Sotiris Raptis has been Secretary General of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) since 2022. He worked previously as Director for Environment in ECSA and as Senior Advisor in European Sea Ports Organisation. Sotiris was responsible for the clean shipping campaign of the NGO Transport & Environment and worked as MEP policy advisor onenvironment, transport and legal affairs at the European Parliament. He studied law at the University of Thessaloniki, University of Athens and King’s College London. Sotiris was awarded European Citizens’ Prize 2008 of the European Parliament as member of “G700” blog for promoting intergenerational justice.

Commissioner Costas Kadis leads the EU’s Fisheries and Oceans policy, focusing on implementing a long-term vision for a resilient, competitive, and sustainable European fisheries and aquaculture sector to secure Europe’s food sovereignty. He is also responsible for the EU’s global efforts to restore ocean health, ensure maritime security, and support coastal communities across Europe.
A Professor of Biodiversity Conservation at Frederick University in Cyprus, Commissioner Kadis has held several ministerial positions for the Republic of Cyprus, including Minister of Health, Minister of Education and Culture, and Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environment. He also led the Greek Cypriot Technical Committee on the Environment, engaging in reunification talks with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart.
Born in Nicosia in 1967, he graduated from the University of Athens with a degree in Biology in 1991 and earned a PhD in Conservation Biology in 1995. He furthered his education through postgraduate courses, including one on scientific research administration at Cornell University. His professional career began as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Athens before joining Frederick University in 2005, where he established the Nature Conservation Unit and served as Dean of the School of Education.
Prof. Kadis is an accomplished scholar, authoring or co-authoring six books and over 50 peer-reviewed scientific articles on natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, and environmental education. His extensive contributions reflect a lifelong commitment to sustainable development and ecological preservation.

CEO of the Finnish Shipowners’ Association as of 1 April 2017.

The Finnish Shipowners Association represents the needs of shipowners in industrial and labor market policies both nationally and internationally.

Tiina has over 20 years of experience from leading positions within transport sector. Tiina began her career with the Finnish Maritime Administration in the early 1990’s. Before joining Finnish Shipowners, Tiina served as Deputy Director General of the Finnish Transport Agency in charge of the traffic and Information Function. She was responsible for national traffic management, icebreaking services, nautical charts and hydrographic surveys and functions related to the development of digitisation, automatisation and intelligent traffic.

In 1998 she graduated with a MSc. (Engineering) from the Helsinki University of Technology majoring in geographic information technologies.

Tiina has extensive experience with national and international representations, including e.g.; IALA Council Member; National Treasury Insurance Sector Advisory Board; Finnish Forestry Industry Development Centre Tapio Supervisory Board etc.

CAREER
01.10.2013 – Director General and CEO Danish Shipping
2011 – 2013 Ambassador of Denmark to the UK
2009 – 2011 State Secretary for Trade and Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2006 – 2009 State Secretary, Head of the Trade Council, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2004 – 2006 Under-Secretary for Foreign Trade and Investment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2001 – 2004 Head of Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2000 – 2001 Chief Consultant, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1998 – 2000 Deputy Consul General, New York, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1995 – 1998 Head of Section in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1992 – 1995 Deputy Head of Commercial Department, Embassy of Denmark, London
1990 – 1992 Head of Section, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
BOARD EXPERIENCE
2013 Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Denmark
2013 Vice Chairman of The Danish Shipowners’ Accident Insurance Association
2004 – 2011 Export Credit Agency (EKF - Eksportkreditfonden)
2010 – 2011 Climate Consortium
2007 – 2011 Marketing Denmark Fund
2005 – 2006 Industrialization Fund for Developing Countries (IFU - Industrialiseringsfonden
for Udviklingslandene)
2005 – 2006 Danish – Chinese Business Forum
2001 – 2003 Nordic Project Fund (NOPEF)
2021 Think Tank Europe
2021 Vice Chairman of DSB
2023 Danish-French Steamship Company’s Support Fund 1950 (Dansk-Franske Dampskibsselskabs Understøttelsesfond af 1950)
EDUCATION
1984 – 1990 Cand. Scient Pol, University of Aarhus
1987 – 1988 Master of Science, London School of Economics
1983 – 1984 Examen Philosophicum, Oslo University
2002 Croos Ministerial Leadership Training
2010 Wharton Business School: Winning the right to serve

Position: Maritime Area Manager Poland, Baltic States, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary.
Company: DNV
Expertise: Maritime Technologies, Digital Transformation, Innovation Management
Professional Experience:
Practically exploring applications of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science in daily maritime operations.
30 years across maritime businesses with worldwide assignments.

Rene Pärt is a Member of the Management Board and Chief Business Development Officer at the Port of Tallinn, where he is responsible for leading strategy and expanding business opportunities. He also serves on the supervisory boards of TS Laevad and TS Shipping OÜ and in the management board of Estonian Maritime Cluster. Rene brings extensive industry experience, having previously worked in business development roles at Kühne + Nagel and DFDS, and having contributed to sectoral platforms such as Logistics and Transit Association and Rohetiiger.

Tarmo Kärsna has worked at Alexela for four years. Tarmo keeps an eye on the retail sales of fuels and electricity, his team develops new services and offers for retail customers. Tarmo also coordinates the sales and service development of Alexela’s Finnish and Latvian businesses. AS Alexela has 108 filling stations and a wide range of fuels. Traditional fuels include gasoline, diesel and LPG, supplemented by future fuels such as biomethane and hydrogen, and charging infrastructure for electric cars.

Marine policy expert who has led the maritime departments at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and the Ministry of Climate, and together with his team developed and participated in drafting regulations across various blue economy sectors.

At the international level, Jaak has contributed to the development of blue economy regulations in working groups of the European Union, the IMO, and HELCOM, bringing Estonian innovation and practical experience to the table.

He is the founder and CEO of Nordic Marine Advisory Group, which, together with his team, provides advisory services in the blue economy to both the public and private sectors.

EDUCATION
▪ 2018 – 2020 TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy, Master of Maritime Transport Management, Cum Laude
Master's thesis: "Mapping the Smart Sadam solution of AS Tallinna Sadam and developing the product package according to possible target markets"
▪ 2013 – 2018 Professional higher education of TUT Estonian Maritime Academy in the maritime transport and port work
Diploma thesis: "Cyber security risks of electronic maritime documents and their possible reduction"
▪ 2001 – 2013 Tallinn Co-educational Gymnasium

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2023 July – … Estonian Transport Administration, Head of Maritime Development and Competitiveness Department As the Head of the Department of Maritime Development and Competitiveness, I am responsible for creating and implementing the maritime development strategy, managing the development of maritime-related information systems by coordinating key users, and overseeing the development of the EST Flag brand and the shipping state aid service. Additionally, I have developed cooperation with sectoral parties both domestically and internationally, and I support and contribute to the digitalisation of maritime public sector services.

2022 July – 2023 June: Estonian Transport Administration, Maritime Competitiveness Project Manager As a Project Manager for Maritime Competitiveness, I was responsible for creating and implementing marketing, communication, and sales strategies, drawing up and executing action plans, and managing content for marketing channels. Additionally, I managed budgeting, applied for additional funding, organized events, and procurements, and coordinated the team's work.

2021 June - 2022 June: Estonian Transport Administration, leading expert on regional ferry and air transport As a Leading Expert in Ferry and Air Transport, I was responsible for drawing up and coordinating regional passenger transport contracts, preparing analyses and budgets, and monitoring the quality of services. In addition, I made suggestions for improving services and coordinated communication with service providers.

2021 Feb – April: ITK Marine, assistant As an Assistant at ITK Marine OÜ, I prepared working environment risk analyses and updated safety instructions, internal regulations, and company visuals. I was responsible for implementing ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 standards, including the preparation of necessary documents such as process descriptions, SWOT analysis, and development plans. Additionally, I prepared purchase and sale contracts, invoices, offers, and shipping documents.

Education
2021 – … University of Tartu
    Strategic management, MBA
2015 – 2018 Tallinn University of Technology
    Maritime Studies, MSc
2005 – 2010 Estonian Maritime Academy
Deck officer  

Experience
05.2023 - … Director of Maritime Division (Transport Administration)
07.2021 – 04.2023 Head of Maritime Safety and Supervision Department (Transport Administration)
03.2019 – 06.2021 Head of Ship Supervision Department (Maritime Administration/ Transport Administration)
11.2017 – 02.2019 Maritime casualty investigator (Safety Investigation Bureau)
08.2010 – 06.2017 Deck officer/master on different vessels

Membership in organizations
Member of Association of Estonian Deck Officers