Category Archives for "Speaker"

Maximo Q. Mejia, Jr.

President, World Maritime University

Professor Maximo Q. Mejia is an accomplished global leader and scholar in Maritime Governance, Policy, and Administration. With over three decades of professional and academic experience, Professor Mejia is a passionate international advocate for the promotion of safe, secure, sustainable, and efficient shipping on clean oceans.

Appointed by the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Professor Mejia became the eighth President of the World Maritime University (WMU), a university established within the framework of the IMO and a global centre of excellence for maritime and ocean education, research, and capacity building. He is the first President from Asia and the first President who is a
graduate of WMU. As the Chief Executive Officer, Professor Mejia oversees and directs the academic
programmes, operations, and administration of the University.

Professor Mejia held various positions at WMU, as Director of the PhD Programme, Head of the Maritime Law and Policy Specialization, and Nippon Foundation Professor of Maritime Governance, Policy, and Administration at WMU. He also served as Associate Academic Dean and has been a resident Faculty
member since 1998. During his tenure at WMU, Professor Mejia spearheaded the further development
of the WMU PhD programme in Maritime Affairs ensuring a cutting-edge curriculum and a growing
number of doctoral students. Professor Mejia is author/co-author of more than 70 published articles and
book chapters and the editor/co-editor of 11 books. His multi-disciplinary research and teaching include maritime policy, maritime law, maritime labour law and policy, human factors, safety, and security-
related issues. He is an International Labour Organization (ILO) Certified Trainer for the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC, 2006).

Alongside senior leadership roles within WMU, Professor Mejia served as Administrator/Director-General at the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) from 2013 to 2016, heading the government agency responsible for integrating the development, promotion, and regulation of the maritime industry
in the Philippines. From 1988 to 1998, he progressively held various positions in the Philippine Navy
and Philippine Coast Guard including Deputy Chief of Staff for Navigational Safety and Deputy
Executive Director of the Multisectoral Task Force on Maritime Development. In 2013, Professor Mejia
was included in the Lloyd’s List 100 Most Influential Persons in the Shipping Industry. He served on
several senior diplomatic assignments including Head of Delegation of the Philippines to IMO meetings
(2013 -2016), Special Envoy of the President of the Philippines to the Inauguration of the Expanded
Panama Canal (2016), and Chairperson of the 31st ASEAN Maritime Transport Working Group (2016).

Professor Mejia earned his PhD from Lund University, Sweden, Master of Science from the World
Maritime University, Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, Tufts University,
USA, and Bachelor of Science from the United States Naval Academy. Professor Mejia is fluent in
Filipino, English, and Swedish and has a knowledge of Spanish and Chinese. He is married to Rebecca
Hayes Mejia, with whom he has three children and one grandchild.

Pernilla Wallin

Deputy Director, Swedish Transport Agency

Pernilla Wallin works for the Swedish Transport Agency (STA) where she is head of the unit for ships and seaworthiness, and also deputy director of the Civil aviation and maritime department. She has worked at the STA since its formation in 2009 and has held various managerial positions within the authority. She has a background as a master mariner and worked for 10 years at sea in various positions before she started at the Swedish Maritime Administration in 1999.

In her current role she represents Sweden in international negotiations in the IMO, EU and other shipping related forums. She is head of the Swedish delegation to IMO Council, Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).

Weimin Ren

Director of Transport Division, UNESCAP

Mr. Weimin Ren joined the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) as Director of the Transport Division in 2018, and currently also serves as Chair of the Steering Committee of the United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF).

Prior to joining the ESCAP, Mr. Weimin Ren served as Director General of the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Transport, China. He began his career in 1989 with the ministry and took senior management positions at Director General level starting from 2009. During his time working at the Ministry of Transport, China, Mr. Ren dealt with a wide range of economic, technical and legal issues of the transport sector at regional and multilateral platforms and was deeply involved in the negotiations on China’s accession to the WTO, the implementation of regional transport connectivity initiatives, and the development and adoption of a number of international maritime conventions, such as HNS, Ship Arrest, and STCW 2010 Amendments. Mr. Ren is currently leading his team in ESCAP Secretariat to promote sustainable transport development in Asia and the Pacific, and guiding UNRSF to address global road safety issues.

Mr. Weimin Ren holds a Master of Science in General Maritime Administration and Environment Protection from WMU, and a Bachelor’s degree in Maritime Law from Dalian Maritime University, China.

Tae-eun Kim

Associate Professor of Maritime Safety Management, The Artic University of Norway

Dr. Tae-eun Kim is an associate professor of maritime safety management at University of Tromsø (UiT) – The Arctic University of Norway. Dr. Kim has MSc degree in maritime management from University of South-Eastern Norway and joint PhD degree in nautical operations from four Norwegian universities offering maritime education. Her research focuses on maritime safety and human factors, including accident causation modelling, safety leadership, and maritime education and training. 

She currently leads the Maritime Safety Science (MARSCI) Research Group and coordinates the i-MASTER project (https://imaster-project.eu), funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program. Additionally, she serves as the project leader for REFRAME, a young talent project funded by the Research Council of Norway, focusing on human factors in remotely controlled and autonomous ships.

Yeontae Kim

Executive Vice President Technical Division,
Korean Register

Mr Yeontae Kim is a naval architect. He acquired his master degree at World Maritime University in Sweden and his bachelor degree at Ulsan University. He joined the Korean Register in 1989 and worked on various assignment, i.e. energy efficiency, hull structure, stability, loadline, international convention, new construction survey, survey of ship in service.

He is currently the executive vice president in charge of technical division at Korean Rehister head office.

Kiki Larsen

Academia & Funding Manager
Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping

Dr. Kiki Larsen is heading the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (the Center) strategic collaboration with academia. In addition, as Academia & Funding Manager her role is the continuous development of the Center stakeholder landscape and implementation of funding activities. Prior to joining the Center in 2022, she worked ten years in the chemical industry in various roles within strategy, business development and technical service. She holds a MSc and PhD in chemistry from the University of Copenhagen and is the silver medal winner for her University of Copenhagen Prize Thesis. Furthermore, she graduated her MBA in finance from the University of Nottingham Malaysia with distinction. She currently serves on the advisory board of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) Maritime Centre. 

The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping is real climate action. It is a not-for-profit, independent research and development center looking to accelerate the transition towards a net-zero future for the maritime industry. With Partners, the Center drives collaborative research, development, and innovation, and offers a safe space for collaboration that unites players across the maritime value chain behind a shared mission. The Center consistently assesses and guides the industry transition journey and is recognized as a change leader and knowledge hub for maritime decarbonization. The Center seeks to influence global, regional, and national decarbonization strategies and push for the needed policies and regulations, such as the reduction of all GHG emissions from a well-to-wake perspective and to reach net zero by 2050.

Nancy Karigithu

Principal Secretary
State Department for Shipping and Maritime

Mrs. Nancy Karigithu, CBS is the Principal Secretary of the State Department for Shipping and Maritime, the State Department charged with responsibility for promotion of the Maritime and Shipping Industry in Kenya. She holds a bachelor’s degree in law and a Master’s degree in International Maritime law from the IMO International Maritime Law Institute, Malta. 

Prior to joining the State Department, Mrs. Karigithu worked at the Kenya Maritime Authority as Director General for nine (9) years. She has previously served as the Chair of the Technical Cooperation Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for two (2) terms.  Currently she sits on the Boards of Governors of the World Maritime University (WMU) based in Malmo, Sweden and the IMO International Maritime Law Institute based in Malta. 

She was involved jointly with IMO, in the setting up and launch of the Association of Women in the Maritime Sector in Eastern & Southern Africa (WOMESA), where she served two terms as Chairperson and now sits on the governing council.  WOMESA is a first regional body which brings together women professionals in the maritime sector of 26 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Before her present appointment Mrs. Karigithu was working as a legal expert for the European Union (EU) project, Critical Maritime Routes, aimed at enhancing maritime situational awareness in the Indian Ocean. 

Mrs. Karigithu was bestowed with an Honorary Fellowship by the World Maritime University, in recognition of her distinguished service to the international maritime industry, and recently appointed by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya as Ambassador and Special Envoy for Maritime and Blue Economy in Kenya. 

1 … 3 4 5