Meet our Speakers

Cor Radings is a managing partner in MTI Network, the largest crisis media management network committed to serving the shipping, energy, offshore and transportation industries. After a career in news media Radings worked as a director of communications in the maritime industry before joining MTI Network in 2001. As a senior partner in the worldwide Network he provides reputation protection services advising clients in the field of strategic communications management during many high-profile emergencies in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific ranging from environmental issues to geopolitical events. Apart from providing the 24/7 media response services Radings is a senior trainer in the MTI Network program conducting training for all levels of management.

Lars Hoffmann, 47, has held many senior management positions in the shipping, logistic and oil trading sectors for various companies over the last twenty years. In 2017, Lars became managing director of DFDS Stevedoring A/S responsible for freight ferry operations and terminals in Denmark. In 2018 he joined the acquisition team responsible for acquiring U.N. Ro-Ro in Istanbul and is currently Vice President of the Business Unit of DFDS Business Unit Mediterranean.
Lars completed his education in 1991 at the Fredericia-Middelfart Commercial School and completed his shipping education at Julius Mortensen Shipping A/S in Denmark. Lars is married, has three boys and enjoys travelling, sports and skiing.

Finn Wollesen has salt water in his veins. He started sailing on J. Lauritzen Reefer vessels and on their famous NELLA DAN, sailing expedition voyages in Antarctica. Finn then trained as a mechanical engineer in Denmark, which led to a design position with the HVAC equipment supplier Novenco, working on projects for the international maritime market.
Finn has been stationed in numerous countries, including Spain, Singapore and Italy. After the Italian posting, Finn and a colleague started their own marine design and consultancy, Marine Technologies. In 2003, this was merged with one of the Danish marine industry’s most renowned and respected companies, 1937-founded KNUD E. HANSEN.
Finn became Managing Director of the merged group and since then the well-travelled, “old sailor” has thrived in the company's very international atmosphere.

Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the maritime industry. Skilled in AutoCAD, Coaching, Sales, Accounting, and Sales Management. Strong business development professional graduated from Lund University.

Boijer-Svahnström is Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications, Sustainability and Land-based HR of the listed company Viking Line Abp. With the roots in the archipelago, Viking Line is today at the forefront of environmental advances on the Baltic Sea. Boijer-Svahnström has a Master’ s Degree in Economics from Åbo Akademi University, Communications Studies in the USA. Boijer-Svahnström is Board member of the Swedish Shipowners’ Association, Chairman for the Communications Committee and Deputy Board member of the Finnish Shipowners’ Association and Vice chairman for the Åland Chamber of Commerce.

Per Ove Kviteberg co-founded Adonis in 1987 and has been instrumental in the company’s emergence as the leading provider of HR, planning and payroll systems for the maritime industry, with a particular focus on the cruise sector and large passenger ferries.

In co-founding Adonis, Kviteberg saw the need among maritime organizations for more efficient ways of addressing their highly specific HR and operational challenges – from managing multinational workforces to simplifying MLC compliance.

Currently serving as Adonis’s Sales Director, Kviteberg has held a variety of senior marketing and sales positions over the years, which has given him a unique perspective on industry developments, emerging trends, and the ever-changing needs of labor-intensive maritime organizations looking to leverage every edge in improving efficiencies and meeting their business goals.
Today, he’s leading Adonis’s efforts to meet growing market demand for web-based employee self service tools, allowing HR administrators and senior staff more time to attend to more strategic tasks and responsibilities.

Alistair Eagles is CEO of Irish Sea operator Seatruck Ferries. Alistair’s journey with Seatruck began in 1996 as part of a small start-up team which set up Seatruck Ferries, a freight only ferry company with its head office in Heysham England. Seatruck specialise in the shipment of unaccompanied freight trailers and has grown from a new entrant to a significant player on the Irish Sea moving more than 360,000 freight units per annum on 3 routes, representing a 20% market share.
With 10 freight ferries, including 8 newbuilding’s, Seatruck is also active in the external charter market offering vessels on hire to other ferry operators in Northern Europe.
Alistair studied Transport Management and Planning at Loughborough University and prior to Seatruck was Sales and Commercial Manager for Merchant Ferries.
Seatruck is 100% owned by the Clipper Group based in Denmark.

Spiros Paschalis is the CEO and an Executive member of the Board of Directors of Attica Group, a leading maritime group based in Greece that operates 32 vessels in the Greek domestic market and on the Greece-Italy routes through the brands of SUPERFAST FERRIES, BLUE STAR FERRIES and HELLENIC SEAWAYS. He is also the General Manager of AFRICA MOROCCO LINK (AML) operating since June 2016 connecting Morocco and Spain.

He is the Vice President of the Greek Passenger Shipping Association (SEEN) participating as an elected member of the BoD since 2009. In February 2014, he was elected as a member of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping representing the Passenger Shipping sector.

Being part of the passenger shipping industry as from 1996, he has a 23 year experience in this sector holding previously the position of Authorized Director and CEO of the well – recognized brands BLUE STAR FERRIES and SUPERFAST FERRIES respectively.

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.

Jan Philip Eckmann is over 25 years active as journalist and moderator in the European Ferry and RoRo shipping industry. Founder of RoPax magazine and in cooperation with Wilhelm Borchert GmbH organizer of RoPax workshops. Moderator for the German Ferry Shipping and Tourism Association (VFF).

He started his career in ferry shipping as a booking agent for TT Line and Euroway and Silja Line. After study time he was sales director for a leading forwarding company in the Scandinavian and Continental trade. He was over five years responsible for new business and services of the German FRS Group.

Currently Philip works additional as key account manager for intralogistic solutions and automated vehicles.

He has a bachelor in Business Adminstration and Bachelor Professional of Transport Management. He is member of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and the Eastern Europe Committee.

Giorgos Papastamatiou is the Managing Director and Chairman of Liknoss Group companies, based in Switzerland, Italy and Greece. His 31 years of experience include business development and top management positions in companies with activities in EDI, financial solutions, receivables management, business consulting and business reform. At Liknoss he started in 2012 continuing the materialization of his vision to make the company the global leader in solutions and services that lead to a functional and cost effective eco-system in ferry and land transportation, offering enterprise reservations systems, the unique Liknoss GDS, booking engines for travel professionals, ports access control, ticketing and distribution services, credit management for travel professionals and business intelligence. He is a member of various professional bodies and the chairman of tourism Committee of the Greek-Chinese economic cooperation Chambers. He studied Computer Science at the University of Heraklion and at the University of Manchester.

Ariadne Psimara is New Business Development Manager in Attica Group, a leading maritime group based in Greece. Attica Group operates 31 vessels in the Greek domestic market, on the Greece-Italy and Morocco – Spain routes, through the brands of SUPERFAST FERRIES, BLUE STAR FERRIES, HELLENIC SEAWAYS and AFRICA MOROCCO LINKS. Ariadne has a long-standing career in Attica Group for more than 20 years. She holds an MBA degree and she is specialized in Marketing and Communications, having a demonstrated experience as a Marketing Manager in the International Lines of the Group for several year

Bio is Coming soon!

Bio is coming soon!

Athanasios Porfyris is CEO of Igoumenitsa Port Authority S.A., since Octomber 2019. Igoumenitsa Port is a major hub in the Adriatic Sea Region, geographically is the closest sea connection from Greece to Italy and an important link for passenger and freight flows for Western Europe via the Orient - East Med TEN-T Corridor.
Mr. Porfyris is a Civil Engineer in the field of design and construction of infrastructure projects, renewable energy projects and especially photovoltaic systems and sustainable development activities.

Ragnar Johansson, Managing Director Swedish Orient Line AB and WALLENIUS SOL AB
Age: 58 years
Family: Married to Anette for thirty years. Two children, Daniel and Anna.

Leisure time: Is preferably devoted to being in Mollösund and the surrounding area, ideally on the water.

Background: Born and raisedin Mollösund on the Swedish westcoast. Went to sea at the age of 17, studied to sea captain and graduated in 1986. Worked as a mate for a number of years.

Responsible for the construction of new port facilities for Stena Line in 1994 and then responsible for all ports and terminals in Stena Line’s Scandinavian ports.

Continued as Route Director for several of Stena Line’s lines between 1998 and 2008 before becoming head of Stena Line’s Scandinavian Ship management.

In 2009 he became CEO of SOL North Europe Service and in 2014 group Managing Director of Svenska Orient Linien AB.

He has also been a member of the Swedish Shipowners’ Association’s board since 2010, and chairman from 2016 to 2019.

Bart Steijaert, 44 years old, Dutch national.

Managing Director of the Port of Helsingborg, transforming the port to adept to digitalisation, automation and to address environmental challenges.

20 years’ experience in the port and logistics business at companies link Toyota Motor Europe, Copenhagen Malmö Port and Capespan international.

Studied Logistics at the HZ university of applied sciences and the University of Ghent.

Ger van Langen is Managing Director of Wagenborg Passenger Services. Responsible for this division of Royal Wagenborg Group from The Netherlands, he leads the ferry services to the Dutch islands Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. He has been working on the development of several new ferry services around the world.

Prior to joining Wagenborg, Ger van Langen was Director Nautical Department for the Province of Zee-land. In this capacity, he was responsible for ferry services across the Western Scheldt Estuary. He has also served a decade as sr. navigation officer on several cruiselines and has over 30 yrs of managerial experience in the cruise and ferry sector.

Van Langen holds a Master Mariner’s degree from the Merchant Marine Academy in Flushing and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He has been consultant for the Dutch government for vari-ous ferry projects in the Netherlands. Ger sits on a range of consultive bodies on tourism and leisure at provincial and national levels he is also Secretary of the National Education Body for Ferry Crew

Nicklas Vedin is the Product Manager for Cavotec’s MoorMaster™—the rope-free, automated mooring solution which has a 20-year track record of improving safety, reducing environmental impact, and substantially improving operational efficiency by cutting mooring times and reducing vessel motion.

In his role, Nicklas is responsible for bringing the best possible solution to each application and each customer, today and in the future. Nicklas has a background in international technology companies where he has engaged with top management on their most important challenges, from strategy through product development to operations. Nicklas has a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management from Linköping University, Sweden.

Cavotec description:

Cavotec is a global engineering group that provides solutions that connect mobile equipment – such as ships or airplanes – to fixed infrastructure and utilities. In the Ports & Maritime industry, Cavotec offers innovative automation and electrification technologies such as automated mooring, shore power, crane electrification, and connection and charging systems.

As the global leader for many solutions, Cavotec supports its customers through the full product lifecycle, from new product development through operations to end of life.
In everything it does, Cavotec works to create a cleaner, safer, and more efficient world by providing tomorrow’s solutions already today.

Trond Skodjevåg Bø has been working in the Norway-headquartered Ulstein Group for seven years, the past five as sales manager in their shipbuilding area in Ulstein Verft.
The company was established in 1917, and has activities in shipbuilding, ship design, systems and services. Trond’s education is in finances and business administration.

Mr. Selçuk Bakanoğlu is graduated from Istanbul Technical University in 2004. Having a master degree in Maitime Studies from ITU again, he has been working in shipbuilding industry since 2005, having a carrier both in commercial and military shipbuilding among some Turkish and German shipyards and design offices. Since 2014 he is working as the Business Development Manager of Sefine Shipyard, Turkey, which is a pioneer shipyard in Turkey in ferry new-building. He is fluent at speaking in English and German.

Stein Ruben graduated from the The Royal Norwegian Naval Accademy in 2001.
He has held various technical positions in the navy until 2007, when he started his career in Rolls-Royce Marine as VP Business Development. From 2007 his focus has been on environmental friendly propulsion solutions. Stein Ruben started in Norwegian Electric System in 2015, and has been part of the company’s transformation towards being the world leading supplier of electric/hybrid propulsion systems.

Foto: Trude Brun Wilhelmsen

Björn Boström is Managing Director at Port of Ystad.

His career within shipping began when he, just 14 years young, commenced his first summer job as docker for Scandinavian Ferry Lines route Helsingborg-Elsinore. The experience was so intensive that Björn kept on working within the shipping industry in companies like Saga Line (Helsingborg/Malmö-Travemünde), DFDS and Lion Ferry (Helsingborg-Grenå), DSØ A/S (inter alia The Hydrofoils Copenhagen-Malmö) for ten years and for 12 years Ven-Trafiken AB (domestic route Landskrona-Isle of Ven) before he took position at Port of Ystad. He has a broad experience of ferry operations and has worked as Sales Representative, Sales- and Marketing Manager, Route Manager and Managing Director. Björn has also been deputy board member in SWEREF – Swedish Ship Owners Association for smaller passenger vessels and is now member of Ports of Sweden's Branch Committee as well as chairman of the Comprehensive Ports working Group within Baltic Ports Organisation.

In 2008, at the same time Björn commenced at Port of Ystad, the economic crisis struck the world with substantial impact on the shipping business. However, Port of Ystad has regardless strengthened its position as Sweden's third largest ferry passenger port. The volumes still increase, and the port now undergoes a major development as two new ferry berths, for vessels up to 240 meters, will be built, ready for service early 2020. Today, Port of Ystad is market leader for daily ferry connections to Poland and the island of Bornholm.