Isabelle Ryckbost

Secretary General of the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) since 1/08/2013. Before taking up this function, Isabelle has been working as Director of the European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP) and Senior Advisor of ESPO for four years.

She studied Law (University of Namur and KULeuven) and European Law (UCL Louvain). Before joining EFIP, she worked in EU Public Affairs for almost 20 years. After a short period at the European Commission (DG Agriculture), she worked in an EU Public Affairs consultancy. In 1994 she started working in the European Parliament, as a political assistant and between 1999 and 2009 she was the political assistant of Dirk Sterckx, where she was mainly active in transport and port-related fields. She is co-author of the handbook “Zo Werkt Europa” (1st edition 2007, 2nd edition 2010, 3rd edition 2015).

Ansis Zeltiņš

Ansis Zeltiņš has a Bachelor's degree from Latvian Maritime Academy in Maritime Transport and a Master's degree in Business Administration from University of Salford (United Kingdom). Previously, he was the Chairman of the Council of the SJSC “Latvijas dzelzceļš” and Member of the Board of “Rīgas Brīvostas flote” Ltd. He has gained diplomatic experience in the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Latvia to the European Union in Brussels, working as a Transport Adviser. Prior to that, he was the Chairman of the Board of the subsidiary company “LSC Shipmanagement” Ltd. of JSC “Latvijas kuģniecība” and managed the JSC “Latvijas Jūras administrācija” (Maritime Administration of Latvia) for more than 9 years.

The CEO of the Freeport of Riga since 2017. Ansis Zeltiņš has been involved in the maritime industry for 20 years now, representing the country at various international maritime industry forums such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), Member of the Board of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the Head of the Shipping Working Group of the Council of Europe. Member of the Board of the Baltic Ports Organization (BPO) since 2018. Member of the Board of the Employers' Confederation of Latvia (LDDK) since March 2022, Vice-Chairman of the European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO) since November 2022 and now Chair of ESPO since November 2024. Ansis Zeltiņš has the qualification of a chief mate on ships of 3000 BT and above.

Dorota Pyć

Graduated in law from the University of Gdańsk, where she also earned her doctoral and postdoctoral degrees in public international law and maritime law. She assumed the positionof CEO of the Port of Gdansk Authority in March 2024.

She brings multisectoral experience across academia, government, and industry. She has been connected with the university since 1995 and head of the Department of Maritime Law since 2014. She served as undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Maritime Economy, and later at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Development (2013-2015), focusing on maritime affairs. She was a member of the Maritime Law Codification Commission (2008-2019) and, since 2018, has been an arbitrator at the International Court of Arbitration in Gdynia. She has been chairwoman of the Polish Chamber of Maritime Commerce since 2024.

Tim Power

Tim Power, Managing Director at Drewry, has over 30 years in the maritime sector.  With P&O Containers he had roles in container logistics, trade lane management, supply chain management, and forwarding. In 1998 he joined International Asset Systems, in the start-up team that developed InterBox a B2B exchange for container interchange. In 2001 he set up his own company, specialising in e-business, supply chain engineering and container logistics. He joined Drewry as Head of Consulting in November 2004 and has worked in assignments across all maritime sectors on government policy, port development strategy, corporate strategy, and due diligence. He was appointed Managing Director in 2016. Tim has a degree in Biochemistry from Oxford University, and an MBA from Warwick Business School.

Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz

Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz is the Lead Energy Analyst for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis’s (IEEFA) Europe team.  She has more than 25 years of experience in the power and natural gas sectors.

Ana Maria’s research focuses on topics related to gas and LNG, as well as other European energy issues. She has worked very closely on the development of IEEFA’s European LNG Tracker, an interactive dataset that visualises Europe’s LNG infrastructure, capacity, demand and import flows. She has also recently worked on the development of IEEFA’s EU Gas Flows Tracker. 

Alex Krijger

Alex Krijger is a geopolitical analyst and advisor with more than 30 years of experience across business, politics, and society. He studied History and International Relations at Leiden University and completed executive leadership programs at IMD Business School in Lausanne and London. Over the course of his career, Alex has worked at the Dutch Ministry of Defence, the Christian-Democratic Party (CDA), and Royal Dutch Shell. His work has focused on complex business-political issues across regions including North America, China, India, Russia, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Singapore, and Europe, where he developed an extensive international network. Alex is also a published author and commentator who regularly analyzes geopolitical developments in Dutch national media, and he is currently writing a new book on opportunities in the evolving global world order, scheduled for publication in spring 2026. Through Krijger & Partners, he advises organizations on political risk, government affairs, and stakeholder strategy, while also supporting a network of emerging professionals through the K&P Academy.

Luc Vandenbulcke

Luc Vandenbulcke was appointed CEO of DEME on January 1, 2019. He has had a lifelong passion for improving the sustainability of our planet and is one of the early pioneers of the offshore wind industry. With a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering, specializing in Maritime Engineering, Luc began his career at a marine civil contracting company before joining DEME in 1998. He held a variety of positions, such as Project Engineer, and in 2000 he was able to follow his dream by playing an active role in the renewables sector when he was appointed Project Manager for several offshore wind farms. Twenty years ago, DEME was constructing the very first wind farms at a time when 1.5 MW turbines were considered impressive. Luc was the founder of the renowned offshore marine specialist and former DEME subsidiary, GeoSea (later integrated into DEME’s Offshore Energy segment). In 2005, he became the first General Manager of GeoSea, which marked DEME’s successful diversification into the offshore industry. He joined the management team of DEME in 2011.

During his time at the company, DEME has grown into the number one offshore wind contractor in the world. To date, the company has installed more than 3,000 wind turbines and contributed to over 100 offshore wind farms. The Offshore Energy segment is now one of the four segments of DEME, alongside Dredging & Infra, Environmental, and Concessions.

Sasha Twining

Sasha Twining is a radio and television presenter (BBC, SKY NEWS, Network 9 Australia) Her most recent work includes presenting flagship business programmes for the BBC World Service (audience 97 million worldwide).

Additionally, Sasha also works as a moderator and host in both the public and private sector. Her clients span fields including Energy, Sustainability, Technology, Transportation and Communications. She has also moderated for many governmental organisations including the EU Presidency, the European Commission, and organisations supporting COP.  Find her at www.thecorporatefacilitator.com

Ben Chu

Jens Meier

Jens Meier (56) has been CEO of the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) since 2008. With more than 25 years of experience in the port, logistics, finance and IT sectors, the computer science graduate is a recognized leader in the maritime industry. His previous professional positions include board positions at Fiege Holding, the tts Group, Systematics AG (later EDS) or Soft-ware Design & Management AG (Ernst & Young Group). Jens Meier, elected IAPH Vice Pres-ident for Europe in 2019, served in this capacity at the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) for a four-year tenure, during which he also assumed a temporary vice-presidency for Africa. He was elected IAPH President in summer 2023 and has been in office since November of the same year.

He is a frequent speaker with a large media outreach, in particular on future maritime affairs and in the area of digitalization. With regard to his voluntary commitment, Jens Meier is a founding board member of the Hamburger Informatik Forum e.V. (Hamburg Informatics Fo-rum). He is also a member of several supervisory boards and boards of trustees. From 2015 to 2018 he served as president of Hamburger Sport Verein e.V. (HSV).

Boudewijn Siemons

Boudewijn Siemons has been CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority since 1 February 2024. In the organisational structure, the commercial and staff departments are below Boudewijn Siemons and his role as CEO.

Mechanical engineer Siemons became interim CEO at the Port of Rotterdam Authority in July 2023. At the time, he was already COO at the Port Authority (since October 2020). Before joining the Port Authority board, Siemons worked at Royal Vopak as President of the North and Latin America division. He was previously a member of Vopak's management and worked in that capacity in Europe, the Middle East and the US. Before that (from 1998 to 2006), Siemons held various management positions at Royal VolkerWessels. Boudewijn Siemons began his career in 1987 in the Netherlands Royal Navy, where he served until 1998. He studied at the Netherlands Royal Naval Institute and TU Delft.

Additional Roles:

• Board member of VNO-NCW
• Chairman of the Seaports Trade Organisation (BOZ)
• Supervisory board member of the Rotterdam Maritime Museum
• Board member of the Zuid-Holland Economic Board (BEZ)
• Board member of the German-Dutch Chamber of Commerce (DNHK)
• Supervisory board member of Rotterdam Partners

Jacques Vandermeiren

Jacques Vandermeiren is the current CEO of Port of Antwerp-Bruges. Before joining the Port Authority he was active at Elia, the network operator and listed company, where he held various management positions since joining it in 2001 and became CEO in 2012.

Vandermeiren has occupied various directorships with among others Febeg (Federation of Belgian Energy Companies) and the Federation of Belgian Enterprises. He is currently an active board member of the dataplatform NxtPort, Kunsthuis Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Antwerp Management School (AMS), International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) and the Belgian coffee brand Vascobelo.

Cas König

Cas König (58) was appointed CEO of Groningen Seaports NV on 1 September 2017. He hails from the east of the Netherlands; however, after completing his studies in Environmental Engineering, he stayed on in the north of the country. During the early part of his career, he also completed an MBA degree. Cas König is extremely familiar with the business world and has a particular affinity for environmental issues and health & safety in relation to economic activities. His challenge lies primarily at the intersection of sustainability and economics. He has gained practical and social experience both at home and abroad. In 2013, he was voted Plant Manager of the Year by the Dutch and Flemish processing industry, making him the industry’s figurehead for a year.

In recent years, he has gained extensive experience as CEO of Groningen Seaports, the operator of the ports of Delfzijl and Eemshaven. Before that, he headed enterprises including the Aldel aluminium plant and ESD-SIC. Since 2018, Cas König has chaired the Industry Table of the Northern Netherlands cluster, made up of 26 industrial and energy companies, whose primary objective is to explore how to reduce CO2 emissions in the area from Emmen to Eemshaven. In 2023, König accepted the Langman Prize from the initiators, which include Groningen Seaports and Gasunie, for the construction of a floating LNG terminal in Eemshaven. The terminal was installed and commissioned within six months of the start of the war in Ukraine. It has sufficient capacity to import 30% of Dutch gas demand.

Cas König holds various board positions and has been Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1 October 2024. He is CEO of North Sea Port since June 1 2025.

Gerardo Landaluce

Gerardo Landaluce Calleja is a Spanish port executive and Chairman of the Algeciras Bay Port Authority, one of Europe’s leading port authorities. He holds a Degree in Law from the University of Granada, a Master’s in International Management from ESADE Business School, and completed the Senior Management Program at San Telmo Business School. After serving as Vice President of Private Banking in the international division of Banco Español de Crédito in Miami and New York, he joined the Algeciras Bay Port Authority in 1996, where he led strategy, business development, and sales before being appointed Chairman in 2019. He also serves as Vice President of the European Sea Ports Organisation and the Mediterranean Ports Association, and is President of Suncruise Andalucía, playing an active role in European port governance and maritime logistics forums.

Pedro do Ó Ramos

Pedro do Ó Ramos has been appointed CEO of APS – Ports of Sines and the Algarve Authority on March 2025. Graduated in Law by the University of Lisbon, he has solid experience in the legal and political fields, having dedicated a significant part of his activity to public service and the promotion of policies related to topics such as agriculture and the sea.

In addition to having a long career as a lawyer, he was Secretary of State for the Sea and a Member of Parliament in several Governments, with active participation in various parliamentary committees, standing out in the areas of Agriculture and the Sea. His political activity included the coordination of parliamentary committees in these areas, which gave him a solid knowledge of the sector.

Pedro do Ó Ramos was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Housing Institute (INH), where he contributed to the formulation and execution of housing policies in Portugal, and was also president of the Executive Committee of the "Old Ghettos, New Centralities" project under the EEA Grants, with an active intervention in urban regeneration.

Gesine Meissner

Gesine Meissner is a renowned expert on European maritime policy and a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP). As an MEP from 2009 to 2019, she was a key figure in shaping policies on transport, fisheries and environmental sustainability, particularly in the maritime context. She chaired the European Parliament Intergroup on Seas, Rivers, Islands, and Coastal Areas (SEARICA), a platform that brought together policy makers, industry representatives and NGOs to promote sustainable maritime development. Ms. Meissner has played a key role in numerous legislative efforts, including the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive and the Port Reception Facilities Directive, which aim to improve maritime safety and environmental protection in European ports. Her expertise also led to her appointment as Special Envoy of the President of the European Parliament on maritime policy in 2018.

Following her time in the European Parliament, Ms Meissner remained deeply involved in maritime policy, serving on the EU Mission Board on Healthy Oceans, Seas, Coastal and Inland Waters and chairing of German National Committee for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Since September 2024, Ms. Meissner has been the European Coordinator for the European Maritime Space under the revised Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Regulation. In this role, she draws on her extensive maritime policy experience to improve the integration of maritime transport infrastructure into the wider EU transport network, with a focus on decarbonisation, sustainable development of European ports and promotion of short sea shipping.

Peter de Langen

Dr. Peter de Langen is the owner and principal consultant of Ports & Logistics Advisory, based in Malaga, Spain. Peter de Langen is part-time professor at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. From 2007 to 2013, Peter worked at Corporate Strategy at Port of Rotterdam Authority. Peter is co-director of the knowledge dissemination platform www.porteconomics.eu, develops training events and regularly speaks at industry conferences. He authored >50 peer reviewed articles as well a forthcoming second edition of the book ‘Towards a better Ports Industry’.

In 2013, Peter founded Ports & Logistics Advisory (PLA, see www.pl-advisory.com). PLA provides high impact contributions to projects and organisations and is active in boardroom advisory, research and executive education in ports & logistics worldwide. PLA works for leading companies and governments in the ports industry, amongst other Port of Rotterdam, Port of Algeciras, the European Seaports Organisation and the World Bank.

Dr. Ir. Peter Tom Jones

Dr. Peter Tom Jones is the director of the KU Leuven Institute for Sustainable Metals and Minerals (SIM²), an interdisciplinary research hub of more than 400 experts dedicated to the exploration, extraction, processing, refining, and recycling of energy-transition metals crucial for clean energy and mobility.  He earned his Master’s degree in Environmental and Chemical Engineering from KU Leuven in 1996, followed by a PhD in metallurgy (stainless steelmaking) in 2001. After working as a postdoctoral researcher until 2008, he secured a permanent position through KU Leuven’s Industrial Research Fund as a Research & Innovation Manager specializing in Sustainable Metallurgy. Since 2020, Jones has served as the director of SIM². He has co-authored or contributed to more than 40 granted European projects on critical metals and sustainable metallurgical processing, with a strong emphasis on lithium, cobalt/nickel, and rare earth elements. He is the (co-)author of 89 peer-reviewed publications on sustainable metallurgy. His deep-rooted interest in the intersection of environmentalism and metallurgy has shaped his work for over 30 years, focusing on the role of critical metals in achieving climate neutrality. He has (co-)authored seven books addressing climate and environmental crises, as well as the transition to climate neutrality (Het Klimaatboek, Klimaatcrisis, Terra Incognita, Terra Reversa, and others). Since 2022, Jones has expanded his impact by presenting authors’ documentaries that explore the connection between metals and the climate transition. His filmography includes Responsible Mining in Europe (2022), Made in Europe: From Mine to Electric Vehicle (2023; 2024), The Sami Perspective (2024), Europe’s Mining Renaissance (2024), Not In My Country: Serbia’s Lithium Dilemma (February 2025), and Europe’s Lithium Paradox (May 2025). Committed to living his values, Jones has been an environmentally motivated vegetarian for 30 years and is an avid urban cyclist.

Eric Mekenkamp

 Eric Mekenkamp is partner of BCI, a leading global independent supply chain, logistics and location/site selection consulting company. BCI has experienced teams and offices in Europe in Nijmegen and The Hague (the Netherlands) and Frankfurt (Germany); in the US in Atlanta, San Francisco and Los Angeles; and in Asia in Shanghai, Singapore, Taiwan and Delhi.

In the last 4 years BCI Global has been recognized by the leading business magazine Forbes as one of the World’s Best Management Consulting Firms.

Jeannette Baljeu

Jeannette Baljeu is a member of the European Parliament on behalf of the Dutch People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), which is part of the liberal political group Renew Europe. She is a full member of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) committee, as well as a substitute member of the committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and Transport and Tourism (TRAN). In parliament, she focuses on a sustainable single European market.

Before Jeannette became a Member of the European Parliament in July 2024, she was Regional Minister of Zuid-Holland (2017-2024) and vice-mayor of Rotterdam (2006-20014), during which time she experienced the practical effects of European regulations. Her work concentrated on the transformation of industry, port and maritime clusters towards a sustainable and circular future. To Jeannette, businesses form the backbone of our society and need clear and workable regulations. Critical raw materials are a concern of high priority to her. In ENVI she will put to good use her experience of water management and water quality issues for which she was responsible in Zuid-Holland. Whereas the previous mandate was all about setting goals, this new mandate will be about #howdoweachievethis.

Merja Kyllonen

Merja Kyllönen, a Finnish politician with a 25-year career behind her in various positions ranging from provincial politics, to minister, MP and member of the European Parliament. Currently working as a member of the European Parliament on foreign affairs, transport and defence & security issues and NATO and Africa relations. Gets excited about new ideas and people, wants to develop and promote the implementation of new things fearlessly and in cooperation.

Kathleen Van Brempt

Kathleen Van Brempt is a Belgian politician from the city of Antwerp. Van Brempt is Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and Vice-President of the Socialists and Democrats Group, where she is responsible for international trade (INTA), development cooperation (DEVE) and enlargement (AFET). She is a full Member in the INTA Committee, and substitute Member in the TRAN and AFET Committees. Currently, she is also a full Member in the Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield. Van Brempt was Minister for Mobility, Social Economy and Equal Opportunities in the Flemish government from 2004 – 2009.

Joseph Hiney

Joe has more than four decades of experience in the international port sector holding various roles in Irish Ports, including master and strategic planning. He was Chairman of Drogheda Port Company until 2023 before joining the board of Bremore Ireland Port. His focus is port governance, both professional and academic, with an interest in how public policy facilitates public and private co-development and operation of critical infrastructure. Joe has worked with UNCTAD on port performance studies and senior port manager education programmes sponsored by Irish Government funding. His current role includes engagement with national and EU level institutions to bring this green energy port project to final investment decision stage.  

Robert Howe

Robert Howe was born in 1962. He graduated with a master of science in civil engineering from TU Braunschweig (the Brunswick Institute of Technology) in Germany in 1992. Mr. Howe started his career working for the German building and construction company Philip Holzmann AG in Hannover for around 10 years. In 2002 he changed employment to the German building and construction company Ed. Züblin AG / STRABAG in Bremen and Hamburg.

Mr. Howe joined bremenports Ltd., the public owned Ports Management Company of the State of Bremen, as Managing Director in 2012. Since 2017, he has been responsible for the business as CEO. In addition to many honorary positions, Mr. Howe is chairman of the port technology society (HTG) in Germany.

Amal Louis

Amal Louis is a maritime industry expert with 22 years' experience in the sector. She holds an Executive MBA from ESSEC & Mannheim University 2017, as well as a Master in Marketing & Management from the Institut Supérieur des Cadres de Vente (CNAM). Her professional career began with the shipping company Marfret, where she held strategic Line Manager positions, with a focus on the operation of vessels deployed on the Short Sea intra-Europe and Mediterranean, as well as project development.

Amal has also been heavily involved in the sector's representative bodies. She served as president of the Association des Agents et Consignataires de Navires du port de Fos-Marseille for 5 years, ther as vice-president at national level of the AMCF (Association des Mandataires Consignataires de France) for 2 years. She sat on the Development Council of the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille (GPMM) and on the Supervisory Board of MGl (Marseille Gyptis International) for 5 years. Since March 2023, Amal Louis has been Director of Commercial Development and Intermodal Solutions at the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille-Fos.

Awards: Chevalier de l'Ordre du Mérite Maritime and named Knight of the Legion of Honor on the 31th of December 2025.

Annalisa Tardino

Annalisa Tardino currently serves as the Special Commissioner of the Port System Authority of the Western Sicilian Sea. She is a Supreme Court Lawyer and served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) during the 9th Legislature (2019–2024), elected in the Insular Italy constituency. She holds a Ph.D. in Domestic and Supranational Law and has extensive professional experience in civil, labor, tax, and healthcare law, specializing in litigation and institutional legal consultancy.