Helle Ellebjerg Due, Commercial Product Manager – Digital Solutions, MAN Energy Solutions

Helle E. Due is the Commercial Product Manager for digital solutions at MAN-ES, and has been with MAN Energy-Solutions since 2018.

Helle has more than 20 years of experience with global technology sales and business development primarily within digitalization. 

She holds a Graduate Diploma in Administration & International Business from Aarhus University. 

 
Haris Giantzikis, Technical Manager, Arcadia Shipmanagement Co Ltd

Charalampos (Haris) Giantzikis holds a High National Diploma (HND) in naval architecture, a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in mechanical engineering from City University of New York.

He launched his career in 1979 as assistant superintendent engineer at A. Halcoussis.He worked as superintendent engineer at Tsakos Shipping, Piraeus (1987-1991) and as senior superintendent engineer at Seven Seas Maritime in London (1991-2001). He was fleet manager at Marmaras Navigation (2001-2002) and technical manager at Tsakos Shipping (2002-2005). From 2005 to date he holds the position of technical manager at Arcadia Shipmanagement.

He is member of ABS European Technical Committee, Bureau Veritas Hellenic Marine Technical Committee, DNV GL Greek Technical Committee, Lloyd’s Register Hellenic Technical Committee, Class NK Greek Technical Committee and is a member of the MARTECMA council.

Michael Jeppesen, Promotion Manager, MAN Energy Solutions

Michael Jeppesen obtained a Master of Business degree in August 2017, “The Blue MBA” within Shipping & Logistics from Copenhagen Business School. Further, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering obtained from Copenhagen Teknikum University in 1989.

• Joined MAN Diesel's Two-Stroke Promotion & Customer Support Department in July 2010 and was appointed Promotion Manager. Presently responsible for Greece, Croatia Cyprus and Israel.

• Manager for MAN Diesel's Two-Stroke Maintenance Tools Department 2005-2010.

• Section manager for MAN Diesel's Two Stroke PrimeServ Diesel, Technical Service Department 2003-2005.

• Project manager for BWSC, dealing with diesel power plants for Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor 2001-2003.

• Superintendent engineer for MAN Diesel's Two-Stroke Operation Department, specialist within cylinder condition 1991-2001.

• Project engineer for MAN Diesel's Two Stroke Installation Department 1989-1991.

Lefteris Koukoulopoulos, Regional Decarbonization Specialist, DNV

Lefteris Koukoulopoulos is a Regional Decarbonization Specialist at DNV Maritime, with a background as a Naval Architect and Marine Engineer from NTUA and over five years of experience in Maritime Advisory and R&D.

Lefteris is distinguished for his in-depth expertise in computer-based simulation for complex ship energy systems and has a track record of successfully executing projects related to compliance with environmental regulations, including EEXI and CII.

 
Panos Kourkountis, Technical Director, Sea Traders SA; Chairman, MARTECMA

Panos Kourkountis is the Technical Director of Sea Traders SA. He studied Naval Architecture and Mechanical Engineering in the National Technical University of Athens. Since 1994 he worked as Superintendent, Site manager of new building projects, Technical Manager and Technical Director of Andriaki Shipping Co Ltd. In January 2018 he joined Procopiou Group of companies as Technical Director of Sea Traders SA.

He is chairman of Marine Technical Managers Association (MARTECMA), and member of Hellenic Technical Chamber (TEE), ABS Europe Technical Committee, Lloyd’s Register Hellenic Technical Committee, DNV Greek Technical Committee, RINA Technical Committee, Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers SNAME, Naval Architects Association of Greece, Mechanical Engineers’ Association of Greece, Hellenic Institute of Marine Technology (ELINT).

Stelios Kyriacou, Chief Technical Officer, ERMA FIRST SA

 Dr Stelios Kyriacou is a senior maritime executive with a career spanning over 35 years and has held senior leadership positions with major marine equipment manufacturers in Europe and US and has been an invited speaker and panelist on numerous vents in Europe, US and Asia. He is the Chief Technical Officer of ERMA FIRST S.A. and leads the R&D decarbonization product development portfolio.

Dr Kyriacou has been a visiting professor at Cranfield University. He is a member of both National and European committees and industry associations with focus on maritime strategy, regulation and technology RD&I. He has joined as advisor the IMO MEPC Ballast Water WG with the UK delegation (UKMCA), and more recently CESA and the Hellenic delegation. He is the current Vice President of the Ballast Water and Environmental Manufacturers Association (BEMA) and also Chairs the Technical Committee. Actively involved with European industry groups; he was chairman of EMEC-RID and a vice chairman of the Technical committee at SEA EUROPE, vice chairman of Waterborne TP and chaired the development WG for LeaderSHIP2020.

 
Stig Leira, Manager Decarbonization Solutions, VTR LNG & FSRU, ABB Marine and Ports

Stig Leira is an established leader with more than 20 years’ of experience within the marine industry. He has held leadership roles in various functions such as business development, project management, engineering, etc and has successfully steered various business initiatives.

He is currently focused on developing and bringing awareness of ABB’s Dual-Fuel, Electric+ (DFE+) concept for LNG carriers. In his tenure with ABB, he has been involved in projects for various vessel segments such as LNG tankers, drilling vessels, navy vessels amongst others.

Currently based in Norway, Stig has international experience having worked in the USA, South Korea and Singapore.

 
Jakob Nielsen, Senior Sales Manager, TGE Marine Gas Engineering GmbH

Jakob Nielsen is a Senior Sales Manager at TGE Marine Gas Engineering GmbH. During his time working in the engine business and the deck machinery business, he gained fundamental experience as Sales Manager for complex sales and project developments and experience in sales and development of fuel gas systems for gas fueled engines.

He joined the Business Development & Sales Department of TGE Marine in 2023. His main focus is the emerging market of LCO2 shipping globally and on the Nordic market in other segments, dealing in close cooperation with ship owners, engine makers and shipyards.

Jakob Nielsen holds a bachelor degree in Marine Technology from Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and an MBA from Nord University (Norway).

 
Frank Paleokrassas, Chief Product Officer, METIS

Frank started his career in Athens in the technical departments of Empros Lines Shipping and Tsakos Shipping and Trading. In 2009 he joined Bernhard Schulte’s ship-owning arm in Hamburg, working up to the position of Technical Manager. During this time he drove several newbuilding and retrofit projects including cylinder oil optimization, energy saving devices, and telemetry.

In early 2016 Frank moved back to Athens and joined BSM as Group Fleet Performance Manager. Following the founding of the Fleet Performance Centre, he led the building of emission compliance systems and processes, as well as the development of the in-house performance analytics platform. In 2021 he became BSM’s Head of Data Governance & Analytics, focusing on data projects, while developing tools enabling cross-function analytics.

Frank holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Newcastle University and Bayes Business School. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of IMarEST.

 
Philippos Sfiris, Head of Market Strategy and Vessel Performance, GIT Coatings

Philippos has over a decade of experience in the marine coatings market driving business development, sales and vessel performance. He joined GIT Coatings in March 2024 as Head of Go-to-Market Strategy and Vessel Performance.

Prior to joining GIT, he worked for 10 years with Hempel A/S in various global positions such as Market Intelligence Manager, Head of Market Strategy and Head of Hull Performance Solutions.

Philippos holds a Masters degree in Product and System Design Engineering from the University of Aegean, a Masters degree in Marketing & Communication from the Athens University of Economics and Business, and a Bachelors degree in Engineering from Piraeus University of Applied Sciences.

Among his special interests are (a) the quantification of the hull coating impact on ship owners and operators to support decision making prior to investments and (b) the advisory role of paint suppliers in enhancing vessel performance and supporting operators in implementing ship-specific biofouling management strategies.

 
George J. Souravlas, Chief Executive Officer, Load Line Marine SA

George Souravlas is qualified in both Naval Architecture and Mechanical Engineering (BSc) from the University of Sunderland (UK). His academic background includes studies at the PhD level in Mechanical Engineering (Heat Transfer) and lecturing at the Universities of Sunderland and Newcastle for 4 years. Mr Souravlas has over 28 years of experience in senior ship management.

He is a member of the Greek Committees of the Japanese Classification Society (Class NK) and of the Korean Register (KR). He is also a member of the Greek Technical Committees of Class NK, Det Norske Veritas & Germanischer Lloyd (DNV GL) and the Italian Classification Society (RINA).

Furthermore, he was elected twice, as a member at the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping (HCS), and twice as Vice President at the Hellenic Shortsea Ship- Owners Association (HSSA). He is also appointed member of BIMCO’s Advisory Panel.

In 1997, he co-founded ‘Elmira Shipping and Trading S A’ and had held the position of the Technical Director until 2009.

During his tenure at Elmira, the company had ordered and taken delivery of several new building Bulk Carriers in Japan and had managed on a worldwide basis, a fleet comprising of Dry Bulk Carriers (18), Reefer vessels (4), RO ROs (6), Crude Oil Chemical and Product tankers (11) and Multi-Purpose heavy lifters (5). Additionally, he had been responsible for the successful execution of 5 scientific expeditions with the Indian Government to the Antarctic, on a specialised ice-classed vessel. During that period, the company realised an IRR of 55% (levered) in operating returns and capital gains over two shipping cycles.

George Souravlas had also been invited to speak on several occasions at International Conferences on various operational aspects of Ship Management. He also chaired ACI’s 4^th Optimising Ship maintenance Conference that was held in Rotterdam in January 2011.

Mr Souravlas is a member of the prestigious ‘’Who is Who’’ Society in Greece, as well as of the International ‘’Who’s Who’’ Society of Professionals.

Furthermore, in 2016 he was accepted as a member in the exclusive ‘’Athens Club’’ and in the same year, he became a founding member of the NPO, Axion Hellas – Supporting Society.

In September 2009, he founded ‘Load Line Marine S A’, a company that manages a fleet of 14 Handy size, Supramax & Ultramax high quality Bulk Carriers that trade worldwide. The company has contracted 3 Bulkers in well known Korean and Chinese Shipyards.

Load Line Marine S A, is a value-driven company which seeks to achieve high performance in order to ensure consistently top standards in a financially, socially and environmentally sustainable manner, while being a company with environmental responsibility as a core part of its business strategy. Load Line Marine was the Winner of the prestigious Safety Award at 2022 Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards.

 
Antonis Trakakis, Technical Director, RINA; Chairman, CIMAC Hellas

Antonis Trakakis studied Mechanical Engineering at NTUA and carried graduate studies at von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics in the field of Turbomachinery.

He worked for shipping companies , both in ropax and ocean freighter sectors, and joined RINA in Oct 2020 as Technical Director, Marine.

In his previous employments he engaged extensively with the application of LNG and alternative fuels in deep sea shipping and with issues relevant to operation of ships in sensitive areas like the Baltic sea.

Among his special concerns are the formation and control of emissions, and engine efficiency.

Panos Zachariadis, Technical Director, Atlantic Bulk Carriers

Panos Zachariadis is a Mechanical Engineer (BSc) and Naval Architect and Marine Engineer (MSE) from the University of Michigan with 40+ years experience in shipping. He served for years as Marine Superintendent in New York, after periods of shipbuilding supervision in Japan and sea service in bulk carriers and oil tankers.

He is Technical Director of Atlantic Bulk Carriers in Greece since 1997 and, since 2004, a member of the Greek Delegation to the U.N’s International Maritime Organization, having contributed to the development of several well-known international shipping regulations (e.g. GBS, PSPC, FSA) and the prevention of others (e.g. double hull bulk carriers). In cooperation with major Korean shipyards he has applied numerous energy saving ideas, some of which have become industry standards.

He is a Fellow member of the American Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, member of Technical Committees of several shipping Classification Societies and the Union of Greek Shipowners, Chairman of BIMCO’s Marine Environment Committee and elected in the Board of Directors of HELMEPA, the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping and MARTECMA.

He has written numerous technical guides, papers and articles and is the recipient of the 2011 Efkranti Shipping Personality award for promoting Greek Shipping internationally, the 2017 Hellenic Shortsea Shipowners Association "Shipping Personality" award, the 2017 Lloyd's List "Achievement in Safety or Environmental Protection" award, the 2019 Green4Sea "Personality" award and the 2021 Lloyd's List “Technical Achievement” award.