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Voytek, a Swiss-based entrepreneur, management consultant, and coach for change, is the founder of Seamind Blue Ocean and serves as the executive coach at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) Lausanne where, amongst other programs, he coaches at the Leading Sustainable Business Transformation course. Voytek is also a co-founder of The Mind Alliance, an international network of consultants assisting organizations and individuals in navigating change.

Voytek has been a driving force behind several successful ventures. Before embarking on a career in change management and coaching, Voytek spent 25 years in various roles in the maritime industry, negotiating high-stakes shipping deals, managing ocean freight portfolios providing strategic advice on vessel acquisitions, and driving consensus to create joint ventures. He founded Seamind Technologies, a Silicon Valley maritime IT start-up, and Seamind Singapore, a maritime consultancy and shipbroking firm, where he served as the Managing Director for 17 years. Voytek's expertise in shipping economics and freight markets has made him a sought-after speaker at various trade conferences across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

He holds an Executive Master's degree in Consulting and Coaching for Change from the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD), an MSc in International Transport Management from the State University of New York, and an MSc in Ocean Navigation from the Maritime University in Szczecin. Voytek is also a graduate of the first edition of IMD's executive course on Leading Sustainable Business Transformation and INSEAD's Blue Ocean Strategy
Program.

 

Voytek Chelkowski
Managing Partner
Switzerland

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Akanksha is a partner at Seamind Blue Ocean and a director of Seamind Blue Ocean Pte Ltd, Singapore, responsible for driving the sustainable transformation of the shipping industry in Singapore and Seamind Blue Ocean’s growth in Asia.

Akanksha has been an active member of the maritime community in Singapore. In 2020, she was appointed by the Singaporean government to serve as Singapore’s Goodwill Maritime Ambassador to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Akanksha is also serving as the Chairperson of the Young Executives Group (YEG) and a Council Member of the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), engaging with, and advocating for young maritime executives and professionals. She also sits on the Board of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School Alumni Association.

Akanksha has a wealth of management and strategy consulting experience in the maritime industry serving as the Head of Strategy and Growth at Sinoda Shipping Agency Pte Ltd, a Strategy Consultant at RAKS International Pte Ltd, and TransAsia Marine Services Pte Ltd. 

Akanksha holds a BA in Marketing and Finance from the National University of Singapore and a Double Masters Degree in Business Administration and Management from the London School of Economics and the National University of Singapore.

Akanksha Batura Pai

Partner
Singapore

Board of Advisors

James E. Henderson

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James Henderson is a Professor of Strategic Management at IMD, and Program Director of Strategic Partnerships, and Leading Sustainable Business Transformation. Between 2012 and 2016, James was the Dean of Programs and Innovation at the school overseeing the doubling of the EMBA program, redesign of the school’s Program for Executive Development, and launch of a portfolio of online programs, and finally the development of leadership competency tool.

His areas of research interest are: strategy under uncertainty, corporate strategy, digital transformation, platforms and ecosystems, strategy execution, and sustainability transformation.

 

Professor Henderson helps companies transform either at a business unit, corporate or global level through directing custom specific executive programs, facilitating strategy workshops, or teaching MBAs and executives. He has designed, delivered and/or directed programs for companies in several different industries: healthcare, aerospace and defence, capital goods, professional and financial services, high technology, consumer products, and economic development.

 

He is the co-author of two books, Restructuring Strategy and Industrial Trends, has written over 50 teaching cases and his articles have been published in well-known academic and practice journals.  He was also awarded Gold for Excellence in Practice from the European Foundation for Management Development.

Larry Hirschhorn 

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Larry Hirschhorn is the principal and one of the co-founders of The Center for Applied Research (CFAR), named twice on the list of America’s best management consulting firms by Forbes.

Larry is a recognized expert on the psychodynamics of organizations and has consulted executive teams in a broad range of industries. Trained as an economist, Larry’s consulting approach is grounded in the realities of the client’s business model, their interest in identifying avenues to profitable revenue, and the relationships between behavior, group dynamics, and business success. He is a prolific writer, with four books and many articles in scholarly and consumer business publications to his credit. He is a member, founding member and former president of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations.

Larry earned a BA in Economics from Brandeis University and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is an adjunct faculty member in the School of Human and Organization Development at Fielding Graduate University, an adjunct faculty member in the school of Organization Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania, and a former adjunct professor at the Wharton School. He is the author of The Workplace Within: The Psychodynamics of Organizational Life, Reworking Authority, Managing in the New Team Environment and Beyond Mechanization: Work and Technology in a Post-Industrial Age.

John Banaszkiewicz

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John Banaszkiewicz, commonly known as John B, co-founded Freight Investor Services (FIS) in 2002, growing the company over subsequent years into one of the world’s leading freight and commodity brokers. FIS is a leader across commodity markets including Iron Ore, Steel and Scrap, Coking Coal Fuel Oil, Fertilizers, Tanker, and Air Freight. 

FIS has been at the forefront of the decarbonization of shipping and is actively developing products to equip stake holders of the maritime industry with practical tools to manage risks and seize opportunities as this transition unfolds.

Prior to founding FIS, John spent 11 years at Cargill International in a variety of roles. John’s determination and diligence in building liquidity was instrumental in the creation of the multi-billion dollar FFA and Iron Ore Futures markets.

John is also the Chairman of The Forward Freight Agreement Brokers' Association (FFABA), an independent association of FFA broking Baltic Exchange members.

He can regularly be heard speaking at shipping and financial market conferences worldwide on freight and commodity derivatives. He is married to Tracy, with four children, lives in London, and sits on the board of directors of Burnley Football Club.
 

Susan Goldsworthy

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Susan Goldsworthy OLY is Affiliate Professor of Leadership, Communications and Organizational Change at IMD. An Olympic finalist, European & Commonwealth Games medallist, Susan has more than 20 years of corporate experience in large multinationals, (Japanese, American and European), where she held senior executive positions.

For more than a decade she has run her own successful business in leadership development, executive coaching and change communications. She is passionate about working with people to turn knowledge into behaviour and to increase consciousness about our interconnectivity in this magical, more-than-human world.

She has worked extensively in the fields of change, communication, diversity, leadership development for teams and individuals, and executive coaching. She is associate director of CLEAR (Cultivating leadership Energy through Awareness and Reflection), IMD’s senior leadership program and Academic Director of IMD’s Coaching Program.

Susan is co-author of three award-winning books: Care to Dare, Unleashing Astonishing Potential through Secure Base Leadership; Choosing Change, How Leaders and Organizations Drive Results One Person at a Time; and recently-released Where the Wild Things Were, a storybook for all ages about leadership, responsibility, hope and biodiversity loss. She has won a gold award for Excellence in Executive Education by the CLO.

With a first degree in organizational psychology and communications, Susan has a Masters in Consulting and Coaching for Change and an Executive Masters in the Neuroscience of Leadership. Her doctoral research focuses on the experience of hope for executives in times of ecological crisis. She is also a highly qualified executive coach, trained in numerous psychometric assessments.

Paul Ambrose

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Paul Ambrose is a software entrepreneur and an angel investor. 

Paul is the Co-founder of WebLogic and served as its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer. WebLogic was acquired by BEA Systems (subsequently acquired by Oracle), where Paul served as Vice President. 

WebLogic is a server software application that runs on the middle tier, between back-end databases, related applications, and browser-based thin clients. Paul Ambrose, Bob Pasker, Laurie Pitman, and Carl Resnikoff founded WebLogic, Inc. and worked together to pursue what eventually became the “Weblogic Application Server”. BEA Systems acquired WebLogic, Inc. in 1998, and Oracle Corporation acquired BEA Systems in 2008. Following the success of the Java platform, the term application server sometimes refers to a J2EE or Java EE 5 application server. 

Paul has a wealth of software industry and entrepreneurial experience which includes consulting and management in software engineering with companies such as Apple Computer, DHL Worldwide Express, PetroVision, Scopus Technology, and Quintus Corporation.

Paul earned a BA in Biochemistry and MS in Computer Science from the University of California Davies.

Maikel
Arts

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Maikel Arts is General Manager Market Innovation at Wärtsilä Marine Power. Wärtsilä is the global leader in innovative technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. The company purpose: ”Enabling sustainable societies through innovation in technology and services” is close to his heart. Maikel works at the intersection of maritime C-suite challenges and cutting-edge technology development with a strong focus on decarbonisation. He uses this technology with his experience and network to create solutions that deliver on sustainability and business economics.

 

Based close to Rotterdam, one of the world’s maritime hot spots, with a broad view on macro-economic developments, upcoming legislation and market dynamics, he has expertise on the impact that these changes will have on the maritime industry and how companies can mitigate business risks and capture opportunities.

 

Maikel earned a BA degree in engineering and a degree in commercial business, and also is a certified tutor in engineering. This enables him to explain complex problems and solutions to a wide range of audiences. He has 20+ years of experience in commerce and business development in complex and competitive environments. This combination of technology, business understanding, and communication makes him a frequent speaker at events and an ideal boardroom advisor.

Corporate Partners

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The Institute for Management Development (IMD) is an independent academic institution with Swiss roots and global reach, founded 75 years ago by business leaders for business leaders. Since its creation, IMD has been a pioneering force in developing leaders who transform organizations and contribute to society. Based in Lausanne (Switzerland) and Singapore, IMD has been ranked in the Top 3 of the annual FT’s Executive Education Global Ranking for the last nine consecutive years and in the top five for 17 consecutive years. IMD’s MBA and EMBA programs have repeatedly been singled out among the best in Europe and the world.

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FIS is the global leader in dry bulk derivatives and established a leading position across commodity markets including Iron Ore, Steel and Scrap, Coking Coal Fuel Oil, Fertilizers, Tanker, and Air Freight. FIS was the first broker in the cleared Iron Ore Swaps market in 2009, the first in cleared Coking Coal swaps in 2013, and the first to introduce Air FFAs in 2019. FIS is present in all major commodity derivatives markets globally and is an IDB participant at The Singapore Exchange, NASDAQ, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange, European Energy Exchange, Dalian Commodity Exchange and the London Metal Exchange, as well as holding a licence to broker FFAs in RMB via Shanghai Clearing House.

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Wärtsilä  is a global leader in innovative technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. Wartsilla emphasises innovation in sustainable technology and services to help our customers continuously improve their environmental and economic performance. Warstilla employs 17,500 professionals in 200 locations in more than 70 countries shaping the decarbonisation transformation of industries across the globe. In 2020 Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 4.6 billion. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.

The global eco-crowdfunding platform to support clean-up activities and inspire people to take action on the pollution problem. Planet Heroes is a global FinTech solution dedicated to cleaning the Earth and is one of the few startups that has been recognized by the United Nations for its innovative and impact-based activity. The idea gained attention and was nominated to be presented at the “Green-Tech Startup Marathon” organized as part of the 2nd Global Session of the United Nations Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment (SPBF) held in March 2019 at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters, Nairobi, Kenya. Established and based in Poland, operating globally.

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