Speakers 2009

Marc ABEILLE

(copetrans@wanadoo.fr)
Marc Abeille is a transport economist and a consultant in maritime and multimodal transport, and an associate Professor in these fields at University Paris I. He is the Managing Director of the staff-run Company CopeTrans – Paris, founded in 1993, which specializes in international transport, with a particular focus on maritime intermodality (all modes) and the maritime sector (freight and passengers).
Marc Abeille has more than 30 year practice in studies and consultancy for Companies, - transport users and operators -, International Institutions, and professional organisations.
With the support of all stakeholders, he launched the Short Sea Promotion Centre for France (BP2S), and managed this neutral body until 2004. BP2S in turn was a founding member, with other European Country Promotion Offices, of the European Short Sea Network (ESN); this initiative gained a strong support from the European Commission.
In 2006, he was selected as Team Leader of the E.U.-MEDA / Motorways of the Sea initiative (MEDAMOS), in partnership with large consulting Companies from the transport engineering, technology logistics I.T. and financial sectors established in four Mediterranean Countries. The objective of this 3 year Project is to develop efficient maritime based intermodal solutions between Mediterranean and European Union Countries.
A similar two year project (in January 2009) for MoS in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea is also led by Marc Abeille.

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Jens-Peter BERG

(j.berg@sartori-berger.de)
Jens-Peter Berg holds the position as General Manager Stevedoring / Ferry Services with Sartori & Berger, an important port services provider based in Kiel, Germany. Additionally he is Deputy Chairman of the International Ferry Shipping Association (Verband der Fährschifffahrt und Fährtouristik e.V., VFF), a Hamburg-based organisation formed by 54 members, including 31 ferry operators with activity on the German source market. Jens-Peter Berg’s enthusiastic interest in ferry shipping started already during his studies back in the late 1970s when we worked part-time as a receptionist on a Sessanlinjen ferry trading between Sweden and Germany. In 1983 he joined the industry on full-time basis, initially working with Poseidon Schifffahrt OHG in Lübeck. Further career steps took him to Finnlines, Silja Line and Viking Line where he held various executive positions before being appointed General Manager of the German branch office of Attica Group (Superfast Ferries / Blue Star Ferries) in 1999.  Jens-Peter Berg retained this position for some nine years until he moved on to Sartori & Berger – coincidentally Superfast’s (and now Tallink Silja Line’s) port agent and terminal operator in the Port of Rostock – in September 2008. Other ferry industry clients of this company include Color Line and Scandlines. Additionally Sartori & Berger, which runs an agency network covering all German ports and the Kiel-Canal, is renowned for its cruise ship port services including agency attendance as well as ground handling and shore excursions.

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Klas BROGREN

(brogren@shippax.se)
Since last year, I have had two flashbacks of my past career when, together with Ivar Moltke (who is also here today) we created a conceptual ferry project, ICON, in cooperation with Flensburger Schiffbau, and then sold a tugboat from Arabia to my native town Halmstad. Naval architecture and brokering, in a nutshell, was my childhood dream and my first profession respectively. Then I came into the information side of it and then we started this conference … but the rest you know already!

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Carla Cotterell

(carla.cotterell@platform-a.com)
Carla is responsible for developing Platform-A’s business strategy to drive Pan-European revenue.  Based in London, her team advises on strategy and manages a range of branding and performance campaigns for major global advertisers.  Carla has twelve year’s experience in online sales and marketing, managing a mix of clients across search, display, affiliate and video channels and joined Advertising.com 5 years ago.
Prior to joining the online world in 1996, Carla was the Appeals Manager at Hampshire County Cricket Club where she was responsible for raising £8m for the creation of the new Rose Bowl sports stadium.  
Carla has a Business Studies BA, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Marketing and holds numerous diplomas in complementary therapies.  She is on the Board of Trustees for Thurrock Women’s Aid, which is the UK’s key charity working to end domestic abuse against women and children.  Carla lives on the outskirts of London and is an active landlord and property developer.

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Jean-Marie D’ASPE

(jmdaspe@sncm.fr)
Jean-Marie d’Aspe is the General Manager of  the SNCM since June 2006. The  SNCM operates  5 ferries, 4 RoRos and 1 highspeed ferry in the Mediterranean  between mainland France, Corsica and North Africa.
Civil Engineer,  Jean Marie d’Aspe has held a number of management positions in major French Companies.

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Paul DE ROSEN

(pderosen@sncm.fr)
Directeur des Lignes/
Sales and Marketing Director
SNCM
French navy officer (in the reserve)
HEC MBA
Career as director in various “turnaround” projects involving sensitive
workforces:
including
Regional Director for Paris cleaning services (Veolia Environment) Director for Operations for London -Coastway railservices (Connex)

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Håkan ENLUND

(hakan.enlund@stxeurope.com)
Håkan Enlund graduated from the Technical University of  Oulu in Mechanical Engineering. His career started 1981 with the performance yacht builder Baltic Yachts. Within the Hollming group he was the key person in establishing the new Technology Division, where he took on the management responsibility for the deep-sea submersible research vessels project. Mr Enlund has presented a number of scientific reports and papers in the field of lightweight engineering/construction and its application in shipbuilding. In 1994 he joined the shipyard again, now Finnyards, holding a position first as Project Manager and later Sales Manager for the fast ferry activities and from 2005 as Vice President, Sales, with STX Europe Cruise & Ferries. From September 2007 he is a member of the Rauma shipyard´s Management Team. STX Europe in Rauma specialises in ferries, small cruise vessels, multipurpose icebreakers and naval craft.
Mr Enlund was appointed member of the DNV Ferry Committee in 2000 and elected its chairman since May 2003. He is also a board memeber of Interferry since 2006.

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William GIBBONS

(W.Gibbons@psa-psara.org)
Williams Gibbons has been director of the Passenger Shipping Association (PSA) since April 1994.  Since that time he has worked to actively promote the UK cruising industry to UK holidaymakers and the travel trade, through the PSA’s Passenger Shipping Association Retail Agents scheme (PSARA) and generic PR Campaign.  Since 2003 the PSA has been coordinating further PR activity, to promote travel by ferry.  The PSA is the trade association for both cruise and ferry companies based in the UK and currently has 32 cruise and 19 ferry members.  The PSA is now seen as the main industry voice for commercial matters as well as a source of information and advice for the public.
In 2004 Bill was very involved in setting up the European Cruise Council (ECC). He is currently Marketing Director of the ECC.
In the same year the PSA set up an Associate Membership Scheme, which currently has 42 members.
From 1990 to 1994 William was an independent management consultant, working particularly in the ferry industry, whilst also studying for an MBA degree.  William previously held the post of general manager of Sealink Isle of Wight ferries, prior to which he was the service manager and then ferry line manager for the Harwich Hook of Holland ferry route.
William was previously assistant shipping and port manager for the Port of Harwich and worked on the Channel Island services from Portsmouth.
William has two children and lives in London and Dorset. He is also a Justice of the Peace (J.P) in central London.

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Roman GONOPOLSKIY

(RNG@UKRFERRY.COM)
Roman Gonopolskiy is the manager of “Ukrferry” Marketing and Project Dept.
He is responsible for development of  new linear services of the company and general marketing and sales support including company web-site edition.

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Emanuele GRIMALDI

Since 1986, Mr Emanuele Grimaldi is Managing Director of Grimaldi Group, a company who is at the centre of a remarkable development in the Roll on / Roll off maritime transport. Most recently Grimaldi Group also became a driving force of the Motorways of the seas and Short Sea Shipping concepts by deploying a fleet of modern ships operating on international routes.
In the latest years Mr Emanuele Grimaldi was deeply involved in the expansion of Grimaldi Group on international level, paying constantly attention towards sustainable models of maritime transports.
Mr Emanuele Grimaldi has Degree in Economics and Commerce taken “summa cum laude” at the University of Naples in December 1980.
Mr Emanuel Grimaldi – Managing Director, Grimaldi Group. Chairman of Minoan Lines. President of Malta Motorways of the Sea, Grimaldi Logistica España, Salerno Auto-Terminal. Vice-President of the Malta International Shipping Council. Board member of Finnlines, Atlantic Container Line, European Community Shipowner Association (ECSA), Confitarma (Italian Shipowner Association).

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Alfons GUINIER

Up to 31/12/91: Different administrative and commercial positions within the Belgian Shipping Group C.M.B. as a Member of the Direction
Belgian representative in different European and international shipping organisations
Spokesman for the Belgian Shipowners Association in the Belgian Industrial Board (Fédération des Entreprises de Belgique)
Appointed conciliator for Belgium for the U.N. Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences
As from 1/1/92: Secretary General of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations
Co-ordinator of Transport/Shipping/Services of the Maritime Industries Forum
Member of the Joint Committee for Maritime Transport

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Anders Ørgård HANSEN

(anh@osk-shiptech.com)
Anders Ørgård Hansen holds a master’s degree in Naval Architecture and Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark. Until 2003, he worked as manager of Knud E. Hansen A/S, Naval Architects, Copenhagen.
Since 2003, Anders Ørgård Hansen has been Managing Director and owner of OSK-ShipTech A/S, which is today one of the leading marine consultancy companies in Denmark. As a result of this work, he was recently recommended as fellow of the Royal Institute of Naval Architects in London.
Anders Ørgård Hansen has been consultant and project manager on a number of projects related to design and contract negotiations for new building projects.
He holds a number of positions on international boards and committees, e.g. board member of the Danish Society for Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, board member of DNV Ferry Committee and member of Interferry, where he is active in the World Ferry Safety Committee and represents the organisation at IMO in London.

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Staffan HERLIN

(staffan.herlin@finnlines.com)          
Staffan Herlin has a long experience in shipping business. Since his Master’s (Econ) degree in 1983 he has been faithful to the leading Finnish shipping company, Finnlines Plc and has held several positions within customer service, operations, profit units, sales and marketing, since 1995 on management level. In the late eighties, he represented the company in one of it’s agencies in Lübeck for almost four years. At present Staffan’s task is to head international Marketing & Sales for Finnlines Liner Services as a member of the Management Board, which gives him a broad view of the present  European ro-ro and ferry market.
On top of his daily duties within Finnlines, Staffan Herlin also holds different positions in several commercial and institutional boards and committees.

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Simon JOHNSON

(simon.johnson@poferries.com)
Simons’ career has covered sales, marketing and operational roles inside and outside the shipping and travel industry. In the 90’s, he developed the largest self-drive tour operator in the UK whilst at Stena Line.
Outside of travel, he was the Commercial Director of the London Chamber of Commerce. He sat on the board which lobbied and promoted London business.  
Simon is now the Tourist Sales and Marketing Board Director of P&O Ferries, the largest in the UK.  He was directly involved in a Fundamental Business Review and more recently responsible for the launch of the P&O Ferries low-cost pricing model.  Currently he is working on two new large ships for the Dover straights.
Two years ago he was elected to the PSA Board and has just been elected to the Board of the Institute of Travel and Tourism.

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Paul KYPRIANOU

In 1995-1996 I was appointed as Commercial Executive at Associated Oceanic Agencies Ltd, the commercial offices of the Grimaldi Group in London.
In 1997 I was transferred to Grimaldi’s Headquarters in Naples where I have been covering various commercial responsibilities.
Since 1998 I am in charge of the preparation and presentation of EU-funded projects and since snce 2000 I hold the position of External Relations Manager of the Group.
I have a Board Member of various companies of the Grimaldi Group among which Scandinavian Auto Logistics (1999-2000), a logistics company based in Esbjerg (Denmark), Grimaldi Belgium (since 2000), and Antwerp Euroterminal (since 2000), the ro/ro multipurpose terminal run by the Group in the port of Antwerp.
Since 1998 I represent the Group at the European RoRo Carriers’ Action Group, special committee of ECSA (European Community Shipowners’ Associations). I am Chairman of the Group since 2003.
Since 2005 I am also the Managing Director of Grimaldi & Louis Dreyfus Lines, a joint venture between the Grimaldi Group and the French shipowning group Louis Dreyfus Armateurs.
Since 2008 I am a Board Member of Minoan Lines, a company part of the Grimaldi Group.

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Andreas LUNDGREN

Andreas Lundgren is the editor of CRUISE & FERRY Info, ShipPax Information’s monthly magazine and the official publication of the Ferry Shipping Conference. In his role as editor of CRUISE & FERRY Info, Andreas Lundgren has been covering the passenger shipping industry for ten years. Prior to joining the magazine in 1999, he had a spell at Sweden’s largest financial newspaper, Dagens Industri. A trained journalist, Andreas Lundgren also holds a Master of Arts degree in British/American literature.

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Jon McGREGOR

(jon.mcgregor@bureauveritas.com)
Jon McGregor is the manager of the Risk, Sustainability and the Human Element Section within Bureau Veritas’ Research Department. He is responsible for the development and management of Bureau Veritas’ research into human, environmental and asset risk management.  Additionally, he is responsible for the coordination and development of Bureau Veritas’ environmental services for the marine industry. He has a Bachelor of Engineering, with Honours, in Naval Architecture and Master of Research in Marine Technology from Newcastle University.

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Uwe OTTO

(otto@fsg-ship.de)        
Uwe Otto spent 20 years in the German Navy. After officer training at the German Naval Academy, he sailed as First Officer on fast patrol boats and destroyers and later on as Officer in Command on Mine Transport vessels.
He also became a navy pilot and flew high performance jet aircraft.
After Staff Officer training at the German Military Academy in Hamburg, he served several years at various NATO headquarters and in 1987 retired as Commander.
In 1987 he joined Flensburger Shipyard in Germany, being initially responsible for organisation and personnel development.
Presently he holds the position of Executive Vice President and Head of Sales and Marketing.
Flensburger Shipyard is one of the world market leaders for RoRo shipbuilding.

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Spiros PASCHALIS

(paschalis@attica-group.com)
Spiros Paschalis since February 2008, is the Managing Director of SUPERFAST FERRIES, one of the two companies that constitute ATTICA GROUP, a leading maritime group based in Greece that operates 13 vessels in Adriatic and Greek domestic market.
He entered the shipping industry in 1996 and pretty soon he managed to become one of the leading members of the other company-member of the Group, holding for almost 10 years the position of Authorized Director of BLUE STAR MARITIME S.A.
He has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the American College of Greece and he further extended his financial educational background in London where he graduated from Cass Business School (City University) holding an MBA degree in Finance.
Since February 2008, he is also an Executive member of the Board of Directors of ATTICA GROUP.

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Bruce PETER

(brucepeteruk@yahoo.co.uk)
Dr Bruce Peter lectures in architecture and design history and theory at the Glasgow School of art’s Department of Historical & Critical Studies, A life-long ship enthusiast and a frequent traveller of ferries and cruise vessels, he finds himself constantly frustrated by modern port environments. To him, one can tell the quality and civilisation of a port by the ease with which one can photograph the ships. Bruce is the author of several beautifully-illustrated books on modern passenger ship design, including ‘Cruise: Identity, Design & Culture’ (Lawrence King and Rizzoli, 2006), ‘Knud E. Hansen A/S: Ship Design Through seven Decades (Forlaget Nautilus, 2007) and ‘QE2: Britain’s Greatest Liner’ (Ferry Publications, 2008). He is presently working on a new book about Danish liner shipping.

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Hans SANDSTRÖM

(hans.sandstrom@marine-profile.se)
Capt. Sandstrom has been managing director of Marine Profile since 1994.  Marine Profile is serving the international maritime industry in Human Resource, Organisation, Human Factor and Safety Issues.
Capt. Sandstrom previously spent a couple of years in Hong Kong as MD of Argonaut Shipping (Hong Kong) Ltd.
Following his seagoing career he also served some eight years with The Swedish Club as an international casualty investigator and negotiator, mainly for Hull but also for P&I.

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Johan SNELLMAN

Johan Snellman, born 1954 is a graduate in Naval Architecture from the Technical University in Helsinki.. In 1981 he started as a project engineer at the Rauma-Repola shipyard in Rauma, which over the years also has worked under the names Rauma Yards, Finnyards, Aker Finnyards and Aker Yards.  In the years 1988-91 he worked as R&D manager at the yard and since 1992 in the sales department, presently as Vice President, STX Europe Cruise & Ferries. During the years he has also worked as project manager for several vessels, including M/S ULYSSES, one of the largest ferries in the world.

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Jean-Claude TERRIER

(jcterrier@marseille-port.fr)
He was born on July 22, 1952, at Thonon-les-Bains.  After his studies at the Paris Political Studies Institute and his bachelor’s degree in Public Law, he joined the French National School of Administration (ENA).  In June 1979, on leaving the ENA, he chose the French Home Office and the prefectorial body where he held various territorial positions.
After a period with the General Inspectorate of the French bank, Crédit Agricole, he was appointed Head of the French Minister’s Office for Post and Telecommunications.  He then directed his career towards the business sector, managing in turn a security company -a subsidiary of the French Post Office-, a subsidiary of the «Moniteur des Travaux Publics» group, then a tourist complex built around the Flaine resort in Haute-Savoie.
In February 1996, he rejoined the French Home Office as Director of Traffic, Transport and Commerce at the Police Headquarters.  In March 2004, he was appointed CEO of the Port of Dunkirk. In September 2008, he was appointed CEO of the Port of Marseille.

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Bo-Lennart THORBJÖRNSSON

(blt@boltconsulting.se)(www.boltconsulting.se)
After gaining a B. Sc. in Ba and Econ at Lund University in 1972, he joined Lion Ferry AB, and was three years later promoted to Marketing Manager. In 1978, he became International Passenger Manager for  Lion Ferry’s five European routes and markets.
In 1981, he moved to DFDS Helsingborg as Line Manager and became after two years Managing Director of DFDS in Hamburg, Germany, where restructuring led to the company becoming profitable again. Continuing with DFDS, at HQ Copenhagen, in 1984, he became Group Director and head of  DFDS Seaways’ six European routes. In the year 2000, he was appointed CEO and Managing Director of DFDS Group Executive Board, again based in Copenhagen. After seventeen years working away from his family Monday-Friday, he decided to leave DFDS and instead work as a Management Consultant based in Halmstad. BOLT CONSULTING, founded in 2002 and fully owned by Bo-Lennart is, with his European senior advisory team a major management adviser to the ferry shipping industry. Bo-Lennart has also experience as chairman and board member of several European shipping and travel companies. Finally, Bo-Lennart is the co- founder and organiser of the annual “Ferry Shipping Conference” onboard.

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Helge TVEDT

(helge.tvedt@adecco.no)
Helge Tvedt is working as a sales executive for Adecco Hospitality Norway. Adecco Hospitality is a part of the Adecco Group, which is a world leader in workforce solutions. The Adecco Group connects over 700,000 associates with clients each day through its network over 36,000 employees and has more than 6700 offices in over 60 countries and territories around the world.  
Helge Tvedt holds a master degree in Marketing from Macquarie University in Sydney Australia. He also holds a bachelor degree in Business, Tourism and Hotel Management from the International College of Tourism and Hotel Management, Sydney. Helge has previously worked as key staff abroad for one of the biggest tour operators in Scandinavia, Apollo. During his time at Apollo he had the pleasure of working in countries such as Egypt, Bulgaria, Greece and Spain.

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Carsten WIEBERS

(Carsten.Wiebers@kfw.de)
Dr. Carsten Wiebers is the Head of Ship Financing of KfW IPEX-Bank. His professional experience in shipping extends to over 10 years financing all type of maritime vessels with European content on a global basis. KfW IPEX-Bank is a state owned bank financing on a commercial basis with a shipping portfolio of approx. USD 20 billion. It holds a considerable ferry, ropax and roro ship portfolio. Previous to his work in ship financing Carsten Wiebers worked in KfW’s development finance since 1992 in various Asian countries and industry sectors.

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Per WIMBY

(per.wimby@stenaline.com)    
Per Wimby is the manager for Technical operation, Stena Line Scandinavia. Stena Line Scandinavia operates 16 ferries and RoRos in Scandinavian waters.
During 1995-2004 working as newbuilding project manager at Stena AB. Recent projects; panamax tankers at Dalian shipyard China. Master of Science in Naval architecture 1989. Per is in the board for SEAaT and member of environmental committee at Swedish Ship owners association.

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Conference 2023

Was held on board CRUISE BARCELONA

Latest reviews (2023)

“A huge thank you to the entire Shippax team for this year's conference! It was an absolute pleasure attending!”. “The importance of topics and relevance to what is happening in the shipping industry was exceptional among the speakers and panel. Congratulations on an assembly of leading delegates.”. “I and many people I spoke to thought this conference was one of the best that has ever been organised, and with its 20th anniversary this bodes well for the future.“. “What a fantastic couple of days at the 20th Anniversary of the Shippax Ferry Conference. A big thank you for enabling such important discussions on the latest topics and a great mix of industry professionals together.“. “Extremely interesting debates, speeches and meetings with all our industry’s protagonists! “. “Thank you team Shippax for a most productive, informative and enjoyable conference.