Sad Start to News of Staff in the Freight and Logistics Sector this Week

DUBAI – UK – A sad start to our weekly roundup of staff changes in the freight and logistics sector with the death of Sir Anthony Colman, Chairman of the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre (EMAC), who died on July 27, at the age of 79, after a short illness. Sir Anthony, who split his time between London and Dubai, has been described as a driving force from the very beginning for EMAC, overseeing settlement of disputes within the maritime sector in the UAE. He spent over 50 years paving the way to enhancements within the legal industry. Paying tribute to Sir Anthony, Majid Obaid Bin Bashir, Vice Chairman and Secretary General, EMAC said:

“As a former Judge and International Arbitrator, Sir Anthony continued to advocate EMAC’s development as a milestone for the region, provided it keeps its core values. We will honour his memory by dedicating ourselves to carrying out his vision for EMAC.

“Each one of us not only grieves at the passing of an incredible individual, but also for his family’s loss. On behalf of the EMAC Executive Committee, Board of Trustees, members and staff, I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to Sir Anthony’s family during this sad time.”

HONG KONG – Seaspan has announced the retirement of Gerry Wang, Chief Executive Officer, co-Chairman and co-Founder, effective December 31, in order to focus on family business investments and his ongoing charitable efforts. In order to facilitate an orderly transition, Wang will continue in his current role as CEO until the either a permanent CEO is identified or December 31, whichever the earliest, and will continue to serve on Seaspan's Board until the end of the year.

The Board of Directors has appointed David Sokol, a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Seaspan, as Chairman of the Board. Concurrent with this change, Kyle Washington and Gerry Wang have both been recognised as Chairman Emeritus. Seaspan has promoted Peter Curtis to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Curtis joined Seaspan in 2001 as Vice President to establish and lead our ship management function and has served as the Chief Operating Officer of the company since 2012.

The Board of Directors has also formed The Office of the Chairman, under the Direction of Sokol. In this role, Sokol will oversee the Chief Executive Officer succession and overall leadership transition. The Office of the Chairman will consist of: Wang; Curtis; Mark Chu, Chief Development Officer and General Counsel; David Spivak, Chief Financial Officer; and Gabrielle Smith, Director of Human Resources. 

UK – Hellmann Worldwide Logistics UK has appointed Jodi Raphael as its new non-Executive Director for the European Road Freight division.

UK – Dominic Kennedy, currently Director of Commercial Planning at Virgin Atlantic Cargo has been promoted to Managing Director of Virgin Atlantic Cargo, effective August 14, when John Lloyd, who has held the post since 2001, steps down after 30 years with the airline.

This follows changes in the airline's senior management team that mean David Geer, who was due to take up the post in mid-August, will now assume the role of Senior Vice President, Revenue Management & Digital Distribution at Virgin Atlantic.

GREECE – DryShips has announced the appointment of two new Directors, Anthony Kandylidis and Andreas Argyropoulos. Kandylidis has served as the company’s President and Chief Financial Officer since December 2016, and is the nephew of George Economou, the company’s Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer. Argyropoulos has worked for Ocean Rig UDW for five years in a variety of positions.

GERMANY – Felix Kreutel has been named to take over as head of Fraport's Cargo Development and Management department from October 1. Kreutel, who since 2015 has held the position of Vice President of Fraport's Cargo and Logistics department, will succeed Dirk Schusdziara, who will become the head of the Commercial Affairs department at the company’s Airside & Terminal Management, Corporate Safety & Security business unit.

SOUTH AFRICA – Shulami Qalinge has been appointed Chief Executive of Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), becoming the first female CE of the organisation. Qalinge succeeds Richard Vallihu who has been appointed Group Executive, Operational Readiness, Transnet Corporate Centre.

The appointment is of significance for an organisation that prides itself on its advancement of women in the male dominated Maritime Industry. 50% of TNPA’s executive committee is made up of females.

US – Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, Virgin America and Horizon Air, has announced the appointment of James Beer, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of McKesson Corporation, to the company’s Board of Directors. Beer will join the Compensation and Leadership Development and Safety committees.

US – American Airlines Cargo has announced the appointment of Lisa Oxentine as Managing Director, Global and Key Accounts, Cargo Sales. She takes over from Roger Samways’ previous position, after his promotion to Vice President of the Cargo Sales division, earlier this year. She will be based at the AA Cargo headquarters in Dallas-Forth Worth.

US – Shawn Cole has been named Vice President of Delta Cargo. Cole most recently served as Vice President – Finance and Corporate Planning.

US – American Global Logistics has announced Jon Slangerup as Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, to succeed Jim Briles, who is stepping down to spend more time with his family. Slangerup was previously AGL’s Non-Executive Chairman and has over 30 years of executive leadership experience in multimodal logistics, including serving as CEO of the Port of Long Beach, as well as the former President of FedEx Canada.

US – Brad Halverson, Group President and Chief Financial Officer at Caterpillar, has announced his decision to retire in early 2018, concluding a career spanning more than three decades with the company.

US – The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has elected Lou Anne Bynum as its new Board President and Tracy Egoscue as Vice President. The Board also voted Lori Ann Guzmán as Secretary of the Board. Guzmán has served as Board President, and Bynum as Vice President, for the past two years.

US – Pacific Drilling has announced that Christian Beckett has stepped down from his position as CEO and as a Member of the Board, effective immediately to pursue other opportunities. Beckett has agreed to make himself available to assist during the transition.

Paul Reese, current Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has been promoted to serve as Chief Executive Officer. Johannes Boots, current Senior Vice President – Finance and Treasurer, has been promoted to serve as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Richard Tatum, current Vice President and Controller, has been promoted to serve as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer.

US – CANADA – XL Catlin has strengthened its North American Aviation Insurance team. In Canada, David Watts has been named Vice President, Canadian Aviation Manager, Canada. Alex Barker assumes management responsibility of the Aviation team in Calgary, reporting to Watts. Stephanie Hope has joined as Aviation Underwriter, Calgary.

In the US, Timothy Bartos has been appointed Vice President Senior Underwriter, New York.

Photo: The late Sir Anthony Colman.