Biographies of speakers, Digital Ship 2002
November 4-6 2002
Brian Mullan, Inmarsat
www.inmarsat.com
Brian Mullan is head, aeronautical and maritime safety services with Inmarsat.
Kamar Zaman, Drewry Technical Services
www.drewry.co.uk
Kamar Zaman is managing director of Drewry Technical Services, a division of Drewry Shipping Consultants. He was previously managing director of the UK division of Wallem Shipmanagement; Wallem employs over 5,600 seafarers internationally.
Mark McGlade, Savi
www.savi.com
Mr McGlade holds a B.Sc. (with honours) from the University of Liverpool, England, and, as a commissioned officer in the British Royal Navy, completed postgraduate studies in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, communications, and service-related operations. Savi is a US company specialising in global supply chain security and asset management. Mark McGlade is Savi's managing director, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).
Len Holder, Videotel
www.videotel.com
Len Holder is chairman of Videotel, probably the largest producer of video, VCD, DVD and computer-based training material for shipping companies in the world. The company recently introduced an interactive course for safety training for seafarers.
Steve Guest, Norcontrol IT
www.norcontrolit.com
Steve Guest is general manager of Norcontrol UK, which claims to be the world's leading manufacturer of vessel traffic systems. The UK branch, based in Bristol, has four permanent staff members, and provides sales, marketing, and technical support to customers and installation sites in the UK, primarily through faultfinding and servicing VTMIS systems.
It recently announced an agreement with the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, to collaborate in the training of vessel traffic service operators around the world. Norcontrol IT is currently supplying a replacement system in Dover, UK, to monitor traffic in the traffic separation scheme of the Dover Strait. Other customers include the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
Steve Harding, 3g Marine
www.3gmarine.co.uk
Steve Harding is a consultant based in Manchester with extensive experience in the application of risk assessment to shipping operations and regulation (and a regular columnist for Digital Ship). Steve was the data manager, and human factors research manager for the recently completed international collaborative formal safety assessment study into the safety of bulk carriers reporting to the IMO.
He also has a detailed knowledge of navigation and communications technology, maritime with Shell Tankers UK and the MCA, and non-maritime with the DTI's Radiocommunications Agency. He holds a BSc (with Honours) in Economics and has completed a MSc at the University of Nottingham in Navigation Technology.
Julian Longson, Pole Star Space Applications
www.purplefinder.com
Julian Longson is VP business development with Pole Star Space Applications, and part of the original 1998 start-up Management Team that has successfully established the PurpleFinder suite of products as the market leader in Internet-based remote communications. This follows 12 years in the satellite telecommunications business with Orbital Sciences Corporation (US), MacDonald Detwiler (Canada), and the European Space Agency (Italy).
Julian holds an MSc in Applied Remote Sensing from Cranfield Institute of Technology and a BSc-Hons in Environmental Science from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Pole Star operates the Purplefinder service to enable ship owners to monitor where their ships are on the internet, taking a daily position report from the ships over Inmarsat -C.
Anders Bergstrom, Saab Transpondertech
www.transpondertech.se
Anders Bergström is currently working as Sales Manager at Saab TransponderTech AB (STT). He was born in Stockholm Sweden 1966. He spent 12 years as an officer in the Swedish Navy during which time he served on several of the different surface ships (including high speed vessel manoeuvring and navigation), worked as a teacher and took part in various development and modifications of C2I and C3I systems.
Among the projects was the implementation of the first operational STDMA system (Pre AIS) in the world. He also worked in several radio equipment projects and with range calculation for radar and radio. Before coming to STT he spent time as a consultant working with planning, design and operation of cellular systems all over the world. He holds a degree in history and Spanish.
Dr Colin Wright, Denbridge Digital
www.denbridgedigital.com
Dr Colin Wright is from Denbridge Digital, a UK company which designs, manufactures and markets radar display, tracking, compression and recording systems for the marine industry. Customers include the ports of Barcelona, Dover, Plymouth and Milford Haven. A speciality is the radio data network communications systems, enabling pilots onboard vessels to access VTS data on laptop computers.
Michael Dyrbye Christensen, G-O Technologies
www.g-o-tech.dk
Michael D.Christensen is managing Director of G-O Technologies, a Danish company within the Gertsen & Olufsen Group of Companies, which manufactures wireless "Dead Man Alarm, Paging & Info" communication systems for use onboard ships and Oil Platforms. The system is believed to the first of its kind using the latest UHF high frequency technology to obtain a safe two-way communication.
Chris Courard, Iridium
www.iridium.com
Chris Courard joined Iridium Satellite LLC in 2002 as business development director and regional director of channel development.
With a degree in electronic engineering, Chris started as a radio officer onboard ship, handling ships telecoms and specialized later in ship's automation systems, both designs and installations. He moved to technical management, and later marketing and sales of telecom, radio navigation and automation equipment for the marine industry. He then created his own consulting firm.
DAY TWO
Carsten Melchiors, Maritime Development Centre of Europe
http://www.maritimt-udviklingscenter.dk/
Carsten Melchiors is managing director of the Maritime Development Centre of Europe, a Copenhagen based organisation which aims to promote growth and development in the maritime sector through close and unconventional cooperation between the different participants in the maritime sector and associated transportation segments.
Another objective of MDCE is to strengthen practical research and education within the maritime and transport sector at large.
Fotis Christodoulopoulos, board member
Spiros Roussopoulos, managing director,
Vector Informatic Systems SA
www.vector.gr
Vector is a maritime software house employing 35 people based in Athens. It has worked for the last four years specifically for Eletson and Stelmar, and is now selling its software products to the maritime industry at large.
Per Steinar Upsaker, BASS.
http://www.bassnet.no
BASS is one of the world's leading ship management software companies, fully owned by Barber Software Solutions. Per Steinar Upsaker is managing director of BASS.
Simon Courage, product director, Manpower software
Andrew Wright, business applications manager, Sun Cruises (Manpower customer)
Mandy Wallace, assistant project manager, Sun Cruises
www.manpowersoftware.com;
Based in the UK, Manpower Software produces personnel scheduling software. Originally developed for the UK Territorial Army, the software is now used by BP Shipping, Carnival Cruise Lines, P&O Princess, Royal Caribbean, Sun Cruises and Cunard.
Mark Story, Maritime Systems Inc
www.maritimesystems.com
Mr Story has spent the last three years as president of a company he founded, Maritime Systems Inc based in Geneva, Florida. Maritime Systems specialises in software for the maritime industry, particularly software systems connecting the ship with the shore.
Mark Story has worked in the maritime software industry most of his career, for seventeen years with Marine Management Systems, a company founded by his father, Eugene Story. Maritime Management Systems pioneered the deployment of integrated ship/shore systems throughout the 1980's and 1990's.
Alexandra Reumert, ISM Consult.
www.ism-consult.com
From offices in Denmark and the UK, ISM Consult offers ISM document control solutions including: planning, consulting, implementation, auditing, training and maintenance in ISM, ISO-9000 and similar systems.
Stein Skaar, Marlink.
www.marlink.com
Mr. Skaar has been working with Telenor Satellite Services/Marlink since 1998, focusing on communications solutions via satellite for the maritime industry. Previous to Telenor/Marlink, he has worked almost 20 years in the IT industry in companies like Hewlett-Packard and Apple Computer, among others. Mr. Skaar holds a bachelor degree in Business Administration.
Owned by Telenor, Marlink is the largest ship shore communications company in the world, with annual revenues of USD 100 million. It sells Inmarsat services through land earth stations Telenor and France Telecom, and also sells Iridium.
Collin Lewis, MarineProvider
www.marineprovider.com
Mr Lewis is CEO of MarineProvider. He has over 15 years experience in the commercial marine industry and three years maritime e-business experience.
Mr Lewis founded Quotegate, an Internet based marketplace for the Marine Industry in 1999. Quotegate was subsequently merged into Equilinx, another maritime e-commerce venture, where he took up the position of vice president of business development. In mid 2000, Mr Lewis moved to Norway to start as Director Business Development with MarineProvider and was appointed as CEO of the company a few weeks later.
Professor Takis Varelas, chief information officer with Thenamaris
www.thenamaris.gr
Takis Varelas joined Thenamaris Ships Management as CIO in 1987.In 1985 he was elected by the Technical University of Crete where he spent more than ten years as MIS Professor and IT director. From 1976 until 1985 he was employed as Technical Director of Univac, now Unisys/Greece.
He is a graduated chemist from the University of Athens. After his wanderings in the labyrinth of management and information science he finished his postgraduate studies at the University of South Africa and at WEC of Princeton USA.
Thenamaris Ships Management is based in Greece and manages a fleet of approx 5m DWT, including tankers and dry bulk. It recently won an award for its integrated ship-shore communications system.
Paul Ashton, consultant
paul_ashton01@yahoo.co.uk
Paul Ashton has various consultancy projects on the go but is not at liberty to talk about any of them although he promises that he will be soon. He was previously VP maritime with Xantic, the ship-shore communications and software company formed as a result of the merger between Station 12 and Telstra, and Station 12’s acquisition of maritime software company Xantic. He was previously managing director of SpecTec in the UK.
Egil Bergli, Innovation Manager, ID Scandinavia AS
http://www.idscandinavia.com
For almost ten years Egil has been working more or less with Lotus Notes technology. Much of the experience is from consulting in large enterprises. As well as developing innovative applications for supporting office work like sales and consulting. For the last 4-5 years developing and implementing messaging and ship/shore communication products for both small and large shipping companies.
ID Scandinavia AS is a small operation based in Norway which creates shipping applications using Lotus Notes. Its most recent product launch was a Crisis Management tool, which manages communications with press and next of kin following a maritime emergency, making sure everybody knows what to tell everybody about what has happened.
Fabrice DeMichel, AXS Marine
www.axsmarine.com
Fabrice DeMichel is managing director of AXS Marine, a tool to help shipping companies and brokers minimise their e-mail workload and data entry, characterise, prioritise and re-assign incoming messages, scan the messages; exchange data directly through an online system, such as positions, tonnage and cargoes.
M DeMichel is 33, a qualified engineer, and worked 6 years in investment banking before creating AXSMarine.
Panteleimon Pantelis, Ulysses Systems
www.ulysses-systems.com
Ulysses Systems a shipping software company based in London and Athens, with its flagship product "Task Assistant", a software product to help shipping companies manage seafarer tasks onboard and make sure they have quick access to the right documentation.
Panteleimon Pantelis is services director with Ulysses Systems. He was previously superintendent Engineer with Lyras Shipping and has firsthand experience in ship repair, maintenance and operations.
Fred Doll, Doll Shipping Consultancy
dollship@aol.com
Fred Doll's company, Doll Shipping Consultancy, provides market analysis, project evaluation, e-commerce expertise and management consultancy to shipping companies and financial institutions. He was previously a director of shipbrokers H Clarkson and before that with Exxon's chartering group.
Panagiotis Nomikos, Maritime Consultancy Network
pnomikos@hellasnet.gr
Dr Panagiotis Nomikos is an IT consultant based in Athens. He previously joined Gregor Ross and Philip van Bergen in Maritime Communications Network, and founded the Association of Maritime ICT managers in Athens. He was IT manager with Stelmar Tankers when the company was founded and also founder of the first online chartering service netshipbrokers.com. pnomikos@hellasnet.gr
Kim Bille Gram, Thrane and Thrane
www.tt.dk
Kim Bille Gram is manager of marine sales with Thrane and Thrane, one of the first satellite communications hardware manufacturers to produce a terminal for Inmarsat Fleet. Thrane and Thrane is based in Denmark and is one of the largest Inmarsat terminal manufacturers.
Björn D Johansson, Telia Mobile
www.telia.com/mobile
Björn D Johansson is sales and marketing manager with Telia Mobile, which claims to be the leading operator of mobile services in Scandinavia.
Faith Cohen, Telaurus
www.telaurus.com
Faith Cohen is sales manager with Telaurus, a US based company which is the first to offer communications priced according to volume of data rather than time over both Inmarsat and Iridium. Ms Cohen was previously head of sales with TEAMtalk Satellite in the UK.
Lars Brodje, Lagumar Marine
lagumar@telia.com
Lars Brodje is a consultant with Lagumar Marine. He is based in Sweden and specialises in broadband maritime communications. He was previously with Swedish consultancy Satpool.
Steve McCabe, Stratos
www.stratosglobal.com
Steve McCabe is maritime VSAT director with Stratos Broadband Networks in London, previously with INVSAT. At Stratos he developed what is probably the first pay by the minute maritime broadband service.
Kevin Garner, Xantic
www.xantic.net
Kevin Garner is senior innovations manager with Xantic, a maritime communications and software company based in the Hague, formed from the mergers of the former Station 12, SpecTec and Telstra Global Satellite.
Chris Turner, Telemedic Systems
www.telemedicsystems.com
Chris Turner is chief operating officer of Telemedic Systems, a London-based company providing medical assistance to seafarers via satellite communication. The company also offers services for the aeronautical industry.
Nigel Bird, Monition
www.monition.com
Nigel Bird is deputy director of operations with Monition, a UK company which provides maintenance support services for industry, transportation and buildings. It recently launched a maritime specific service.
Tim Thornton, Marine Computing
www.marinecomputing.com
Tim Thornton is managing director of Marine Computing International. He is involved with providing integrated on-board communications systems encompassing navigation, weather, communications and data reporting. He is involved in the MIDAS research project, funded by the British National Space Centre, to develop means of delivering weather information to seafarers, extracted from weather satellite images and delivered to ships by satellite.
Ole Berg, Danish Hydrographic Office
www.kms.dk
Ole Berg is director of the Danish Hydrographic Office (Charting), responsible for production of charts and nautical publications for Denmark. He is the
Chairman of the IHO CHRIS Committee and the Primar Stavanger Advisory Committee. (IHO CHRIS = International Hydrographic Organisation - Committee on Hydrographic Requirements for Information Systems)
Haydn Jones
www.chartco.com
Haydn Jones is marketing director of ChartCo, which provides chart update information by broadcast to over 900 vessels. This includes MetManager (weather forecasting and routing data); ChartManager (British Admiralty and US notices to mariners and chart correction tracings); oceanXpress (updates for electronic navigation charts and associated publications) and News Services (weekly and daily newspapers for seafarers).