and manager ranges from New York to South America, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Russia, Central Asia, India and Africa. Hew’s career highlights include:  SVP of Operations at Safe Water Network; Managing Director at Stanton Capital; Associate at Investcorp International, and Analyst at Lehman Brothers.  He graduated from Amherst College.

Gijsbert de Jong is Marine Marketing and Sales Director and Executive Committee member with the Marine and Offshore division of the Paris headquartered classification society Bureau Veritas Gijsbert heads the central marine commercial department, managing the expert team of global market and technology leaders and the marketing team. Gijsbert joined Bureau Veritas in 2001 after obtaining an MSc degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, and has since held various operational and business development management positions in Paris, Rotterdam and Shanghai. Gijsbert has published technical papers on container ships, bulk carriers, offshore service vessels, tugs, dredgers, ice classed vessels and alternative low-emission power systems.

Evangelos Efstathiou is the CEO of Skysail Advisors, a data capital and strategy advisory firm with deep expertise in maritime software. His strategy and technology consulting services leverage data analytics to provide clients with a competitive advantage in M&A, commercial operations and ship management. Evangelos also produces the most widely-followed maritime technology landscape, aggregating intelligence on trends and consulting clients on innovation and commercialization initiatives, including Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. Prior to founding Skysail in 2016, Evangelos held positions at Chinsay, SpecTec, Veson Nautical and Marsoft.

Christopher Fee is the General Manager for Environment and Sustainability at Oldendorff Carriers GmbH & Co. KG, a leading shipowner and operator based in Lübeck, Germany. Each year, Oldendorff carries about 320 million tons of bulk and unitised cargo around the world, and perform about 14,000 port calls in 125 countries. On average, Oldendorff operate 700 chartered and owned ships at any one time.  Christopher’s previous roles include working as a Project Manager for Oldendorff’s Green Ship Program, and prior to that as a Project Manager for their Transshipment Operations. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Clean Shipping Alliance 2020 (CSA 2020).

Jeff Phelps is Director of Technical Services for Gallagher Marine Services and is highly regarded as both a technical expert in Naval Engineering and a compliance process leader.  He has provided client companies with superior consultation in services ranging from Third-Party Audits to US and international regulatory compliance programs. Jeff served for over twenty-five years in the US Coast Guard, specializing in engineering systems and managing liaisons between the Coast Guard and major ship and systems builders such as Lockheed Martin. He has written compliance plans for the US EPA Vessel General Permit Compliance Program and was a key component of the VGP “train the trainer” process.

Captain Robert Hughes has served as Genco’s Chief Operations Officer since January 22, 2019 and has over 20 years of experience in the shipping industry both at sea and ashore, with a focus on vessel and cargo operations, customer relations and strategic planning.  Before becoming their COO, Captain Hughes was employed by one of the largest charterers of dry bulk tonnage, Cargill Ocean Transportation, as the Americas Operations and Global Technical Manager.  He holds a Bachelor for Science degree from the US Merchant Marine Academy, a Master of Business Administration from Molloy College, and a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies from the US Army War College, and actively maintains a US Coast Guard Master of unlimited tonnage any oceans license.

John Kimball concentrates his practice in the areas of admiralty and maritime law and commercial litigation. He has more than 30 years’ experience both domestically and internationally and counsels clients regarding maritime matters. John has served as a party-appointed arbitrator or chairman of panels in SMA and ICDR arbitrations. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor at New York University Law School, where he teaches the course in admiralty law. John is a prolific writer and speaker both domestically and internationally on legal issues facing the maritime industry.

Alexis Lemon-Zakou has been an operations manager at Genco Shipping and Trading LLC for 10 years, managing vessels in size from handy to cape on both time charter and voyage business. Prior to joining Genco, she was an operator at NYK Bulkship Atlantic. She has been a longtime member of Young Shipping Professionals of NY (served as President for several years) and also of WISTA NY chapter. She graduated from NYU with an MA in Near Eastern Studies and from SUN Y Buffalo with a BA in International Relations and French Literature. She was a Fulbright Scholar from 2002-2003.

Frank LoBiondo is CEO of LoBo Strategies, an independent consulting firm providing solutions-driven strategic advice in government and public affairs to clients in the transportation, national security, and environmental sectors. Frank served 24 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, chairing subcommittees on Aviation (2013-2019) and Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation (2001-2007, 2009-2013). He was appointed to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and chaired its CIA Subcommittee (2015-2019).  He received his B.A. in Business Administration from St. Joseph’s University. Frank and his wife Tina, a real estate agent, split their time between South Jersey and Florida with their two weimaraners. 

Oivind Lorentzen is Managing Director of Northern Navigation LLC. He was President and CEO of SEACOR Holdings from 2010 to 2015. He was President and CEO of Northern Navigation International, Ltd. (ship owning and finance) from 1990 to 2010 and Founding Sponsor of Northern Shipping Funds from 2008 to 2010 and Chairman of NFC Shipping Funds from 2001 to 2008.  He currently serves as Non-Executive Vice Chairman of SEACOR as well as a director of Dorian LPG, and Blue Danube Inc. Oivind is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and founding Director of the Global Maritime Forum.

Arinjit leads ABS’ effort in driving business growth in the marine and offshore industries in North America. He joined ABS in 2006 as a Senior Surveyor overseeing the Morgan City Port Office.  During his time at ABS he has served in various roles including: Director of the Tanker Market Sector, Operations Manager of Korea, and Divisional Lead Offshore Surveyor. Prior to joining ABS, Roy worked for Tidewater Marine as a Port Engineer and Tampa Bay Shipbuilding as Assistant Drydock Supervisor.  He is a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and holds a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering Technology from Maine Maritime Academy and an MBA from Nicholls State University.

Dana Merkel is an associate at Blank Rome LLP and a member of the Maritime and International Trade Practice Group. Dana focuses her practice on maritime and environmental law for domestic and international clients, addressing issues such as ballast water, air emissions, and coastwise trade.  Dana is a U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduate and, prior to joining Blank Rome, she worked as a Third Mate and QMED for several international shipping companies, as well as ashore for a major U.S. oil company.

Amitabh has been a part of the marine industry for over 28 years. He is a master marine and began his career as a deck cadet in 1990. In 2018 he founded the company Ingenium Marine, which aims to create innovative solutions to service the needs of the marine industry. Their focus has been to create practical, intuitive and simple tools that can readily be adopted by the shipping Industry. One such innovative product is the Electronic Oil Record Book which is now being deployed on board ships. Ingenium Marine also develops bespoke Business Intelligence and Data Mining solutions.

Peter is a shipbuilder, naval architect and marine surveyor with 35+ years of experience in the maritime industry and is a member of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects. He began his career at shipbuilder Vosper Thornycroft and later was a naval architect in ship design.  He worked with Lloyd’s Register specializing in yachts and passenger ships, and the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency where he was involved in the large yacht code and LY2.  A regular panelist at Maritime events, Peter also develops legislation and provides advice on international maritime regulatory matters. Peter is currently Regional Director, Americas to the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands.

Ronny is an experienced business executive who has spent the past decade in the maritime industry in Europe and Asia. He is the Founder and Managing Partner of Heron Advisory, a Singapore headquartered consultancy in the ocean technology space. He is also the Regional Partner APAC for venture builder and investor Moment, a Corporate Partner and Mentor to ocean tech accelerator Katapult Ocean, an Advisor to venture builder and early stage investor Antler, and a Partner and Advisor to The Captains Table innovation challenge in Hong Kong. In 2018 he was a Selection Committee Member, Program Instructor and Mentor for maritime accelerator PIER71, and he is a former Committee Member of the Singapore Shipping Association.

David Weston is a group manager in charge of the OS Security group at Microsoft which covers the platform security, hardware security, and Offensive Security Research teams. David has been at Microsoft working on penetration testing, threat intelligence, platform mitigation design, and offensive security research since Windows 7. He has previously presented at security conferences such as Blackhat, CanSecWest, and DefCon.

Phil brings over 35 years of experience with process and environmental gas analyzers including mass spectrometry, GC, FTIR, CGA, IR and UV techniques.  He is part of a special Maritime Initiative team tasked to expand the US market for SICK’s globally-established Maritime offerings including the MARSIC engine exhaust CEMS, port traffic safety, harbor crane positioning and safety, passenger luggage handling and tracking, bulk materials loading and unloading, and more unique sensing solutions that improve safety, efficiency and profitability for ship owners and operators by utilizing SICK’s smart sensor technologies. Phil’s background in Electrical Engineering helps fuel his passion for hands-on experience with a wide variety of analyzer, instrumentation and sensor platforms.

Commander Keith M. Donohue is currently the Deputy Sector Commander at USCG Sector Long Island Sound.  Prior to this assignment he was seconded to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as a consultant at the Regional Activity Center/Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Information and Training Center for the Wider Caribbean Region (RAC/REMPEITC-Caribe) in Curacao.  Other assignments include: Commanding Officer of the USCG Pacific Strike Team; International Port Security Liaison Officer at USCG Activities Europe; and Response Department Head at USCG Marine Safety Officer Port Arthur Texas.  From 2003 to 2007, while serving in the Environmental Standards Division at USCG Headquarter, CDR Donohue played a leading role in establishing and implementing the U.S. Mandatory Ballast Water Management Program.  He is a Credentialed Merchant Mariner.

Jason Klopfer is the Managing Director of Navig8 Americas and oversees Navig8 Group’s operations in the United States. In addition to his responsibilities in his current position, Mr. Klopfer played a leadership role in extending Navig8’s global commercial platform and sector expertise to form Navig8 Product Tankers, Chemical Tankers, and Crude Tankers, a predecessor to Gener8 Maritime. Mr. Klopfer was named Chief Operating Officer of Navig8 Product Tankers in 2014. Before joining Navig8 Group in 2012, Mr. Klopfer served as the Managing Director of Poten & Partners. Prior to Poten, Mr. Klopfer was a Vice President at Overseas Shipholding Group. Mr. Klopfer began his career with McQuilling Brokerage Partners as a Shipbroker

Mike Hudner, Chairman & CEO, co-founded B+H Shipping Group in 1978. Based on the concepts of Wall Street property financed, he acquired more than 140 vessels including product tankers, crude carriers, bulk carriers, OBO’s and Offshore Support Vessels. Over time, B+H became a wholly-integrated shipowning enterprise with full technical management and operating two commercial pools for Product tankers and bulkers.  He did pioneering work in U.S limited partnerships for foreign flag vessels which were the precursors to many of the shipping IPO’s.  B+H also placed the first single-B rated public shipping bond in U.S markets. He is currently active in the capital markets raising funds to acquire MR Product Tankers.  

Osher Perry is Founder and CEO of ShipIn Systems. ShipIn is an early stage startup company developing AI in computer vision and data analytics to provide shipowners with real-time visual feedback from vessel operations and improve fleet performance. Osher is a former naval officer who led teams through complex and novel missions around the world. An experienced entrepreneur, he brings significant experience in establishing strategic partnerships to tackle multifaceted challenges and fostering innovation to deliver value creation in operations.  He holds an MBA from Tel Aviv University, and a Harvard Business School Executive Education cert. He is a Commercial Ocean Yachtmaster who has sailed around the world.  

Jeff Pribor joined International Seaways in November 2016. Prior to International Seaways, Mr. Pribor was Global Head of Maritime Investment Banking at Jefferies & Company, Inc. Previously, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of General Maritime Corporation, one of the world’s leading tanker shipping companies, from September 2004 to February 2013. Prior to General Maritime, from 2002 to 2004, Mr. Pribor was Managing Director and President of DnB NOR Markets, Inc. From 1996 to 2002, Mr. Pribor was Managing Director and Group Head of Transportation Banking at ABN AMRO, Inc. and predecessor firms. Prior to that, Mr. Pribor was a mergers and acquisitions investment banker at Merrill Lynch. 

Morten Arntzen currently serves as Senior Shipping Industry Advisor for Macquarie Bank.  He is also the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Team Tankers International Ltd, a major operator of chemical tankers; and serves on the Board of Directors of Guardian Navigation, a dry bulk shipping company. He has been involved in the global shipping industry continuously since 1979, working with companies all over the globe, through several shipping cycles and in all the major shipping segments (tankers, dry bulk, container, cruise, offshore, and gas carriers). He successfully built and reshaped several businesses during his banking career with Chase Manhattan Bank and American Marine Advisors and management career with Overseas Shipholding Group.