Board of Directors

Dr. Kurt Klemme has served as a Director of the Company since 6 December 2022. Dr. Klemme has nearly 25 years of experience in the shipping industry and is presently Managing Director of Reederei NORD GmbH Germany and Group Managing Director of the international Reederei NORD Holdings. He has worked in a variety of leadership positions with the group during the past 20 years. Currently, he is also Chairman of the German Shipowners’ Defence Association. Dr. Klemme will serve as Chairman of the Board and member of the Audit & Risk Committee and Compensation & Nomination Committee.

Ms. Rebecca Brosnan has served as a Director of the Company since 6 December 2022. Ms. Brosnan has over 20 years of experience in investment banking, financial markets, commodities and is currently the Chief Financial Officer & Head of Strategy of Diginex, an ESG and sustainability technology business and serves as the IFC Nominated Director on the Board of the City Bank, a listed commercial bank in Bangladesh. Previously, Ms. Brosnan was the COO & CFO of Mother’s Choice and Head of Asia Commodities and Head of Strategy at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Ms. Brosnan will be a member of the Audit & Risk Committee.

Mr. Edward Buttery has served as a Director of the Company since 6 December 2022. Mr. Buttery is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Taylor Maritime Investments Limited and has extensive experience in the shipping and maritime finance fields over the last 17 years. Prior to Taylor, Mr. Buttery was a Chartering Manager at Pacific Basin. Deputy COO of Asia Maritime Pacific, and a member of the ship finance team at Nordea Bank. Mr. Buttery will be a member of the Compensation & Nomination Committee.

Mr. Alan Hatton has served as a Director of the Company since 14 December 2022. Mr. Hatton has over 15 years of leadership experience in the maritime industry and is currently Managing Director of Foreguard Shipping, an owner and operator of vessels in the chemical, offshore and gas sectors. Prior to that, Mr. Hatton was Chief Executive Officer and the Executive member of the Board of Directors of FSL Trust Management, the Trustee-Manager of FSL Trust, a Singapore-listed shipping trust.”

Stephen Griffiths has served as a Director and Chief Financial Officer of the Company since 7 November 2017 and was appointed as the Interim Chief Executive Officer on 1 May 2022. Steve qualified as a Chartered Accountant (SA) in 1985 and completed his articles at Hudson, Langham, Morrison and Co, after which he spent two years in London where he gained international experience in a number of accountancy and consulting roles. He joined the Reunert Group in 1989 where he was employed in a number of financial management roles. Steve joined Grindrod Limited in 2004 as Group Financial Manager responsible for all group services and was promoted to Chief Financial Officer of the Shipping Division in 2009. He was selected to serve on the Board of Directors because of his in-depth knowledge of the company’s financial structures, his strong financial background including corporate finance, accounting and capital markets, and his experience in the shipping industry.

John Herholdt has served as a Director of the Company since 6 November 2017 and is the Chairman of the Compensation and Nomination Committee. John obtained his LLB degree in 1971 and, as a partner at Goodrickes from 1973 he specialised in maritime and commodities law. In 1979, he was appointed a director of Leo Raphaely & Sons, an international commodity and trading firm. In 1984, John joined Shepstone & Wylie as a senior partner in their maritime department and acted primarily for shipowners and P & I Clubs. In 1986 he opened the Shepstone & Wylie office in London and in 1987 merged the operation with Maitlands. From 1987 to 2012, John was a senior partner of Maitlands with offices in Europe, South Africa, North America and elsewhere and also served as a Director on the Boards of several of its subsidiaries, as well as remaining a partner of Shepstone & Wylie. He continued to consult to the Maitland Group (now a financial services group) until 2015. John was selected to serve on the Board of Directors because of his legal and commercial knowledge of the maritime and commodity sectors, as well as his valuable experience in mergers and business management.

Mr. Charles Maltby has served as a Director of the Company since 6 December 2022. Mr. Maltby has over 20 years of experience in the shipping industry and is currently Chief Executive Officer of BW Epic Kosan, which is the world’s leading owner and operator of modern high-quality fully pressurised, semi-refrigerated, and ethylene capable gas carriers. Prior to that, Mr. Maltby held leadership positions at Pacific Basin and the transportation divisions of BHP Billiton. Mr. Maltby will be a member of the Compensation and Nomination Committee.

Mr. Paul Charles Over has served as a Director of the Company since 17 February 2022. Paul joined the London shipbroking company of Eggar Forrester ltd in 1976 after being at sea with Kristian Jebsen A/S. He then joined Jardine, Matheson & Co., Limited, working first for their London based shipbroking company, Howe Robinson, before transferring to Hong Kong in 1980 to the ship owning division of the group. Paul left Jardines in 1984 to join the Continental Grain Company in Hong Kong where he was responsible for their Far East and Australian freight activities. He joined Pacific Basin on its inception in 1987 as a founder and subsequent COO of the listed entity before retiring from that position in 2006. Paul has held INED positions within the Baltic Exchange as a Director, Vice Chairman of the main company and as Chairman of its Freight Futures subsidiary Baltic Exchange Derivatives Trading Ltd. He has also held INED positions with Carisbrooke Shipping Ltd., Runciman Investments Ltd., Epic Gas Pte. Ltd. and the London P&I Club. Paul is currently an INED of Asia Maritime Pacific of Hong Kong and a director of Taylor Maritime (HK) Ltd as well as being a current member of the Owners Board of the UK P&I Club.

Quah Ban Huat has served as a Director of the Company since 2 November 2017 and is the Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee. Quah is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He specialised in financial services at Coopers & Lybrand London after qualifying and prior to joining Deutsche Bank. Quah then held various positions including Group Finance Director of IMC Group and Chief Financial Officer of City Gas Pte. Ltd. From 2006 to 2011, he was Chief Financial Officer at Rickmers Trust Management Pte. Ltd, trustee-manager of Rickmers Maritime, a container shipping trust listed on the SGX. Due to the slowdown in 2008, Quah spent two years restructuring its US$2bn debt. In 2011, he founded Primeur Cellars and also founded PRYME, a society focused on assisting less-privileged children in Singapore. Quah is currently a principal advisor at KPMG, advising a broad spectrum of clients across a range of industries and a board member of a number of companies. He was selected to serve on the Board of Directors because of his financial background and experience in fundraising, mergers and acquisitions and deal structuring, his key responsibilities at KPMG.

Mr. Cullen Schaar has served as a Director of the Company since 6 December 2022. Mr. Schaar has over 15 years of experience investing in the maritime industry and is currently Owner of Schaar Holdings LLC, an investment holding company focused on the finance, energy, and transportation sectors. Prior to that, Mr. Schaar was President of Indigena Capital LP and Interim Chief Financial Officer and Director of Epic Gas Ltd.