Ardmore Shipping Makes Leadership Changes
Ardmore Shipping has announced a series of leadership changes and updates to its commercial organization following news of the upcoming retirement of Founder and CEO, Anthony Gurnee, and the appointment of Gernot Ruppelt and Bart Kelleher to CEO and President roles respectively.
Effective September 16, 2024, Robert Gaina will join the Ardmore Senior Management Team (SMT) as Senior Vice President, Commercial, succeeding the current CCO, Gernot Ruppelt upon his advancement to CEO. Ardmore’s respective Chartering Heads (East & West) and the Director, Commercial Operations will report to Robert, ensuring strong integration between these vital business functions.
Gaina joined Ardmore Shipping ashore in August 2015 after serving as Master on Ardmore vessels. Throughout his seagoing career, he has sailed on oil and chemical tankers chartered by BP, Cargill and Vitol. After coming ashore, Gaina held multiple commercial roles and was promoted to Director, Commercial Operations, in 2017. Gaina is a graduate of the Maritime Academy in Constanza, Romania, and holds a Global Executive MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.
Jordan Hunt, Ardmore's Global Commercial Operations Manager, will be promoted to Director, Commercial Operations, succeeding Gaina. He will be responsible for the management of the commercial operations team and the day-to-day performance of the Ardmore Fleet.
Hunt joined Ardmore from Thome Ship Management in 2016 and has been steadily rising through the ranks of the organization. He started his maritime career at sea in 2010, spending the majority of this time on chemical and product tankers. Hunt has a BSc (Hons) in Nautical Science from the National Maritime College of Ireland.
Gregory Grieco has joined the Ardmore Chartering team as of July 8, based in Houston and reporting to Head of Chartering (West), Holly Cummings. Grieco has experience as an Operations Manager for Torm and AET, as well as working with Oceaneering to reduce costs and optimize performance for fleets. He was a New York Police Officer for a short period before his passion for the water took him back to school at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy. Grieco has sailed for Keystone, Grand River Navigation Co and G&H towing.
Emediong Alexandra Udongwo has joined the Ardmore Commercial Operations team in its Cork office as of August 1. Udongwo has an MA in International Economy and Business from the University of Debrecen, Hungary, and a BBA in Economics and Statistics from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. She joins Ardmore with over six years of experience in Claims and Demurrage with Shell and ExxonMobil.
Gernot Ruppelt, the incoming CEO, said, “These changes reflect our commitment to maintaining our position as a leading player in the tanker shipping sector. We are confident that the strength and experience of our commercial team will continue to drive Ardmore’s success and continued progression.”
