Maritime Leadership News

Jones Walker LLP has welcomed Kelly Haas as partner and associate Hayley Stancil as members of the Maritime Practice Group in the firm’s Houston office. Kelly represents vessel owners, charters, shipyards, offshore operators, and energy clients regarding collisions, property damage, personal injury, pollution, environmental, cargo, insurance, construction, and contract claims related to the Jones Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, OPA 90, Limitation of Liability, COGSA, and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

Cellula Robotics has announced the appointment of Colleen Hahn as Vice President, Technology Transfer and Strategy, strengthening the company's senior leadership team as it continues to expand its presence in the United States and advance its global growth strategy.In her new role, Hahn will focus primarily on the United States market while supporting Cellula's wider global strategy through market intelligence, customer engagement, strategic outreach, and partnership development across the company's subsidiaries and partner network.Hahn brings experience in partnership development…

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. announced that Mr. Eli Glickman, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, informed the Board of Directors of his decision to depart from the Company. Mr.Glickman will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Company during a six-month notice period, to ensure orderly operations of the Company during the interim period until his replacement assumes the role.The Board of Directors intends to initiate a search process to select a successor to Mr. Glickman in the coming weeks.Mr.

RightShip, a maritime digital platform for safety, sustainability, and supply chain risk management and assurance, continues to strengthen its leadership team as part of its ongoing evolution and growth strategy.Over recent years, RightShip has expanded beyond its traditional strengths in vetting and inspections to deliver more connected, insight-led, and customer-centric solutions to the maritime supply chain. As the organization evolves, building the rightl eadership capability remains central to enabling this transformation.As part of this evolution…

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) announced that George Whittier is returning to lead FMD as its Chief Executive Officer. Across the defense and industrial sectors, Whittier is recognized as a trusted and highly respected leader. Having spent more than a decade at FMD, including six years as its CEO, Whittier is situated to lead the company through this pivotal period as he brings a deep understanding of the business and its critical role within the defense industrial base. “Fairbanks Morse has been integral to America’s industrial and defense strength for more than a century…

ClassNK has carried out a regular reshuffle of its full-time executives effective March 17, 2026. Yoshifumi Miyatake has been appointed as Senior Executive Vice President, and current Corporate Officer Toshio Kurashiki has been appointed as Executive Auditor. President & CEO Hayato Suga, Executive Vice President Masaki Matsunaga, Yoshiya Yamaguchi, and Fumihiko Higashi continue in their current roles.Former Senior Executive Vice President Junichiro Iida, Executive Vice President Toshiro Arima, and Executive Auditor Katsuhide Kuno have assumed the position of Advisor to the Society.

The Greater Houston Port Bureau Board of Directors has announced the promotion of Corrina Ott to Vice President. Ott joined the Port Bureau in April 2025 and has been responsible for managing the Port Bureau’s Efficiency and Dredging Committee’s as well as maintaining the Port Bureau’s links with industry and Federal Partners. Additionally, she provides support for the Houston Ship Channel Security District and the Marine Exchange of Texas.Ott’s previous USCG experience includes certification as a Marine Safety Professional…

Prysmian, a leader in energy and data wire and cabling solutions, recently announced changes to its leadership structure in North America to further strengthen the company’s market position in the region. 2025 marked the best year yet for Prysmian, with global revenues reaching USD$23.08 billion (€20 billion). North America’s net profit exceeded $9 billion, accounting for 40% of the company’s total sales. Over the past two years, Prysmian’s North American footprint has grown through the acquisitions of Encore Wire and Channell…

HII announced the selection of two vice presidents at its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division. Christie Miller has been promoted to the role of vice president of communications and Christian Ortego will join the division as vice president and NNS chief counsel.In her new role, Miller will have responsibility for internal and executive communications, special events and protocol, and tradeshows and tours for NNS.Starting her career with the company in 2011, Miller has held positions of increasing responsibility…

Following three consecutive years of revenue growth and expanding international demand for efficient offshore power delivery, Verlume is evolving its leadership structure to support its next phase of global expansion transitioning from technology commercialization to global scale-up.After founding Verlume and leading the company as CEO for 13 years, Richard Knox will transition into the role of Founder-CTO. In this position he will focus on customer engagement, innovation and technology strategy.

Island Marine Electric has appointed marine technology sales veteran Doug Bennis as Vice President of Sales & Marketing.Bennis brings experience in the maritime and satellite communications industries, where he has led global sales initiatives, developed strategic channel partnerships, and driven revenue growth across commercial and recreational marine markets. With a career rooted in marine connectivity and technology solutions, he has built a reputation for aligning evolving onboard systems with customer and vessel requirements in an increasingly connected marine environment.In his new role…

At this year’s annual Legislative Summit, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) proudly named U.S. Representative Mike Ezell (MS-04) as the 2026 Port Person of the Year for his commitment to the seaport and maritime industry. AAPA celebrates his leadership as a champion of many port industry priorities, including his advocacy for the Water Resources Development Act of 2026 and his efforts to incentivize the reshoring of port crane manufacturing to the U.S."It is…

The Supervisory Board of AS Tallink Grupp has appointed Peep Jalakas as the new Chairman of the Management Board of the Group. His term will begin on April 6, 2026, and will last for three years. As of tomorrow, February 27, Margus Schults will step down from the Group’s Management Board and will continue working in the company as the head of the Finnish unit. Jalakas has been a member of the Management Board of AS SEB Pank and Head of Corporate Banking since 2023. Over the past 20 years…

The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority has elected Governor Tate Reeves of Mississippi to serve as Chairman for 2026. Governor Reeves will lead the four-state interstate compact as it advances economic development, freight mobility, and recreation along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and the broader M-65 Marine Highway corridor.The M-65 Marine Highway is a federally designated inland waterway corridor extending from Paducah, Kentucky, to the Port of Mobile, Alabama…

Boksa Marine Design (BMD), a full-service naval architecture and marine engineering firm based in Tampa, announced a strategic leadership transition and the opening of a new Fort Lauderdale, FL, office.After more than 20 years as Founder and President, Nick Boksa will transition into the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Senior Engineer. In this capacity, Boksa will focus on technical leadership, complex engineering initiatives, and guiding the firm’s long-term direction.Jeff Kuenning has been appointed President of BMD.

Blue Water Shipping has announced Andy Tite as Senior Vice President, Head of Projects, effective July 1, 2026. Andy brings experience, knowledge and insight to the projects industry and will focus on further global expansion at Blue Water.Andy has, for the past six years, held senior management positions at DHL, including most recently Vice President, Global Business Development & Commercial Director, Industrial Projects. His career experience to date includes positions at Zeamarine…

IBIA – International Bunker Industry Association Board announced the outcome of their elections at the IBIA Annual General Meeting (AGM), ahead of the IBIA Annual Dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London’s Park Lane.A total of eleven candidates stood for election for the four available Board positions. Following the close of voting, it is confirmed that the following candidates have been elected/re-elected to serve a three-year term on the IBIA Board:Claudia Beumer, C4 fuel B.V.Gianmichele Campanella…

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has further enhanced its capabilities in China with the announcement of three new senior appointments. Tianxiang Li (TX), LR’s Director of Global Technical Support Office (TSO), has been appointed as President for Greater China. He will lead senior client relationships and strategic engagement, strengthening alignment between LR’s global technical leadership and the priorities of Chinese owners, yards and designers. TX joined LR in 2008 and held leadership positions in the Technical Support Office since 2011.

Zelim announced the appointment of Mike Collier as Sales Director, effective January 2026. He will lead the organization’s focus on key sectors globally including the cruise and defense industries.Mike joins Zelim from MARSS, where he led business development for the cruise and defense sectors. As part of his 20-year career, including over six years in the cruise sector at Carnival Corporation, Mike led the working group that developed ISO 21195 (man-overboard detection) which was formally published in 2020…

OrbitMI, a provider of maritime SaaS software, announced the appointment of Andrew Redfern as Sales Director for the Nordic & Americas region. In this role, Redfern will lead OrbitMI’s commercial growth across Northern Europe, working with shipowners, operators, and commercial teams to deliver measurable operational and financial results.Redfern brings more than a decade of experience spanning maritime technology, commercial strategy, and financial analysis. Most recently, he served in senior sales leadership roles at ZeroNorth…

HII announced that Fatina Brave has been appointed vice president of infrastructure and sustainability at its Ingalls Shipbuilding division. Brave succeeds Eric Crooker, who has transitioned into the role of vice president of program management at Ingalls, succeeding George Nungesser who is retiring at the beginning of February after 37 years of service to the company.Brave will oversee all environmental, health, safety, security, facilities and maintenance operations at Ingalls.

On January 28, 2026, President Donald J. Trump designated Laura DiBella to serve as Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission.Chairman DiBella was sworn in as a Commissioner on January 6, 2026. She was nominated by President Trump on September 3, 2025 and confirmed by the United States Senate on December 18, 2025, to serve a term that expires on June 30, 2028.“It was a true honor to simply be nominated as a Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission, and to now be tapped as Chairman is nothing short of a privilege…

US Hoists Corp has announced the appointment of Michael Cetta as Chief Operating Officer.A Center Moriches native, Cetta earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Farmingdale State College and brings an educational foundation and a proven record of leadership to his new role.With experience spanning business ownership, sales leadership, and project management, Cetta has demonstrated versatility across both small and large organizations. Most recently, he served as Chief Operating Officer at A1 Roofing…