Who’s Who: Maritime Movements for March/April 2021

By Baird Maritime - May 2, 2021.

WORK BOAT WORLD:

Crowley Maritime Corporation has promoted senior executive Dan Warner to the position of Chief Financial Officer.

Warner will oversee Crowley’s treasury, tax, controllership, procurement, internal audit, and financial planning and analysis functions. He is based in Jacksonville, Florida, and reports to Chairman and CEO Tom Crowley.

Warner has served as senior vice president and treasurer and member of the company’s senior leadership team since 2005. He began his career with Crowley in 2001 as a senior analyst for the corporate planning group, and later served as finance director for both the company’s logistics and Puerto Rico and Caribbean liner services organisations.

Prior to joining Crowley, Warner held various finance positions, including vice president at Citigroup in New York. He has a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a master’s in business administration from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management.

Ben Ostroff has been named the new General Manager of tug operator Starlight Marine Services.

Ostroff joined Starlight in late January 2021 as an operations manager. He began his seafaring career as a deckhand for a San Francisco Bay dredging company. After graduating from the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo with a Bachelor of Science degree in marine transportation with a minor in marine engineering, he worked on tugs and barges in Alaska and San Francisco Bay, oil tankers in Mississippi, and oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Oceaneering International has confirmed that John R. Huff will retire as a member and Chairman of the Board of Directors immediately following the 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, and T. Jay Collins will succeed Huff as Chairman. Collins has been a director of Oceaneering since 2002. Huff will continue to support the Board of Directors as Chairman Emeritus for a transitional period.

Collins served as Chief Executive Officer of Oceaneering from May 2006 to May 2011, and as President of Oceaneering from 1998 to May 2011. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Oceaneering from 1998 until 2006 and as Executive Vice President of Oilfield Marine Services from 1995 to 1998. He joined Oceaneering in October 1993, initially serving as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He is also a director of Murphy Oil Corporation and Pason Systems.

Sea Machines Robotics has hired Moran David as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), reporting to the company’s CEO Michael G. Johnson. Effective immediately, this new position gives David responsibility for the company’s global sales and marketing of Sea Machines’ products global commercial and defence customers.

David joins Sea Machines from Mobileye, an Israeli subsidiary of Intel. He has relocated to Boston from New York City for his new role.

David brings more than 20 years’ experience as an executive-level leader across sales, marketing and product development. He joined Mobileye in 2015 as the director of business development and was promoted to his most recent position of general manager, with ownership for all of the company’s activities in North America, in 2017.

Prior to Mobileye, from 2011 to 2014, David successfully worked as a business development consultant and e-commerce strategist for national high-value brands. He helped to found both Sabon NYC and D&E Retail, serving as CEO from 2005-2011 and 2000-2006, respectively.

Before immigrating to the United States, David held leadership roles for several businesses in Israel and abroad. He also served in Israel’s Elite Air Force Commando Unit as a command sergeant major.

Austal USA has amed long-time business development executive Larry Ryder as the company’s new Vice President of Business Development and External Affairs. In this role, Ryder is responsible for all of Austal’s business development efforts, state and federal legislative activities, customer relations with the US military as well as coordinating external communications and media relations.

Ryder joined Austal USA in 2014 serving as the company’s Senior Director of Business Development and Customer Relations. He has extensive experience with shipbuilding programs and served as the first director of the US Marine Corps’ High Speed Vessel (HSV) program office where he helped develop the Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) program. Ryder also served as the deputy program manager for the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) in the US Navy’s Program Executive Office (PEO) Ships. While at General Dynamics, Ryder led all domestic and international business development efforts for the Littoral Combat Ship and EPF programs.

Huntington Ingalls Industries‘ Board of Directors has elected Kari Wilkinson to serve as executive vice president of HII and president of HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division, effective April 1. She succeeded Brian Cuccias, who retired on April 1.

Wilkinson currently serves as Ingalls’ vice president, program management.

Wilkinson began her career with Ingalls as an associate naval architect in 1996. Since that time, she has worked closely with Business Development on requirements and preliminary ship designs for both domestic and international customers and also coordinated the prioritisation of equipment and processes in Operations during the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort.

Wilkinson transitioned into Program Management in 2007 as a ship program manager for the San Antonio-class LPD program, assuming the position of vice president, program management in 2016. In this current role, she has profit and loss responsibility for all elements of program execution and serves as the principal liaison to the US Navy and the US Coast Guard for all platforms in the Ingalls portfolio.

Originally from Jenison, Michigan, Wilkinson earned a bachelor of science in naval architecture and marine engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from Temple University.

Hervé Gastinel has been appointed the new CEO of French cruise operator Ponant, replacing Jean-Emmanuel Sauvée.

A former officer-caded and watch captain, Gastinel headed yacht builder Beneteau between 2015 and 2019.

After studying management at ESSEC, finance at Dauphine and public management at Sciences Po and ENA, Gastinel worked on various projects at the General Inspectorate of Finance before becoming technical advisor to the President of the French Senate, responsible for the economy, finance and new technologies. He joined Saint Gobain as Planning and Strategy Director. He went on to manage the building materials company, Terreal, before joining Beneteau Group.

He also remains Senior Advisor for the consulting firm EIM.

The Coast Guard Foundation has 82 active trustees and directors on the board, led by newly elected Thomas A. Allegretti as the chair. Abbott Brown, Dr. Kathryn Clay, Paul N. Jonoff, JD, Beth Mason, Jim Masters, Julie Nelson, Vice Admiral Howard B. Thorsen, USCG (Ret.), Brooks Tomblin, Sr, and Roger Wacker will each serve three-year terms, commencing in 2021.

*L-R: Abbott Brown, Dr Kathryn Clay, Paul N. Janoff JD*

Abbott Brown is the founder of Ridgestone Corporation, an investment firm based in Los Angeles. His 50-year career in finance served a broad range of companies with a focus on entertainment and media, real estate and the aerospace industries. Brown has served on the Board of Directors of both public and private companies, and is currently serving on the Board of Trustees at Claremont McKenna College and St. John’s Hospital. He is a graduate of Lehigh University.

Dr. Kathryn Clay is the president of the International Liquid Terminals Association (ILTA). Previously, Dr. Clay was Vice President for Policy at the American Gas Association, and was Executive Director of the American Gas Foundation. She also served as Vice President for Technology Policy at the Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers. Dr. Clay worked as a Congressional aide for the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the US House Committee on Science, and in the personal office of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, both from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Paul N. Janoff, JD is presently the Chief of Labor Relations, Investigations and Compliance at the John Stewart Company in San Francisco. His 30-year career has included work in both civilian and military law, with a focus on areas like litigation, human resources, ethics and labor relations. Janoff was a senior civil attorney for the US Coast Guard for 13 years, and also served in this role for the US Army Corps of Engineers, US Navy and US Army. He holds his Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond School of Law.

*L-R: Beth Mason, Jim Masters, Julie Nelson*

Beth Mason is an entrepreneur who operates small businesses in New Jersey, New York and Virginia. In addition to past experience as a senior advertising and marketing executive in New York City, Mason served her community as a local elected official. She is a philanthropist serving as the President of the Mason Civic League, a board member of the Olana Partnership, and a recent board member of the Virginia Commonwealth University Foundation.

Jim Masters is the Senior Vice President of Operations at American Commercial Barge Line in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Masters has more than 30 years of experience in operations and supply chain management including training in operational excellence, lean manufacturing and continuous improvement. A graduate of Case Western Reserve University, Masters has also attended the Tuck School of Business’ Executive Education program at Dartmouth College.

Julie Nelson is the Vice President, State and Local Government Affairs for Cheniere Energy, where she is responsible for safeguarding Cheniere’s license to operate at the state and local level for all corporate locations within the United States. She has extensive experience in the energy, maritime and transportation industries. She has served as a senior political appointee under President George W. Bush at the US Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Nelson holds a bachelor’s and a law degree from Indiana University and a Master’s degree in Maritime and Admiralty Law from Tulane University.

Vice Admiral Howard B. Thorsen, USCG (Ret.) is the co-founder of the Foundation for Coast Guard History and served as Chairman of that organization for 10 years. He is also a founding trustee of the US Naval Institute Foundation and served with that organisation for three years. A 1955 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy, Thorsen went on to serve in the Coast Guard for 36 years. Among his assignments: Commander of Air Station Corpus Christi, Commandant of Cadets at the Coast Guard Academy, Commander of the 7th Coast Guard District, Coast Guard Headquarters Chief of Operations and Commander, Atlantic Area.

Brooks Tomblin, Sr. is a financial advisor with over 20 years of experience in the investment industry and is currently the Managing Director for Investments at Wells Fargo Advisors. Tomblin served in the Coast Guard for 12 years, with key assignments aboard the Coast Guard cutters Escape, Rambler, and Chokeberry, as well as shore side service at Station Charleston and Group Chincoteague.

Roger Wacker is the Managing Director for wealth management and Senior Portfolio Manager at UBS Financial Services in Los Angeles. He has more than 40 years of wealth management experience, including previously serving as the Chief Investment Officer and head of the UBS Middle Eastern Group; Co-Head of Bank Julius Baer, North America; and as a Relationship Manager in the Private Banking North America business of Credit Suisse. Wacker earned a Swiss Banking Diploma and a Swiss Commercial Diploma. He serves on the boards of Providence St John’s Health Center, the Mayo Clinic Global Advisory Council and the International Bankers Association in California. Wacker is a retired captain of the Swiss Army.

Sea Ranger Service, the company that has been carrying out surveying and research tasks in the North Sea with special, emission-free sailing offshore work vessels since 2018, has appointed former Dockwise manager and WISTA board member Christel Pullens as its new managing director as of March 1, 2021.

Pullens has nearly 25 years of technical and commercial experience in shipbuilding and offshore, including as Senior Sales Manager Projects at Dockwise (now Boskalis), Head of Sales and Marketing at Damen Shiprepair and Conversion and Global Sales and Marketing Director at Alewijnse.

The Supervisory Board of Fugro has decided to nominate Barbara Geelen for appointment as member of the Board of Management and Chief Financial Officer per May 12, 2021. She has been Chief Financial Officer at HES International for the past seven years. Geelen will succeed Paul Verhagen, who steps down as CFO at the upcoming general meeting of shareholders to become CFO at ASM International.

Geelen has extensive experience in financial management, including corporate finance, project financing, strategic planning, (re)structuring, mergers and acquisitions and management information systems. From 2014 till 2021 she has been CFO at bulk handling company HES International. Prior to that Geelen held various (leading) roles at ABN AMRO and gained experience in equity and high yield capital markets transactions, restructuring of companies and managing client teams, among others in the energy sector. She has extensive international experience, having been stationed in London and Singapore.

Datuk Mohd Anuar Taib has taken over as President and Group CEO of Malaysian offshore service company Sapura Energy, replacing Tan Sri Shahril Shamsuddin who retired upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60.

Datuk Mohd Anuar, who joined Sapura Energy as an independent director in August 2020, was appointed Chief Operating Officer and CEO Designate in October 2020. His previous roles included Chairman of Shell Companies in Malaysia and Petronas Executive Vice President and CEO, Upstream.

Datuk Mohd Anuar began his oil and gas career with Sarawak Shell Berhad in 1990, after completing his Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Mechanical) from Case Western Reserve University, in the United States. Datuk Mohd Anuar also holds a Master of Business Administration degree in International Management from the RMIT University, Australia.

Fairplay Towage Group has promoted Philip–Alexander Harmstorf effective April 1st, 2021 as second Managing Director the group. Mr Walter Collet is retiring from this position.

Harmstorf has over 20 years of professional experience in the fields of harbour towage, offshore towage and shipping project management. In his last position, he headed the offshore division of the group.

The Board of Directors of Lindblad Expeditions has appointed Dolf Berle as President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of its Board, effective May 10, 2021. Berle succeeds Sven-Olof Lindblad, who will become Co-Chair of the Board, together with Mark Ein, current Board Chair.

Berle currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Topgolf Entertainment Group where he has led the company’s overall vision, global growth strategies and P&L, since 2018. Previously, Berle served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Dave and Buster’s Entertainment.

Chris Reid has taken the role of Vice President – UK and Europe of offshore services consultancy Maritime Developments and will be responsible for nurturing existing customer accounts and developing new relationships with clients operating in the region.

Formerly Business Development Manager at James Fisher Offshore, Reid brings with him close to a decade of back-deck expertise in flexible product handling, including mooring solutions, and SURF decommissioning.

Callan Marine has hired Greg L. Harner as the new company Chief Operating Officer of the Marine Construction Division.

A 36-year veteran of the construction and maritime industry, Harner brings experience in infrastructure development for deep-water seaports, port security, resort developments, marine terminals, cruise terminal facilities, and commercial building projects within the US and Caribbean.

Micah Morris has been promoted to Operations Manager of Callan Marine’s Brown Water Division.

Previously, Callan Marine’s Vice President of Operations Kevin Pearse was responsible for both the Blue and Brown Water Divisions. Pearse will transition to sole leadership of Callan Marine’s Blue Water Division and Morris will transfer and take responsibility for the Brown Water Division.

Morris previously served as Project Manager on the Brown Water Projects. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University at Galveston with a Bachelor of Science in Maritime Administration. He joined the Callan Marine in 2016 and has served in various project management roles.

Servogear has recruited Vermund Hjelland as new CEO in the company, effective August 2021. Torleif Stokke, who has held the position of CEO for the last eight years, takes a new position in the company as Business Development Manager.

Hjelland holds a Naval Architect degree, and comes from a position as Vice President, Technology and Development in the shipping company Eidesvik Offshore.

The Board of Directors of Elliott Bay Design Group has appointed Robert Ekse as President of the firm. He will assume the position from current President and Chief Engineer, Brian King, who is retiring after 33 years of service. King will remain active in EBDG projects in a limited capacity, accepting the role as Principal Emeritus.

Ekse advances from Director of Project Operations to President, while remaining a Principal of the firm. He will have direct supervision of the business and affairs of the company, including its subsidiary companies. He will be responsible for advancing EBDG’s major strategic objectives while leading the team with planning, business management, engineering, personnel development, and sales. With 30 years of experience in the marine industry, Ekse has a diverse background including prior positions with Vigor, Alaska Marine Highway System, Alaska Ship and Drydock, and Crowley Marine Services.

Since joining EBDG, he has led multiple employee engagement initiatives, improved the project management process,and participated in strategic planning and growth initiatives.

BMT has formally appointed Neil Charles as new President of the organisation’s Critical Infrastructure Americas operating unit. Charles has served as Operations Director of the operating unit, which is a part of BMT’s Environment and Infrastructure Portfolio, for over two years. In April 2020 he assumed the role of Interim President.

Since first joining BMT in 2003 as a project engineer and progressing through that career path to project manager in 2005, Neil has had the opportunity to work on a range of projects including multi-million-pound program delivery in the UK defense arena to delivery of joint-industry projects in the offshore sector.

After leaving to relocate with his family to the US in 2011, he later joined BMT CI Americas in a project management role in 2013. Quickly moving to lead the Project Group where he directed delivery of multiple turnkey monitoring system contracts, he has more recently led efforts in the instrumentation and data services teams before becoming the Operations Director in 2018 and assumed the additional role of Interim President in April of 2020.

The Secretary of State for Transport has appointed Christopher Rodrigues CBE as the new Non-Executive Chair of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

Rodrigues brings extensive international experience as a chair of public, private and government sector bodies in tourism, the arts and public diplomacy and since 2016 as chair of the Port of London, Britain’s largest port.

Olga Stavropoulou has been selected to take over the duties of the Director General of HELMEPA.

Stavroupoulou has over 25 years working with various organisations in Greece and abroad.

On May 2, 2021, Tina Benjamin-Lea took up the position as new COO in Svitzer’s Africa, Middle East, and Asia (AMEA) region, reporting to Svitzer AMEA’s Managing Director, Nicolai Vinther Friis.

Benjamin-Lea brings with her a wealth of experience within logistics after having worked for more than 30 years in the industry, focusing on cargo operations, chartering, ISPS and terminal operations.

Benjamin-Lea joins Svitzer from a position as Logistics Director with AMALAA in Saudi Arabia where she spearheaded Construction Logistics as a member of the Delivery Senior Leadership Team. Before joining AMALAA, she held various global roles within logistics and operations in companies such as SNC Lavalin, Shell, and TransOceanic.

Also recently, Guilherme Gazabim has been appointed Country Manager for Svitzer in Mozambique.

Gazabim comes from a position as Chief Operating Officer at Nacala Corridor – a Vale and Mitsui JV – and brings 18 years of professional experience with managing teams at multinational and national companies in the Logistics and Agribusiness segments. Furthermore, he has worked in different areas such as Commercial, Planning and Maintenance and has been member of the Board of the CDN, CLN, CEAR and DDN Port in Mozambique and Malawi.

SHIP WORLD:

Maritime compliance and navigation services provider OneOcean has appointed Adam Pang as its new Chief Commercial Officer.

Oang has an extensive background in disruptive technology and holds specialist knowledge in complex software as a service (SaaS) solutions with over 20 years of experience. His prior roles included stints with fintech company Merrill Corporation (now Datasite).

The World Shipping Council (WSC) is adding two positions to its operations in Singapore, as well as welcoming a new colleague in the US.

In Singapore, the WSC has appointed Senior Manager Mun Wei Jun and Senior Executive Ang Shi En. They will both engage with WSC members, government regulators, other industry organisations, and international organizations on a broad range of policy matters including environment and climate, security, vessel and cargo safety, and customs regulations.

Mun will lead Public Affairs in Asia. He will work closely with the Communications Director to develop and implement the WSC communications strategy throughout Asia. He has a solid public policy background with focus on environmental, innovation and labour issues, most recently working for the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore where he, among other, represented Singapore at the IMO and the ILO.

Ang will work closely with the Managing Director to support the Singapore office’s role to assist carriers and local associations on regulatory matters affecting liner shipping. She joins WSC from the Singapore Maritime Foundation.

In the US, Joe Kramek joins the WSC as Director of US Government Relations. He will work across policy topics to represent WSC and its members in dialogue with the different branches of the US government.

Kramek has extensive experience in both government relations and maritime law, serving as a US Coast Guard commissioned officer for twenty-eight years. Most recently he led the Coast Guard Legislative Affairs Team and also served as the Chief of Maritime, International and Environmental Law where, among other duties, he led the US Delegation to the International Maritime Organisation’s Legal Committee.

The Seafarers’ Charity (formerly Seafarers UK) has welcomed two new trustees to its board.

Nusrat Ghani is the MP for Wealden. She previously served in the UK Department of Transport as Minister for High-Speed Rail, Buses, Taxis, Transport Accessibility and Maritime.

Rear Admiral Iain Lower is the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff and the Royal Navy’s Director for Strategy, International Relations, Maritime Sector, Parliamentary and Academic Engagement.

After 25 years of service, John Spragg, Bellingham Marine President of Australasia and the Middle East, has announced his retirement effective July 1, 2021. Following his retirement, he will continue to serve as a Director of the company. Bruce Birtwistle has been chosen as his successor. Birtwistle has worked over the last decade as the General Manager of New Zealand.

Ballast water treatment specialist Ecochlor has appointed Zen Hong Oh as Regional Service Manager for Southeast Asia.

Oh has more than eleven years of involvement in the maritime industry both in shipbuilding and in project management of vessel repairs and retrofits. Prior to Ecochlor, he was Field Service Manager at Emerson Process Management Marine Solutions. He also acted as Assistant Manager of Green Technologies for Sembcorp Marine with responsibilities that included the technical review of retrofits.

Oh has a Masters in Offshore Technology with Subsea Engineering and a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the National University of Singapore.

Bob Sanguinetti has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Aberdeen Harbour Board. He will begin serving in this role later this year.

Sanguinetti most recent position was as Chief Executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping.

Søren Greve has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of shipbroker Fearnleys, while Peter Wessel is appointed as CEO of Fearnley Securities.

Greve takes up the new post after having served as interim CEO from January to March 2021. He returns to Fearnleys following stints as a Managing Partner at Pareto Shipbrokers from 2006 to 2007 and as a Managing Director at Nordic Shipping from 2008 to 2019. His earlier work with Fearnleys was as a shipbroker from 1998 to 2005.

Prior to taking over as CEO of Fearnley Securities, Wessel was Managing Director, Equity and Fixed Income Sales at the same company from 2012. His prior experience includes Head of Equity Sales at SEB from 1997 to 2007, Senior Investment Manager at Datum from 2007 to 2009, and Global Head of Equity Sales at Swedbank First Securities from 2009 to 2012.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has promoted Shana Espinoza to Executive Officer to the Board to assist the five-member panel in key policy research, recommendations and decisions in governing the Port of Long Beach.

Espinoza has been with the City of Long Beach for 22 years, including 13 years with the Harbor Department.
She started working for the Port of Long Beach in November 2007 as an executive assistant to the Board of Harbor Commissioners, working her way up to serve as a Commission Administrative Officer in June 2013 and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Board in June 2018. She has been Acting Chief of Staff to the Board since September 2020, following the departure of the previous Chief of Staff.

The International Cargo Handling Coordination Association (ICHCA) has appointed Richard Steele as the new Head of ICHCA International. He will take over the role with effect from July 1, 2021, on the retirement of the current postholder Richard Brough OBE.

Steele is a safety and skills professional with a Masters in Training and Development who has been involved in the ports industry for over 21 years. He is currently the Chief Executive at Port Skills and Safety (PSS), an organisation that he has led for 11 years.Before PSS, he was the senior Learning and Development Manager for Associated British Ports for 10 years. Prior to ports, he worked in the nuclear industry on safety and skills provision.

The Norwegian branch of the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) has elected three new members to its board: Caroline Whittle, Head of Marketing at the Norwegian Maritime Authority; Agnieszka Sledz, former head of Clean Marine’s System Design and Engineering; and Carine Moeller Mortensen, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Senior Executive Advisor.

Siri Sundal Shield, Senior Ship Broker at Odfjell Tankers, was elected President, succeeding Pia Meling who has chosen to step back after two years. Shield has spent close to 20 years in commercial roles within the shipping industry and has extensive broking and business development experience from ship broking majors Clarksons, Howe Robinson and Simpson Spence and Young in London and Bergen.

The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has welcomed Rhona MacDonald (MSc Sustainability and Environmental Studies, 2020) as its new Policy and IMO Liaison Officer with a dual role, dividing her work between IAPH and associate member British Ports Association (BPA). She will be based at the BPA offices in central London.

Also qualified with a Master of Arts in International Business and Modern Languages, MacDonald has worked as a Sustainability Intern for the environmental NGO Ninth Wave Global and as Circular Economy Researcher for Zero Waste Scotland. In her work for IAPH, Rhona will focus on supporting Technical Director Antonis Michail on all policy and project work pertaining to the International Maritime Organisation.

Maritime New Zealand has appointed senior Ministry of Transport executive Kirstie Hewlett as its new Chief Executive and Director.

Hewlett is currently Deputy Chief Executive, System and Regulatory Design, at the Ministry of Transport, responsible for transport safety, resilience, security, emissions, regulation, and the transport COVID 19 response.

Hewlett replaces Keith Manch, who left in February to become Chief Executive of the Civil Aviation Authority. She will begin her role with Maritime NZ at the end of May.

She has previously held a range of senior leadership roles in WorkSafe NZ, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and the Ministry of Economic Development. Her career has included extensive health and safety, labour market, and financial sector reforms, establishing WorkSafe NZ and the build of new functions within the regulator, design of the Ultra-Fast Broadband initiative, and work on improving regulatory frameworks and systems in the public sector.

Thomas Miller Specialty, a global insurance provider across a number of sectors including marine and offshore, has hired consultant Sven-Erik Braun to bolster the strategic business development of its European offering.

A maritime professional with over thirty years’ experience, Braun has held senior roles with leading German insurance companies, including 14 years as Managing Director at marine broker Döhle Assekuranzkontor.

Braun will support strategy and business development at the Hamburg branch of Thomas Miller Specialty, Thomas Miller Insurance (Germany), which serves as the European centre for all Thomas Miller Specialty business.

Former Hamburg Süd CEO Dr Arnt Vespermann has been selected to take over as the new CEO of shipping company Offen Group effective January 1, 2022.

Offen Group founder and current CEO Claus-Peter Offen will retire from overseeing day-to-day operations to become the group’s new chairman. He will continue to be involved in the company’s strategic decisions.

Long-time A.P. Moller–Maersk employee Kristian Jasper will take up a new role as Global Head of Chartering at Maersk Tankers.

In this set-up, Jasper will lead Maersk Tankers’ global Chartering team – which is responsible for the delivery of the company’s core product to pool partners, spot trading.

Prior to taking on the new role, Jasper served as Segment Head for Maersk Tankers’ LR2, Aframax and City pools, responsible for the Chartering desks in Singapore, and spearheading strategy and tactics at the three pools.

Oslo-based international law firm Wikborg Rein has appointed Eleanor Midwinter as a Partner in its London office.

Midwinter has a mixed advisory/disputes practice. Her contractual work is focused on the trade, transportation and storage of physical commodities, particularly LNG, oil, and alternative fuels.

Prior to joining Wikborg Rein, she worked at HFW London within the Trade and Energy/Commodities teams (2008-2017). During that time she completed an in-house secondment within the MET Group (an oiland gas trading company), and at Gorrissen Federspiel (Danish full-service law firm). Her move to Wikborg Rein was one in a series of senior hires from top international shipping firms.

German shipping and logistics company Harren and Partner has welcomed Nils Aden as its newest Managing Director.

Aden will focus on the group’s global ship management services and strategic developments. In his previous assignments, he overlooked the merger of V.Ships and Norddeutsche Reederei H. Schuldt as Managing Director, led Zeaborn as CEO, and helped E.R. Schiffahrt expand into international ship management as CEO.

Britannia P&I has appointed Kate Kim as General Manager of B Korea, Britannia P&I’s newly launched exclusive correspondent in Korea. She took up her position on May 1 and her key focus will be to build and further strengthen relationships with members.

Kim’s previous experience includes 16 years working with a leading insurance broker, where she dealt with a wide variety of marine insurance.

FISHING BOAT WORLD:

Pascal Reverseau will become the new managing director for French trawl door manufacturer Morgère following the retirement of current director Michel Dagorn.

Reverseau’s most recent management position was as President of Safran Landing Systems Services, which provides maintenance for aircraft landing gear and hydraulics. He has a mechanical engineering degree and has over 20 years of experience working with Safran.