Speaking about this appointment, Alastair Evitt, Group managing director for V.Group’s Ship Management East division, said: “We have made a long-term commitment to growing our business in China and I am delighted that Junshan Zou is joining us at what is an exciting time for the Group. This new role will enable us to focus our efforts on growing all aspects of V.Group’s business, including expanding our pool of Chinese seafarers to meet the future growth needs of the market.
“Junshan’s deep knowledge and expertise, not only in shipping, but his commercial acumen and deep understanding of the Chinese market, will provide our existing and future clients with a trusted partner to support their business endeavours,” he said.
He has had more than 20 years’ experience in maritime related businesses, building on his early academic and research career with the Shanghai Maritime University.
On his appointment, Junshan said: “I’m delighted to be joining V.Group and developing our business in service of both existing and new customers in China. We’re bringing our full service offering together and with significant investment behind us, we’ll be able to provide clients with a powerful value proposition to support China’s maritime industry.”
He will be based in V.Group’s Shanghai office in the new shipping cluster – the Maritime & Finance Excellence Centre - which was formally opened in March by V.Group’s CEO, Ian El-Mokadem.
BIMCO has appointed Jakob Larsen as Head of Maritime Security.
He will replace Phil Tinsley, who will be leaving BIMCO shortly.
BIMCO has established itself as a leading authority on many maritime security issues, highlighting the threats and urging the industry to adopt a risk-based approach. It is a rapidly evolving area where BIMCO intends to remain a leader.
“Jakob P. Larsen’s skillset and experiences can lift BIMCO’s work on maritime security to the next level. He has demonstrated in his career that he has an innovative and analytical mindset and has successfully adapted his naval experience to help resolve security issues both at Nordic Tankers and Maersk Line. Jakob will be a great asset to BIMCO in addressing the security challenges facing the entire maritime industry,” said Angus Frew, BIMCO secretary general and CEO.
KVH Industries has appointed Mark Guthrie as vice president for the Asia/Pacific region.
He will oversee all KVH activities in this area, which is of vital importance in the mobile connectivity market.
“The maritime industry is in the midst of a digital transformation, and this region with its busy ports sees more commercial maritime traffic than any other part of the world,” Guthrie said. “As a market leader in maritime VSAT, KVH is committed to helping ship operators take advantage of the benefits of connectivity with new HTS products and subscription-based offerings that truly meet the needs of the industry.”
“KVH considers the Asia/Pacific region a growing market for our products and services, and we are thrilled to have Mark direct the team there. His background in satellite technology and the maritime industry makes him an extremely knowledgeable leader,” said Brent Bruun, KVH’s COO.
Guthrie will be based at KVH’s Asia/Pacific headquarters in Singapore. The company also has a presence in Tokyo and in Hong Kong.
KVH first established an office in Singapore in 2010, and recently relocated to a larger space including an area for demonstrating live satellite antenna product feeds.