Speakers

Lauran Wetemans

General Manager, Downstream LNG - Gas to Transport

Shell International

Lauran is responsible for the Downstream-LNG business. In this role he is leading the global market development activities introducing LNG as a fuel Downstream for Marine, Heavy Duty Road Transport and Stationary applications. His portfolio includes Shell’s activities with Gasnor in Norway, and actively building a positions in N-America, Europe, Middle East, China and Singapore; acting as a pioneer in small scale LNG.

Since he joined Shell in 1995 he has held various commercial positions including Network Manager for Shell’s Retail activities in Latin America and M&A Portfolio Manager in Latin America. He was the General Manager for the B2B Commercial Fuels business in North West Europe. Lauran lived in The United Kingdom, Brazil and The Netherlands. He holds an MBA from the University of Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Tom Strang

Senior Vice President - Maritime Affairs

Carnival Corporation

Tom Strang is Senior Vice President Maritime Affairs for Carnival Corporation and plc, responsible for developing a group wide strategy for the supply of LNG for the next generation of cruise ships under order. He also provides representation for the Carnival group at various maritime authorities in Europe and other regions relating to marine and technical regulatory activities.

Tom has a degree in ship science from Southampton University and is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects. Tom is married with three children and his interests include sailing, motorcycling and travel.

Sjaak Klap

Vice President Business Development

Spliethoff

Sjaak Klap is Vice President Business Development at Spliethoff, an Amsterdam based shipping company focusing on deep sea and short sea dry cargo transportation. He has studied all aspects of LNG as marine fuel as well as all relevant competing fuels.

Sjaak studied marine engineering, logistics and business administration and lives in Vlissingen, the Netherlands.

Gerd Wessels

Managing Owner

Wessels Reederei

Since 2005 Mr. Gerd Wessels is the managing owner of the Wessels shipping company located at Haren/ Ems, which can look back to more than 100 years experience in shipping business.

Mr. Wessels was born in Haren and made his apprenticeship as an industrial mechanic. He is a renowned technical and nautical inspector with 16 years of experience in shipbuilding and ocean engineering. He previously worked as an engineer with Germanischer Lloyd at Hamburg and was responsible for the classification of seagoing vessels, special surveys and TOCA. In the course of this employment he gained excessive experience in the field of new ship building and conversions, as well as in their development. This knowledge he can systematically used for the expansion of his own fleet. For Mr. Wessels innovation is not contrary to tradition. He is taking advantages of that experience and starting a new topic like LNG / Green Shipping painstakingly.

In 2013 Gerd Wessels was elected as Chairman of the Environmental Committee of the Technical Advisory Board of DNV GL and he is also a valued and popular guest lecturer at the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering of the University of Strathclyde, where he regularly gives lectures on green shipping.

Rob Wood

CEO

Gasrec

Rob joined Gasrec in 2013 as Chief Executive. He has worked in the energy industry for 27 years, 24 within BP, where he began his career in BP’s downstream business selling oil products to a variety of commercial and industrial customers.

Rob then moved to BP’s gas business with responsibility for developing gas markets first in Asia and then in the UK. Whilst in the UK he developed a CCGT at Saltend, one of the first independent power projects in the UK. Rob then moved to BP Chemicals where he first led a global technology licensing business and then BP’s European ethylene-polyethylene manufacturing business. He then moved to BP’s oil and gas trading division to set up and lead an equity investment and structured finance business. Rob’s last role in BP was in Alternative Energy where he set up and led a carbon origination and trading business.

Before joining Gasrec Rob led a portfolio of start-up ventures developing: field based solar projects; surfactant based oil cleaning products; and engineering bacteria for industrial applications. Rob has a degree in mechanical engineering.

Masamichi Morooka

President & CEO

Yokohama-Kawasaki International Port Corporation

Matt Morooka is currently president and chief executive officer of the Yokohama Kawasaki International Port Corporation (YKIP), which was established in January 2016 and designated in March of the same year by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as the official investment and operating company for the ports of Yokohama and Kawasaki. Born in Kitakyushu in Fukuoka prefecture, Morooka joined Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line) in 1975 after graduating from Waseda University, where he studied political science and economics. Morooka served on NYK’s board of directors for seven years from 2005 to 2012.

After leaving the board of NYK, he took the position of president and CEO of NYK-Hinode Line, which was renamed NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers (NBP) in October 2013 after a merger with NYK Global Bulk (NGB). He served as president and CEO of NBP until March 2016. He is the former chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping, taking the position in May 2012 and leaving the office in June 2016.

Andrea Condotta

Marketing & Innovative Manager

Codognotto Group

Andrea Condotta holds a Master's Degree in political science from the University of Padua, Italy. Since 2008 he has been Project and Financial Manager for several development and innovative projects for public and private bodies such as Veneto Region and Venice Port Authority. He has also been an advisor for CFLI (Consortium for Training & Research in logistics matters) and The European House Ambrosetti.

He is currently the Marketing & Innovation Manager at Codognotto Group, an international company focused on logistics and transport. He is responsible for defining marketing tactics and strategies for the 40 branches and 20 companies of the group as well as supporting its innovation process.

Captain Walter P. Purio

CEO

LNG Marine Fuel Institute

Captain Walter P. Purio is the managing director of P and H Marine Australasia Pty Ltd and currently assists oil and gas companies in Australia to develop their strategies to provide LNG as a marine fuel to the Australasian region. He acts as CEO of the LNG Marine Fuel Institute and serves as a non-executive director to Pelican Clean Energy Pty Ltd which provides marine expertise, insight and advice to government, resource and oil and gas companies as they explore the potential to develop an LNG as a marine fuel industry in the Southern Hemisphere.

Captain Purio is a seasoned maritime industry executive who has worked across several marine disciplines including commercial shipping, marine finance, marine compliance, naval operations, offshoring, mining and support to the oil and gas industry and holds a BS degree from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and MBA’s from the University of Chicago and the Katholieke Universitat Leuven, Belgium.

Julien Bec

Vice President - LNG as Fuel

GTT

Julien Bec graduated in 1999 from Ecole Centrale Paris with a Double Degree in Mechanical Engineering and Physics and has started his career in the automotive industry as Engine Engineer working for the major car manufacturers. Following this technical experience, he spent 8 years with one of the leading Oil & Gas OEM as responsible of the Business Development for the Oil & Gas division, setting up new partnerships and new production facilities around the world.

He joined Gaztransport & Technigaz in 2015 as Key Account Manager for Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Industries taking on the responsibility of all project related activities with that yard. In November 2016 he was appointed Vice-President for the LNG as Fuel Directorate, covering the commercial and technical product offers for the company in this segment.

Pasi Moisio

Head of LNG Business Unit

AS Eesti Gaas

Pasi Moisio graduated in 1991 from the University of Helsinki with a master’s degree in economics. He has been working ever since among gas business with different gas applications in laboratory, electronics, semiconductor, food, pulp and paper, cutting and welding. Since 2011 he has been responsible for different LNG projects. First he was the head of clean energy in AGA/Linde and was responsible for developing the LNG business for Linde in Finland.

After this he worked for Haminan Energia as a LNG sales director. In his present position as a head of LNG in AS Eesti Gaas he has been from the beginning of October 2017. Main responsibility today is the development of the LNG business in Estonia and rest of the Baltics. This covers both on- and off shore business.

Marco Digioia

Secretary General

UETR (European Road Haulers Association)

Marco Digioia is a transport industry expert with 14 years’ experience of positioning and lobbying in Brussels on behalf of trade organisations. He has worked for several road haulier associations at national and European level and was also transport business representative at CEN (European Committee for Standardisation).

He is currently Secretary General of the European Road Haulers Association (UETR), and Chairman of the Transport Forum of UEAPME, the European SME umbrella organisation representing 12 million enterprises. Prior to that, Marco was Director Government Affairs at Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Europe.

Marco holds a Master's Degree in Law with a Specialisation in European Affairs, International Relations and Diplomacy.

Roger Göthberg

Managing Director

MAN Diesel & Turbo Sverige AB

Roger Göthberg is since 2017 Managing Director for MAN Diesel & Turbo Sverige AB in which MAN Cryo is one business unit. MAN Cryo offers cryogenic gas solutions like marine gas systems, LNG terminals and LNG bunkering solutions.

Roger was previously Director Sales & Marketing for the Norwegian LNG distributor Skangas, and prior to this Business Unit Manager at the Scandinavian tool distributor Ravema.

He has also worked seven years as Head of Sales for Texaco’s and Chevron’s marine departments in Scandinavia, Poland and West Russia, managing lubricant and bunker sales to the shipping industry.

Niels den Nijs

CEO

Titan LNG

Mr. Den Nijs is the former head of European gas at Cargill. He set up and expanded the gas sales, trading, and origination team. The team managed a portfolio of 3 BCM in Germany, France, and the Benelux and built the physical supply chain. This included LNG imports, supporting trade activities and managing the transportation throughout Europe. Before, while working at Nuon/Vattenfall he worked in power trading and traded Brent/Gasoil/Fuel oil derivatives and physical oil reaching the position of manager of oil & gas trading.

Mr. Den Nijs holds a MSc. in civil engineering from Delft University of Technology and competed in the rowing world championships.

Frank Harteveld

Director Sales & Marketing

Wärtsilä Marine Solutions

Wärtsilä Gas Solutions is one of the fast growing business segments within Wärtsilä Corporation, having its headquarters located in Helsinki – Finland. Company mission is to shape the marine and energy markets with smart technologies, focus on lifecycle performance and digitalization, to enhance our customers business and benefit the environment. Wärtsilä Gas Solutions is offering a wide product portfolio of solutions and equipment throughout the gas value chain such as cargo handling, gas processing, fuel gas supply systems, volatile organic compound recovery systems, biogas upgrading systems, small scale liquefaction, reliquefaction and regasification for both land based and marine applications.

Frank is having more than 25 years business leading and sales experience in the marine, ship building and oil & gas industry. Into Wärtsilä’s “Forming the Future of Gas” business growth strategy, he is strongly advocating with a solution approach the development of the gas value chain as a cleaner, more sustainable and revolutionary fuel for onshore and marine applications.

Frank graduated as BSc in 1987 from The Hague Technical High School, having an Electrical Energy background and has been in Wärtsilä Corporation since 2012.  

Captain Wolfgang Hintzsche

Marine Director

German Shipowners' Association (VDR)

Captain Wolfgang Hintzsche has more than 40 years of experience in worldwide shipping and ship building business. he has six years of education and service as Naval Officer on Minehunters & Minesweepers. He has 9 years of service on Bulk Carriers, RoRo-, Heavy-Lift and Semi-Container-Vessels with owners Frigga, C.F. Ahrenkiel and Sloman Neptun. Previous positions include Sales & project Engineer for Marine Electronics (ELNA), Managing Director, Manoeuvring &Propulsion Systems for JASTRAM and Technical Director Shipyard at SET. He is since 2006 the Marine Director at the German Shipowners' Association (VDR).

Gianpaolo Benedetti

Senior Technical Advisor

Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF)

Gianpaolo Benedetti is Senior Technical Advisor at the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel (SGMF). The Society is a non-government organisation founded in 2013 with the key aim of promoting safety and industry best practice for gas as an alternative, cleaner shipping fuel for now and the future. SGMF is now a global leader in this sector with nearly 130 members representing all aspects of the gas & LNG value chain.

Gianpaolo is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with a proven track record of successful innovation across the marine energy sector. Specifically, he led the development and testing of LNG transfer systems and cryogenic equipment for a range of small to mid-scale shore based and ship bunkering applications. Positions held include Design Engineer, Lead Engineer, Project Manager and Business Development Manager working on LNG-as- Fuel and gas-to-Power projects in Europe, the Americas and Asia.

Stefaan Adriaens

Commercial Manager

Gate terminal B.V.

Stefaan joined the Gate LNG terminal in Rotterdam (NL) as commercial manager shortly after FID. With a small team he works on the long term relationship with the 5 terminal users. His prior function was at Fluxys (B) where he was a.o. involved in the expansion of the Zeebrugge LNG terminal. Stefaan has spent his entire career in energy related matters (refining, petrochemicals, natural gas, banking) in a variety of functions (commercial, planning, financial, engineering, IT, analysis).

Martin Flach

Alternative Fuels Director

Iveco Ltd

Since graduating Martin has held a number of positions within the commercial vehicle industry.   His career began with Ford Motor Company (Truck Division). He joined Iveco Ford Truck in 1986 following the merger of Iveco and Ford (Truck Division) and remained with Iveco following the formation of Iveco Ltd in 2003. He is currently Alternative Fuels Director with responsibility for the Light, Medium and Heavy product ranges. 

Prior to this role Martin worked in Italy, at the Brescia Production Plant and in the Iveco headquarters of Turin, as Chief Engineer responsible for the medium product range and as Line Manager for Medium and Heavy product, before returning to the UK for the role of Product Director. With the increasing focus on alternative fuel vehicles, Martin moved to become the UK and ROI specialist in this vital area.

Robert Goevaers

Program Manager

Nationaal LNG Platform

Robert graduated from the University of Tilburg with a MSc. in Economy in 1987. In 1993 he earned the title of scattered controller in finance from the University in Amsterdam. Founded consultancy company in logistics in 1993.

In 2003  joined SenterNovem. This organization is responsible for the development and implementation of sustainable transport. Worked for different project in the area of logistics, transport and automotive. In 2010 lng was launched as a sustainable fuel.

End 2010 continued the career as an independent consultant to develop the LNG market. Since April 2014 working as program manager of the LNG platform.

Jolon van der Schuit

CEO

Rolande LNG

Rolande is the current market leader in the small scale LNG business in the Netherlands. The mission of Rolande is to make sure that transport companies do not have to use fossil fuels ever again.

Jolon is 42 years old and joined Rolande as a CEO in 2014 and brings 20 years of international management experience. As CEO he is responsible for the development of the LNG fuel station infrastructure in Europe. Also the development and production of bio-LNG is his responsibility.

He started his career in 1998 at Ernst & Young and was active in the audit and M&A practice. In 2008 he became financial director at IVECO Schouten, a Dutch truck dealer company. In this period Jolon became aware of the possibilities of LNG for heavy-duty road transport. Seeing LNG as the best alternative fuel for diesel, he was actively involved in the acquisition of Rolande.

Jolon holds a post-Masters degree in Business economics, Finance & Accountancy from Tilburg University, the Netherlands.

Paul Ocholla

Commercial Advisor - Break Bulk LNG

National Grid Grain LNG Importation Terminal

A commercial professional, with over 10 years of experience in project management and business development of LNG projects in National Grid. Current lead on the on-boarding of new customers for all of Grain LNG’s small scale services. Also involved in facilitating multi-industry forums like the Natural Gas Vehicles Network UK and been at the forefront of driving the development of intermodal LNG ISO container transportation in the UK. Finally, the current business development project manager for GLNG’s ssLNG break bulk marine service.

Kwinten Standaert

Key Account Officer- Commercial LNG Responsible

Fluxys

Kwinten Standaert holds a Master Degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Ghent in Belgium.  He joined Fluxys in 2012, where he became responsible for the commercial department of LNG services at the Fluxys LNG terminal in Zeebrugge (long-term LNG delivery contracts, spot loading and unloading of ships, and the loading of LNG trucks).  In this position he focuses on the business development of the small scale LNG services given the growing number of LNG truck loadings and small scale LNG ships in Zeebrugge.

Frej Olsen

Business Development Manager | KC LNG

Kosan Crisplant a/s

Frej Olsen, PBA International Sales and Marketing, 2015, hold the position of Business Development Manager for Kosan Crisplant's LNG division, located in Aarhus, Denmark.

Since 2014 he has been working with business development of technical solutions with a broad understanding of sales, research, marketing, project management and business strategy. Frej Olsen has deep understanding of LNG infrastructure for maritime and road transport and knows how to develop business opportunities based on analysis, know-how and market intel.

Jack Jordan

Editorial Lead for Bunker Industry News

S&P Global Platts

Jack Jordan is the London-based editorial lead for bunker industry news at S&P Global Platts, coordinating the company’s coverage of the changing landscape for marine fuels as shipping industry emissions come under increasing attention from regulators. He was previously deputy marine fuels editor at Argus Media in London, and an emerging markets reporter at Bloomberg News in Moscow. He holds a degree in Arabic and Russian.

Dominic Phinn

Business Engagement Coordinator, Clean Air

ClientEarth

ClientEarth’s Clean Air team are currently pursuing legal action against eight EU Member states. Over the last three months they have won cases in Germany and the UK successfully forcing governments to take overdue action to address illegal levels of air pollution. Dominic works with businesses to understand the technology and business model solutions to the air quality crisis and to provide progressive businesses with a voice in the debate. Dominic has over ten years' experience engaging the private sector on a range of social and environmental issues in Europe, China and Latin America.

David Ledesma

Energy & Strategy Consultant

South-Court Ltd

David Ledesma is an independent gas and LNG consultant with 20 years’ LNG experience gained through the development of LNG projects in Asia and the Middle East. David provides commercial, financing and strategic support to national and international energy companies globally. He also writes on gas and LNG and presents regularly at conferences.

David was appointed a non-executive Director of Pavilion Energy, a subsidiary of the Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings. in 2013; a member of the Energy Advisory Committee of JERA in August 2017 and is also a Senior Fellow of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and co-editor of the OIES/KAPSARC book “LNG IN Transition: The Great Reconfiguration” that was published in September 2016.