Management Consulting News

Kongsberg Digital is pleased to announce the appointment of Benedicte Willumsen Grieg to a newly created position as Vice President, Strategy. Willumsen Grieg will be part of the management team, reporting to Hege Skryseth. She will work to support the company’s further growth, with a special focus on strategy projects and operationalization, closely linked to strategic partnerships and acquisitions.Willumsen Grieg previously held the post of VP Business Development in Kongsberg Digital’s parent company…

In the next decade, we’ll see more accelerated change in shipping fuels than we’ve seen in the last century. What does this heightened diversity mean for shipowners? They must be nimbler than ever – a shift that requires work. It means greening supply chains, bolstering energy efficiency, nurturing more partnerships, streamlining costs, and becoming adept at green finance (frequent change can be expensive to start with). All will help shipowners’ fuel portfolios adapt to the inevitable…

MasterCraft Boat Holdings announced that its Board of Directors has appointed current Board Chair, Frederick A. Brightbill, as Interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.Brightbill’s appointment follows Terry McNew’s decision to step down as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Company to pursue an opportunity outside of the boating industry. Brightbill is expected to serve until the Company completes a search and appoints a new Chief Executive Officer.“On behalf of the Board and the entire organization, I would like to thank Terry for his leadership, steadfast dedication and service to MasterCraft over the past seven years…

VT Halter in Pascagoula, MS has been on a strong run, capped by its winning the high-profile contract to build the U.S. Coast Guard’s next generation of icebreakers. Maritime Reporter recently spoke with Ron Baczkowski, President and CEO, VT Halter Marine, for insights on the shipyard’s recent success and future prospects. Globally, the shipbuilding industry has gone through some ‘interesting’ times of late. How has it looked from your perspective?The shipbuilding market and activity at VT Halter during the past 12 months has been dynamic.

SENER has hired Luis García Jiménez as its Director of Corporate Development. This post is essential to the growth and development of the SENER Group, and reports directly to the CEO, Jorge Unda.From his new position, Luis García will be in charge of analyzing, organizing and coordinating medium- and long-term opportunities involving mergers, acquisitions and investments. He will also participate, together with the CEO and the directors of SENER's different divisions, in defining…

Maryland state lawmakers have passed the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) of 2019, which would incentivize the development of 1.2 GW of additional offshore wind energy off the coast of Maryland.US Wind Country Manager Salvo Vitale testified last month before the Senate Finance Committee and House Economic Matters Committee urging passage of the legislation while citing the significant economic benefits that the legislation would make possible by incentivizing the development of 1,200 MegaWatts of additional offshore wind energy off the coast of Maryland."The benefits are many and will prove transformational to Maryland's economy: 5,000-7…

The Department of the Navy (DoN) Forum for SBIR/STTR Transition (FST) will be held April 10-11, 2019 at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass., co-hosted by the UMass Lowell Research Institute (UML RI).Lowell’s heart and soul is innovation. It’s a city where some of the first major textile mills opened in the mid-1800s, triggering America’s industrial revolution. Today Lowell is situated in one of the nation’s largest technology clusters. UML RI, located near Hanscom AFB in Lincoln, Mass., is emerging as a leader in bridging the gap between research and solutions that change people’s lives and provide world-class, cutting-edge technology to our warfighters.“This is a significant area for technology and innovation,” said Matthew McSwain, UML RI’s executive director.

Hapag-Lloyd has announced that Maximilian Rothkopf  is to be its new chief operating officer (COO). He will take over as new COO of Hapag-Lloyd when Anthony J. Firmin retires in late June.Maximilian Rothkopf, who holds a master's degree as well as a doctorate in business administration, has been a Partner since 2014 at McKinsey & Company, where he has been a member of the global Travel, Transport and Logistics (TTL) leadership team. He started his career in 2005 at the management consulting firm, where he has particularly provided advice to larger liner shipping companies, airlines and numerous other globally operating logistics companies.In his new role as the COO of Hapag-Lloyd…

Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder VT Halter Marine, Inc. announced it has appointed Ronald Baczkowski as president and CEO with immediate effect.Baczkowski joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1980 and retired with the rank of Brigadier General in 2012. He had held various command and staff appointments directing high-level strategic initiatives with impact on tens of thousands of troops. He joined VT Systems in 2016 and was mostly recently Vice President of Business Development. Before that from 2013-2015, he was Chief Operating Officer of Angarai International Inc, a professional management consulting firm; and Senior Program Manager at Engility Corporation…

While the cruise industry grows globally in earnest, this maritime niche is under the microscope like no other, operating high profile, high design billion dollar ships in and out of some of the most pristine places on the planet. Tasked to keep the company’s ships running efficiently and environmentally sound is John Haeflinger, VP of maritime policy and analysis, who directly oversees the sustainability team at Carnival Corp. Haeflinger shares with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News his insights on the tech and technique to keep today and tomorrow’s fleet running clean and efficient.

The market for LNG in Singapore is projected to grow at a CAGR 10.39% during 2016-2025, due to the push from Singapore government towards adoption of cleaner energy sources, capacity addition of natural gas / LNG based power plants and emergence of Singapore as a regional trading hub for LNG in Asia-Pacific. "Growing demand from power generation sector, favorable LNG prices and government initiatives to setup Singapore as LNG hub is expected to drive Singapore LNG market," says the report by TechSci Research. Pavilion Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pavilion Gas Pte Ltd. inked an agreement with BP in 2016, under which the British company would supply around 0.4 million tonnes per year of LNG for 20 years from 2019, thereby increasing the supply of LNG in the country.

LNG market in Egypt is projected to surpass 4.5 MMT by 2025, due to rising demand from power and industrial sectors in the country, says TechSci Research report. Production of dry natural gas in Egypt declined at a CAGR of 7.17% during 2011-2015. Thus, imports of LNG in the country increased during 2011-2015, and this trend is further anticipated to continue during the forecast period as well. Ministry of Electricity announced capacity addition of 2.25 GW in August 2016, with an investment of USD2.2 billion. Therefore, growing demand for electricity and rising application in various industries is expected to boost demand for LNG in Egypt during 2016-2025. In 2015, Greater Cairo Region dominated LNG market in Egypt owing to growing demand for power and rapid industrialization in the region.

Rising demand from industrial sector, growing use for power generation and declining average landed prices to drive demand for LNG in Turkey through 2025, says TechSci Research report on Turkey LNG Market. LNG Imports in the country is projected to surpass 9 MMT by 2025. Increasing application of LNG in industrial sector for manufacturing of glass, ceramics, fertilizer, cement and steel, coupled with rising mining activity for chrome and copper are the major factors driving demand for LNG in Turkey. Electricity generation capacity in Turkey reached 4.56 MW in 2015 and gross electricity consumption was recorded to be 264.12 billion kWh in 2014.

Steen S. Karstensen has been appointed CEO of Maersk's offshore services arm, Maersk Supply Service, with effect from October 24. Karstensen comes from a position as Chief Procurement Officer and takes over from Jørn Madsen, who was recently appointed CEO of Maersk Drilling, effective November 7. Karstensen joined the Maersk Group in 1986 and has had led a 30-year-career with the company in procurement, logistics, supply chain, in-house consultancy and other cross-functional areas.

Nicolas Quéru has been appointed to lead Navico’s Commercial Marine Division worldwide to take forward the marine electronics group’s continuing strategy for growth. Quéru has been made EVP Managing Director with immediate effect following his promotion from Vice President, Commercial Marine EMEA. He succeeds Jose Herrero. A French Native residing in Oslo, Norway, Quéru has extensive experience in international business management, including over eight years in management consulting at Oliver Wyman and Bain & Company leading assignments in strategic planning…

Seaspan has named three new Vice Presidents to its Senior Leadership Team, announcing the appointments of Linda Wortman as Vice President, Finance & Accounting; Catherine Chick as Vice President, Business Services & Technology; and Shawn Chylinski as Vice President, Health, Safety, Environment & Quality. As Vice President, Finance & Accounting, Linda is responsible for strategic financial oversight of the marine division and corporate services. She is a key advisor to the CFO and Executive Leadership Team and ensures information and metrics are available to inform value added business decisions. Linda joined Seaspan in 2008 as Controller, Marine and was appointed to the role of Vice President, Finance & Accounting in January 2016.

HKND Group, concessionaire of the Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal project, signed an agreement with international geological and resource consultancy CSA Global of Australia in the headquarters of HKND Group in Hong Kong, entrusting CSA Global to conduct an aerial geological survey of the canal route and Lake Nicaragua shore line. The survey comprises of Aerial mapping of topography, photography and geophysical and geological data. HKND Group concluded an open tender works package award with CSA Global for the services. “The survey is a major step in the construction development process and supports pre-works planning, design and engineering for the canal and infrastructure”, stated senior advisor of HKND Group, John Murray.

Risks faced by today’s global businesses represent a combination of traditional concerns and newer threats that reflect changing times. The 2015 Allianz Risk Barometer, a survey of more than 500 corporate insurance experts and risk managers from 47 countries, revealed that issues related to business interruption and supply chain risk, natural catastrophes, and fire and explosion continue to top annual rankings. However, cyber risks, which include cyber crime, IT failures, espionage and data breaches, along with political risks were the most significant movers.

Fugro N.V. announces that the Supervisory Board of Fugro nominates Mrs. P.H.M. Hofsté and Mrs. A.H. Montijn for appointment as members of the Supervisory Board at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) to be held on 30 April 2015. Mrs. P. (Petri) H.M. Hofsté (1961) has held senior financial management positions at different organisations. She was a partner at KPMG before she was appointed group controller and later deputy chief financial officer at ABN AMRO Bank. Thereafter she has been division director of the Dutch Central Bank and chief financial and risk officer of APG Group, the largest Dutch pension administrator. Currently, she is member of the Supervisory Board of Kas Bank, Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten and Achmea and member of the board of the Nyenrode Foundation.

U.S. Ten years on, there’s little certain about ballast water management regulations that the industry can chart a course around other than that it will be expensive – possibly the most costly marine retrofit to date. With install estimates running from $500,000 to as much as $5 million per vessel, across some 68,000 commercial ships estimated by the IMO to transfer 7 billion tons of  ballast water annually – industry players say we could be looking at as much as an $80 billion market. Eventually, that is, because there is not a lot of activity right now.

In the power sector DNV GL supports the industry in delivering a secure, sustainable, available and affordable energy supply. In his new role Hans Tormod Hansen will be responsible for offering energy advisory services to the Scandinavian market, assisting power transmission and distribution companies with strategic advice, planning, implementation and energy delivery optimization – from policy to use. “Having started my career at DNV, I’m fascinated by how the company has evolved over the years,” said Hans Tormod. “Scandinavia’s current energy transition offers many opportunities and I am excited to share DNV GL’s expertise in transmission and distribution, risk management and renewables with the energy industry in the region.

S. Korea's DSME says it is to provide naval vessel production and management consulting services for British defense company BAE. Under the terms of the agreement, DSME will conduct investigations on 11 areas of shipyard operations for BAE Systems Surface Ships Ltd., a shipbuilding arm of BAE System Group, and suggest ways to improve its productivity. DSME explains that following the defense budget cut, BAE Systems Surface Ships had been looking for ways to cut back on the cost to build warships and reduce inefficiencies. BAE is known to have been impressed with DSME’s efficient construction system during the four MARS Tanker projects executed in 2012. Through this agreement, DSME says it has shifted its focus from selling hardware toward selling software consulting services.

FLIR Systems, Inc. announced that Cathy Stauffer and Catherine A. Halligan have been elected to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. The addition of Stauffer and Halligan increases FLIR Systems' Board of Directors to 10 members, eight of whom are independent. "I am pleased to welcome Cathy Stauffer and Cathy Halligan to FLIR Systems' Board of Directors," said Earl R. Lewis, Chairman of the Board of FLIR Systems. "With over five decades of executive marketing experience between them, these talented individuals bring to our Board a remarkable range of brand management expertise, strategic marketing, and omni-channel business capabilities, with particular focus in the consumer electronics industry.