Who’s Who: Maritime Movements for July/August 2020

WORK BOAT WORLD:

Deborah Clavijo is the new Vice President of Finance and Accounting at ACR Electronics, a safety and survival technology company based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She will head up the firm’s finance, IT, group consolidation and compliance units.

Debbie arrives at ACR Electronics after two years at SAFEbuilt as Regional CFO for Florida, where she spearheaded the introduction of a cloud-based ERP system. She has also excelled in senior positions with UK Commodities/Merchant firm ED&F MAN, private equity firm Unipower, and Siemens. Debbie has also served as a Business Continuity Advisor for FloridaMakes’ Manufacturing Disaster Assessment Program and also sits on the Advisory Board for the University of South Florida’s Cybersecurity Executive Certificate Program.

Kasper Karlsen takes up the role of Chief Operating Officer at Svitzer Europe following 13 years of leadership, technical, operational and support roles at Maersk Drilling. His last position at Maerk Drilling was as Head of Transformation Office and Customer Solutions, responsible for standardising and optimising across many different functional areas.

Kasper holds a Master’s Degree from the Technical University of Denmark in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, along with several other business and leadership qualifications from amongst others the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and IMD Business School.

Meanwhile, Lise Demant has been appointed Managing Director for Svitzer Europe, succeeding Svitzer CEO Kasper Friis Nilaus. Lise joined Svitzer in 2013 as Chief Operating Officer in Svitzer Asia, coming from her role as Director and Head of Offshoring in Maersk Tankers. In 2017 she was appointed global Chief Commercial Officer of Svitzer.

Lastly, Videlina Georgieva has been appointed new global Chief Commercial Officer of Svitzer Europe. Videlina joined Svitzer from Maersk Line in 2010 as Regional Commercial and Business Development Manager in Svitzer Australia and has since held the positions as Regional Head of Business Development in Singapore and global Head of Business Development. Prior to being appointed CCO, Videlina served as global Head of Strategy, Portfolio and Performance Management.

Technology executive Maarten Van Gool has joined Ocean Technologies Group as its newest Chief Financial Officer.

Maarten started his career with HP in the Netherlands during the early 1990s and thereafter moved to Palo Alto to join Agilent Technologies as part of the core team who spun off Agilent from HP and took the company public. During his time as Global Financial Control Director and then Global Compliance Director for Agilent Technologies, he led the creation of a global compliance shared services center based in India. He has since held leadership roles with Tom Tom, AVG (acquired by Avast software) and was most recently was CFO and then CEO for Lobster Ink, a leading online learning provider to the global hospitality industry.

Maarten takes over as the group’s Chief Financial Officer from interim-CFO Matthew O’Sullivan.

Spain’s Sener Group has appointed Andrés Sendagorta and Jorge Sendagorta Cudós as its new President and its new CEO, respectively.

Andrés was Sener Group’s Vice President when he was selected to take over as President from Jorge Sendagorta Cudós. Jorge will continue to be linked to the Sener Group as its Honorary President in addition to serving as CEO, succeeding Jorge Unda.

BC Ferries has confirmed that the BC Ferry Authority has appointed Eric Denhoff, Shona Moore Q.C. and Michael Pucci to the British Columbia Ferry Services Board of Directors, effective August 14, 2020, bringing the size of the board to 12 members.

Mr Denhoff has served in both the public and private sectors in Canada and internationally. He has served as a Deputy Minister in both the BC and Alberta Governments, as Chief Negotiator for the Government of Canada and as an executive for private corporations. He has extensive experience in business in Asia, North America and Europe and has served on a wide variety of Boards, including the Energy Council of Canada, National Capital Commission, Fair Trade Canada, BC Women’s Hospital Foundation, Hospice Victoria, Greater Victoria Hospital Board, GNS School Board, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters BC Board and others.

Shona Moore Q.C., practices as a labour arbitrator. Prior to August 1, 2020, she was a founding partner of Moore Edgar Lyster. Throughout her legal career, Ms Moore restricted her law practice to labour relations and administrative law, including human rights and accommodation. Between 1983 and 1986, she served as a Vice-Chair of the BC Labour Relations Board. In addition to her law practice, Ms. Moore has been active in a number of professional and community organizations, including Westcoast Legal Education and Action Fund, the BC Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers and served as an elected bencher of the Law Society of BC. Ms. Moore was educated at the University of British Columbia where she graduated from Law School in 1979.

Mr Pucci is Superintendent of Compliance and Administration for Maher Terminals Holding Corporation. Previously, he was in business development for Community Futures of the Pacific Northwest, a non-profit fund, lending to entrepreneurs. Born and raised in Prince Rupert, Mr Pucci has served two terms on the municipality’s Board of Variance and currently sits on the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

Standby vessel operator North Star has appointed Mathew Gordon as its new chief executive officer, taking over Callum Bruce who is stepping down after 34 years in the business, but who will remain in the short-term to ensure the smooth transition of responsibilities.

With vast experience in the offshore and marine sectors, Mr Gordon has held senior positions in Unique Group, Atlantic Offshore, Viking Seatech and Subsea 7.

Gurit has appointed Dr Ernst Lutz as General Manager of Business Unit Wind Materials and Member of the Executive Committee, effective September 1, 2020. Dr Lutz joins Gurit from Grundfos Holding in Denmark, where he held the position of Group Executive Vice President of Business Development and Chief Technology Officer. Prior to this, he served in several international executive positions at Sulzer Switzerland and at the Alcan Group.

Dr Lutz holds a PhD from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics as well as an MBA from the University of Zurich and University of New York at Albany.

Charles Taylor, a provider of services and technology solutions to the global insurance market, has expanded its Marine Technical Services team with the addition of five highly experienced marine surveyors and one global operations manager.

Senior marine surveyors are John Poulson, Sean Murphy, Glenn Walker, and Peter Poulson and operations manager Lillian Aquilia have already joined the Marine Technical Services team. They will operate from Charles Taylor US locations in New York, Boston, Savannah, and San Francisco.

John Poulson brings more than 40 years’ experience in marine engineering, surveying, consulting, claims and loss prevention. As a senior manager, Mr Poulson has held various leadership roles for the coordination and oversight of global marine surveying and consulting operations, quality control and dispute resolution. John is a Chartered Engineer and earned a post-graduate Master of Science (Msc) degree from the University of Portsmouth.

Sean Murphy is a chartered engineer and naval architect with seven years of consulting across a range of maritime and engineering matters focused on mitigating incident risk. He holds a Bachelors’ degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from Webb Institute and a Masters’ degree in Engineering Management from Duke University.

Captain Glenn Walker is a master mariner and marine surveyor with 25 years dedicated to the US Merchant Marine and yachting industry for commercial, government and private vessels. His expertise encompasses project and personnel management, crew mentoring and vessel operations.

Peter Poulson, is a USCG certified marine engineer and surveyor overseeing surveying and consulting services for a cross-section of instructing Principals. He has extensive passenger vessel experience in the Antarctic with CMI and on ultra-deep water drilling ships.

Lillian Aquilia, a seasoned Global Operations Manager, has been responsible for the centralized coordination and instruction of surveyor attendances on behalf of underwriters including H&M, P&I, vessel owners, cargo and other marine concerns.

Martin Oetjen has been appointed to the Executive Board of MAN Energy Solutions. He will be responsible for the Supply Chain and Production division. His scope of responsibility will therefore combine the previously separate Production and Purchasing divisions.

Martin has already been responsible for the Supply Chain role since January 2020, as chief representative of the company. He has already occupied various managerial positions in the company since 2012, and has been in charge of the Engine and Marine Systems strategic business unit since 2015. He began his professional career in 1995 at MAN Truck and Bus, and worked in various managerial roles for the Munich-based heavy goods vehicle manufacturer for a total of 17 years.

The Hong Kong Maritime Museum has appointed international shipping and education executive Richard Hext as its new chairman with effect from August 4, 2020.

Mr Hext, a long-time Hong Kong resident, is a non-executive director of Hong Kong-based Anglo Eastern Univan Group and of Swire’s Singapore-based China Navigation Company, and is chairman of Vanmar Shipping. He is also a governor of the University of Central Lancashire in the UK and a member of the Hong Kong advisory board of Stanford University’s graduate school of business. He is a past director of John Swire and Sons (HK), chief executive of Hong Kong-listed Pacific Basin Shipping and chairman of Univan Ship Management. He holds an MA in modern history and economics from Oxford University.

Dirk Laibach is set to assume his new post as a member of the board of directors of the International Water Mist Association (IWMA) this October. He will replace Peter Clauss, who became a member of the board in April 2020.

Dirk boasts over 30 years of varied global experiences in the fire suppression/detection industry, including 23 years related to water mist. He has held positions with Siemens, Kidde, Fogtec Fire Protection, Marioff and currently is Senior Product Manager for water mist at Johnsons Control. He holds a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf, Germany, and is a VdS-certified engineer for water mist fire suppression systems.

The Nautical Institute recently elected Jillian Carson-Jackson as its new President. She had previously served as head of the institute’s South East Australia branch.

Jillian commenced her career in the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), graduating from the Canadian Coast Guard College (CCGC) as a navigation officer. With over three decades in the industry, she has worked both afloat and ashore in the CCG, including 10 years as an instructor at the CCGC.  Following an active role at IALA in the development of VTS Training, she moved to France to work with IALA as Technical Coordination Manager. She then moved to Australia to work with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) as Manager of Vessel Traffic and Pilotage Services.

In 2016 Jillian left AMSA to set up her own consultancy, focusing on maritime technical advice and education. In May 2020 Jillian was appointed a Director of GlobalMET. Jillian represents The Nautical Institute at IALA as chair of the Emerging Digital Technologies Working Group (ENAV Committee) and the Personnel and Training Working Group (VTS Committee).

Norway-based weather intelligence service provider StormGeo has appointed Kim Hedegaard Sørensen as the new Chief Operating Officer for StormGeo’s shipping division.

Mr Sørensen had served in a number of leadership positions in shipping and transportation, including CEO of Nordics Nagel-Group, Blue Water Shipping, and TransAtlantic Industrial Shipping. He also brings with him 17 years’ experience with Danish integrated shipping and container logistics company AP Møller – Mærsk Group.

Beatriz Puente will join Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy as its new CFO later this year while Lars Bondo Krogsgaard and Juan Gutiérrez have been appointed as CEOs of the Onshore and Service business units, respectively.

Beatriz Puente will join Siemens Gamesa on December 1 from NH Hotels where she has served as Executive Managing Director Finance and Administration since 2015. Prior to that, she spent more than two years as CFO of airport operator Aena. Thomas Spannring will continue in his role as interim CFO until Beatriz joins Siemens Gamesa.

Lars Bondo Krogsgaard has enjoyed a distinguished 18-year career in the wind industry, during which he spent periods as CEO of Nordex Acciona and co-CEO of MHI Vestas. Earlier in his career, Lars spent more than four years with Siemens Wind Power, where he served as CEO for the EMEA region. He will join Siemens Gamesa on November 1 and will be based in the company’s Bilbao headquarters. Alfonso Faubel, the current CEO of Onshore, is to leave Siemens Gamesa, and Andreas Nauen will take direct control of the Business Unit until November.

Juan Gutiérrez took over as CEO of the Service Business Unit effective August 15, replacing Mark Albenze who has retired after almost 28 years of service. Juan has been working in the energy industry with Siemens companies since 2005, with the last 12 years in the wind sector. He has experienced many roles in the Americas region including Senior Vice President of Latin America at Siemens Wind Power and most recently CEO of Service for the Americas region in Siemens Gamesa.

SHIP WORLD:

BMT has appointed Dennis De Bruin as the new managing director for the company’s Commercial Shipping Europe (CSE) business. He will focus on growing CSE’s “traditional player” markets and meeting new client demand for specialist advice in emergency response consultancy and distressed cargo risk assessment.

Dennis joined BMT in 2004 and has over 20 years of experience in the maritime industry, of which the last seven years he served as Marine Director for the nautical and cargo department of the Rotterdam office.

He will succeed Jeroen de Haas as Managing Director of BMT’s European offices in the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland. Jeroen has been at the helm of CSE since 2001.

The board of Sogemar Group, the intermodal arm of Contship Italia Group, is set to appoint Matthieu Gasselin as Chief Executive Officer of Sogemar Group. He will succeed Sebastiano Grasso who has been at the helm of Sogemar Group for the last 20 years.

Matthieu brings a wealth of international assignments in senior management roles out of which several years at CNH Industrial and later at BCUBE as Managing Director of the Transportation Business Unit.

Madrid-based Noatum Logistics has appointed Ramon Gallen as new managing director of Noatum Logistics in Asia, replacing Marco Gaeta who has been serving in the role for the last eight years. Ramon joined Noatum Logistics in December 2014 as Deputy Managing Director, having worked in several areas after that including an appointment as the Global Head of Sea Freight.

Daryl Ridgway will meanwhile undertake Ramon Gallen’s role as the new Global Head of Sea Freight in Noatum Logistics. Daryl is a senior executive level professional with over 30 years of experience in logistics specialising in ocean freight and supply chain. His most recent role was as Global Head of Ocean freight for Panalpina and he has also held senior positions at Kuehne and Nagel.

Rune G. Kongstein has been selected to succeed Ole Morten Rismyhr as the new Managing Director of the Norway Office of Glander International Bunkering. Rune has 31 years of experience in the bunkering and shipping industry and a portfolio of senior management roles. At Glander, he was hired as Sales Manager earlier this year and has quickly risen to his current role.

Tony Goldsmith, partner, master mariner and marine casualty specialist, has been appointed as Head of Marine and Trade at Hill Dickinson. He will succeed the firm’s current Head of Marine, David Wareing, who is due to retire in the autumn having held the position since 2017.

Mr Goldsmith, a former seagoing master mariner (class 1), joined Hill Dickinson in 1993 and became founder and managing partner of the firm’s Singapore office when it opened in 2009. He will return to the UK later this year to take up his new post.

Before joining the then-named Hill Taylor Dickinson in 1993, Mr Goldsmith was a deck officer with Ocean Fleets, sailing on tankers, bulk carriers and general cargo vessels. Following time spent working on offshore vessels in the North Sea, he began studying for his LLB at Queen Mary and Westfield College, London in 1989, passing his Law Society finals with distinction in 1994. Tony Goldsmith has regularly instructed by the leading P&I clubs, hull underwriters and owners and operators of vessels and serves on the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA) panel of arbitrators.

Four new directors have been appointed to the board of shipping management specialist Elvictor Group: Lampros Theodorou, Lambros Chahalis, George Xiradakis, and Theodoros Nikolopoulos.

Lampros Theodorou has 38 years of experience in the banking sector. He has held executive positions in various banks in Athens, Greece. From 1994 to 2013, Mr Theodorou served as the Deputy General Manager and*Head of the Shipping Unit of EFG Eurobank. Prior to this, Mr Theodorou held the position of Vice-President and Piraeus Shipping Manager of the Shipping Department of The Chase Manhattan Bank, while before, he held various managerial positions in the corporate departments of the bank, in Frankfurt, London and Athens. From 2016 to 2019 he served as a non-executive Director in the Board of Directors of Navios Maritime Partners and as a member of the Audit, Conflicts and Compensation committees.

Lambros Chahalis has 54 years of experience in the shipping sector, starting as an apprentice engineer in 1966 and rising all the way to chief engineer with the same shipping company, Orion and Global of the Goulandris Brothers, on board a number of their oil tankers. He then worked with Bureau Veritas from 1983 to 2016, topping off his career by becoming Regional Chief Executive for the Hellenic, Maltese, Cypriot and Black Sea Regions as well as the position of Vice President within the Marine and Offshore Division. In June 2017, he was elected Governor of the International Propeller Club of the United States in the port of Piraeus, and upon his selection, he was entrusted with the position of Chair of the Club’s Maritime Committee. He is a fellow of SNAME, the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. In addition to those, Mr Chahalis has received a number of awards by various Shipping and Other entities, like the Lloyds List Greek Shipping Award and the French Government Silver and Gold Medals.

George Xiradakis has more than 35 years of experience in the marine and maritime fields with specialisation in shipping finance and marine policy. He began serving as a deck officer onboard various types of dry cargo vessels before serving as Credit Officer for Banque Franco-Hellenique de Commerce Internationale et Maritime. In 1999 he founded his own company,XRTC Business Consultants, which he runs to this day as Managing Director. He serves as a Vice Presidenct of the Greece-China Chamber and the Greece – China Friendship Association. Mr Xiradakis is also the General Secretary of the Association of Banking and Financial Executives of Hellenic Shipping, the 3rd Vice President of the International Propeller Club of USA and Honorary President Emeritus of the International Propeller Club of Piraeus. He is also a member of the Marine Club of Piraeus and the Mediterranean Committee of the China Classification Society.

Theodoros Nikolopoulos has 20 years of experience in the finance sector, with 14 of those in managerial positions. From 2006 to 2011, he served as the Head of Finance, Operations and Treasury of Aktor. From 2011 to 2012, he worked in Frigoglass S.A.I.C. as a Group Commercial Manager and in 2017 joined SRH Marine as the Group’s CFO. He eventually became SRH Marine’s Managing Director.

Noel Dent has joined Port of Newcastle as Strategic Development Manager for the Multi-purpose Deepwater Terminal (MDT) project.