Session: The War on Carbon

Day 1 Keynote Speaker: David Cox
Former CEO, MatthewsDaniel

Based in our London Head Office, as Chief Executive, David has overall global responsibility for the direction and development of MatthewsDaniel. He has managed both our Asia Pacific and European divisions at regional level, together with a portfolio of high profile claims, and he will remain actively involved as an adjuster. A Mechanical Engineering graduate, David’s early career was in the design and validation of subsea equipment and floating production systems, when he obtained a number of patents for his designs. With this highly specialised knowledge and experience, he is a recognised expert in the investigation of failures of subsea equipment on a range of international high profile claims arising from operational and construction losses.

Session: Energy Transition and the JNRC

Speaker : Melanie Raven
JNRC Chair, Head of Energy ARK

Melanie joined ARK Syndicate Management Ltd at its inception in 2007. She is the Joint Active Underwriter of Syndicate 4020 at Lloyd’s. Prior to this role, she was the Senior Energy Underwriter responsible for the Upstream Energy and Renewable teams.

She started her career in 1989 at CIGNA Insurance Company of Europe where she underwrote the upstream energy portfolio as part of a combined upstream and downstream team.

In 1999, Melanie joined Aon. She spent 4 years as a client facing account executive in the European team covering all aspects of the placing process. During her 8 year tenure at Aon, she was promoted to a Director and subsequently moved to the Energy broking team responsible for placing upstream business in the London Market.

She has been an elected member of the Joint Natural Resources Committee (JNRC) since 2013 and is presently Chair. In this capacity, she is the energy market’s representative on the Lloyd’s Market Association’s Marine Committee. She is also Deputy Chair on the Offshore Energy Committee of the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI).

Session: Energy Transition and the JNRC

Speaker : Clive Magnus
JNRC, Head of Energy CNA Hardy

Clive is the AVP for Energy, Power and Renewables for CNA / Hardy, based in London UK. He is an elected member of the Joint Natural Resources Committee (previously the JRC)  which is a joint market group that represents the interests of insurers writing offshore energy in London Joint Rig Committee (lmalloyds.com).

Clive has over 35 years’ experience underwriting all areas of Energy business worldwide and additionally manages Power and Renewables as part of his role.

Session: Energy Markets: And the Future Of Oil And Gas

Speaker: Thomas J. McNulty CQF, FRM, MBA
Managing Director, Chiron Financial, LLP

Tom McNulty has 26 years of experience working across the entire energy value chain. He draws on a rare combination of industry, Wall Street, consulting, and government experience to provide his clients with transaction, commercial analytics, litigation, and valuation opinion services. Tom is a nationally recognized energy industry expert, and has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business, NTD, and Bloomberg TV. As an advisor, and in his corporate career, Tom has delivered more than $56 billion in energy-related transaction, valuation, restructuring, and litigation projects. He has also advised on, or executed, $14 billion in M&A and principal investment deals, and executed or valued more than $15 billion notional in derivative instruments. He sits on the Advisory Board of the Center for ESG and Sustainability.

Tom studied military and diplomatic history at Yale, where he was a varsity football letterman as a walk-on. Following graduation, he went to work on Wall Street with Brown Brothers Harriman and Co. (“BBH”), the nation’s oldest private bank. He was a Federal funds and Eurodollar trader, and also worked in the bank’s international treasury department. During his time with BBH he was selected for training in the elite US Foreign Service and was commissioned a Foreign Service Officer in November 1990. Volunteering for critical threat postings, he served tours of duty in Southeast Asia and in Russia. He was also a Staff Officer at headquarters in Washington DC, where he worked on energy security and trade issues. Tom left the Foreign Service to pursue his MBA at Northwestern University, where he studied Analytical Finance and Accounting.

Following business school, Tom moved to Houston and worked with three Fortune 100 energy companies: Enron International, Duke Energy, and Plains All American. At all three
companies he worked on the M&A teams and in Corporate Treasury. These roles involved transaction due diligence, strategic planning, corporate finance, risk management, and market analysis responsibilities. Tom’s career has included substantial cross-border work in Asia, Europe, and in Latin America. His corporate experience enhances his ability to advise clients with complex transaction, litigation, valuation, and business strategy challenges. More specifically, Tom is an expert in treasury operations, corporate finance, deal execution, post-merger integration and value harvesting.

Session: The Covid effect and Net Zero in the Marine and Offshore Industries – Committed or just Platitudes?

Speaker : Robert Day
Head of Offshore, VesselValue

Robert Day, Head of Offshore at VesselsValue, is responsible for overseeing the analytical and commercial strategy of VV’s Offshore product.

Robert works closely with the Analyst, Research, and Development departments of 100+ people. His role includes overseeing the values, developing additional functionality for the mapping module, covering new ship types and developing new products.

Benefitting from Roberts extensive UK, Norwegian, South East Asian and US based market network, ensures VV’s offering is kept up to date and relevant for the latest market needs.

Session: The Covid effect and Net Zero in the Marine and Offshore Industries – Committed or just Platitudes?

Speaker : Robert Stewart
Business Development Executive, VesselValue

In 2021, Robert joined VesselsValue to specialize in all manner of Marine Data. Robert is currently working with many high profile clients and is continuing to assist VV in risk assessment in the Global Marine market. He has relationships with over 200 insurance companies, both in underwriting and broking, as well as loss adjusters, Oil Companies and Marine Lawyers worldwide, and is assisting in VV’s success in the Marine and Energy Global Market.

Robert worked in the Lloyd’s Insurance market for 37 years in Marine Liability placements. He has a wealth of experience and record of building and implementing business strategies to maximize success.

He led a team placing Reinsurances for The International Group of P & I Clubs and was involved in many high profile marine catastrophes, including Exxon Valdez, Deepwater Horizon and Costa Concordia. He retired as a Senior Partner of Miller in 2015.

He is a Vice President of the Insurance Institute of London, having been Chairman of several City of London Marine & Energy Committees.

Outside the office, Robert can often be found at his beloved Royal Mid Surrey Golf Club, or out and around in London being politically active. Robert is currently the Chairman of a friend’s campaign to be the next Mayor of London.

Session: Parametric Insurance- Flexible Solutions to Help Weather the Storm

Speaker: Daniel Nicholls
Head of Energy- Onshore, Miller Insurance Services LLP

Daniel has nearly twenty years insurance experience, designing and placing insurance programs for global clients in the energy sector. For the last nine years Daniel has worked at Miller Insurance Services LLP which is a specialist insurance and reinsurance broker headquartered in London, UK; where he is Head of Energy – Onshore.

Daniel works across the midstream, downstream, power and renewables sectors including construction. He has designed and utilized parametric policies to cover unique exposures and optimize traditional insurance placements specifically for critical natural catastrophe exposures, weather variables, and performance warranties.

Daniel is a keen skier and scuba diver, but these days his four young children keep him busiest.

Session: Parametric Insurance Panel Discussion

Panelist: Stuart Newcombe
Active Underwriter, Munich Re Innovation Syndicate

Stuart is an Active Underwriter for the first Syndicate In A Box (SiaB) at Lloyd’s. Exclusively focused on innovative and unusual insurances, combining the globally recognized brand and license structure of Lloyd’s of London with the innovation and underwriting expertise of the Munich Re Group.

Target areas include green energy solutions, weather parametrics and emerging risks such as autonomous vehicles and new ways of working.

Session: Parametric Insurance Panel Discussion

Panelist: Long Xu
Chief Underwriting Officer,  Arbol

Long Xu joined Arbol as Chief Underwriting Officer, Reinsurance in July of 2022. He is responsible for developing all reinsurance related strategies and operation for the company. Long has more than three decades of global insurance and reinsurance experience. He is an establish leader in the global reinsurance marketplace and a well-respected global marine/energy reinsurance underwriter.

Long’s decades long (re)insurance career started in China with PICC as a non-marine underwriter in 1988 before moving to US. Before joining Arbol, Long was
Chief Underwriting Officer and General Manager of China Re’s International Reinsurance Business Operation in Beijing for 10 years, leading a book of $400 million including substantial marine and energy business. Prior to China Re, Long spent 15 years as a well-recognized global marine and energy reinsurance underwriter for Everest Re. Before becoming a reinsurance underwriter, Long was a adjuster for blue water and offshore energy insurance with MOAC.

Long earned his Bachelor and Master degree of Engineering in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering from Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China. He
earned his MBA from The College of Insurance in New York with a concentration in Actuarial Science and Insurance.

Session: Parametric Insurance Panel Discussion

Moderator: Ted Dimitry
Energy & Marine Practice Leader, Higginbotham

As leader of Higginbotham’s Energy & Marine Practice in Houston, Ted specializes in compiling risk management programs for commercial clients engaged in a wide variety of operations, ranging from offshore risks and maritime ventures to onshore risks like exploration & production, pipelines, storage facilities, logistics, petrochemicals, ports/terminals, international operations and renewables. He has also managed sizeable service teams and maintains a vast network of insurance market relationships across the globe.

Ted is more than just a transactional insurance broker. He is also a risk management consultant with deep experience across multiple verticals within the Energy & Marine space.

Ted has over 27 years of experience in business insurance/risk management, specializing in the mitigation and transfer of risk for clients in the Energy and Marine sectors. In 1995, he launched his career as an insurance technician in London. After six months, he moved home to Houston in early 1996. Since then, he has been involved with marketing and servicing the insurance needs of a wide variety of energy-related/marine-related companies. He has extensive contacts across the global Marine & Energy insurance market, particularly in London and the US.

Ted is on the 2022 “Hot 100 List” published by Insurance Business America. Previous awards and recognitions include being on the “Who’s Who in Energy” list (2011, 2013) and the “40 Under 40” list (2012), both published by the Houston Business Journal.

Ted is a licensed Property/Casualty General Lines Agent and a Surplus Lines Agent in Texas. He has multiple non-resident insurance licenses in several other states. He is also working towards the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Certified Marine Insurance Professional (CMIP) designations.

Session: Battery Energy Storage Systems (Energy & Logistics)

Speaker : Jatin Sharma
Managing Partner, NARDAC

Jatin specializes in executing property and casualty insurance programs for renewable energy portfolios that are non-recourse financed. He has 16 years’-experience previously as President of GCube Insurance Services, one of the market leading underwriters for renewable energy.

His expertise spans risk consulting, broking, and underwriting experience spanning 140GWs of assets in development, construction, and operation in over 40 countries.  NARDAC has transacted $6 billion of Battery Energy Storage Systems since the company launched in 2020.

Jatin is a licensed property, casualty, and surplus lines broker in all 50 US states. He has completed the Lloyd’s executive education training at London Business School and holds a master’s degree in climate change management.

Session: Jones Act- US Offshore Wind, USL&H, & Fleet Technology Panel

Panelist : Nik Prokopuk
Offshore Wind Business Developer, TotalEnergies

Nik Prokopuk is Offshore Wind Business Developer for TotalEnergies based in Houston and is responsible for driving the rapid growth of offshore wind in the U.S. In the US Offshore Wind team’s first year, Nik actively supported TotalEnergies successful bid for a 3 GW New York Bight project and lead the successful origination of a 1 GW Carolina Long Bay win.

Before joining TotalEnergies, Nik had a 10-year career with DNV in the maritime industry in various leadership and business development roles. At DNV, Nik lead their efforts towards offshore wind growth in the U.S., focused on offshore wind vessels & shipbuilding, infrastructure, regulations, operations & maintenance, and the maritime needs to support the market.

Prior to joining DNV, Nik had a 12-year career in the heavy manufacturing sector supporting Oil & Gas, and Petrochemical Industries in engineering and operations roles. A graduate of the University of Houston, Nik holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Session: A New Approach for the US Offshore Wind Industry

Speaker: Jeffrey M. Andreini
Vice President, Crowley Wind Services

Jeff Andreini has a 42-year career with Crowley Marine Services having worked for them on the USWC, USEC, and GOM. Throughout his tenure at Crowley, Mr. Andreini has worked both in operations and administration responsible for the management of USWC tug commercial operations, global strategic development, finance & accounting for various divisions, CFO for Crowley’s marine salvage joint venture, and his current role as Vice President of Crowley Wind Services. In Mr. Andreini’s position, he is responsible for the global development of offshore wind services and Crowley’s ability to provide turnkey solutions to the supply chain portion of the industry.

Session: Jones Act- US Offshore Wind, USL&H, & Fleet Technology Panel

Panelist : Bo Jardine
Chief Innovation Officer, Bluetec Industries

Prior to joining Bleutec, Bo held roles within the energy and maritime industries, most recently in Shell as Supply Chain Manager for Global Marine advising their business units across the globe on the contracting & procurement of upstream and renewables support vessels, as well as related commercial and technical solutions, including those pertaining to emerging maritime technologies and marine sustainability.

Bo is also an active advisor on marine cabotage (including the Jones Act) and maritime workforce/ content development.  wherein he has led in both upstream and downstream contracting and procurement, chartering/ brokerage, marine operations/ fleet procurement, capital projects, shipbuilding, marine HSSE (including pollution response/ security), port & terminal development, subsea, and heavy-lift.

Bo has been actively supporting maritime industry decarbonization and innovation efforts through his work on key marine and renewables subjects via his active participation in various industry bodies and forums including but not limited to ACP, The Carbon Trust, NOWRDC, Nautical Institute, Offshore Wind Executive, and Maritime Battery Forum (where he is a board member). Subjects he has been engaged on include but are not limited to marine electrification (Battery On-Board, all electric tugs and ferries, cold-ironing, offshore charging buoys), future fuels (biofuel, methanol, hydrogen), IoT based vessel performance monitoring and optimization solutions, novel offshore feeder vessel solutions, lower cost SOV (Service Operation Vessel) solutions, potential installation and in-situ O&M marine solutions for floating wind, alternative marine access systems, lower emissions/ higher operability CTVs (Crew Transfer Vessels), remote offshore operations.

Session: Jones Act- US Offshore Wind, USL&H, & Fleet Technology Panel

Panelist : Alberto Morandi
General Manager, Gusto MSC

Alberto Morandi is the General Manager in Houston of GustoMSC since 2017, engaged in developing Energy Transition offshore solutions. He is a Naval Architect graduated from the University of São Paulo with a PhD in Reliability of Marine Structures from the University of Glasgow. He has 35 years of experience and is a Professional Engineer practicing in the State of Texas since 2004. Presently chairing the Technical & Research Committee of the Society of Naval Architect and Marine Engineers (SNAME) where he is a Fellow and received a Special Award for Jack-up Technology in 2017. Authored over 60 publications, articles and webinars and received a Pioneering Technology Award for Mooring Technology from the Houston Offshore Technology Center in 2015.

Session: Jones Act- US Offshore Wind, USL&H, & Fleet Technology Panel

Moderator: Cindy Muller
Partner, Jones Walker LLP

Cindy Matherne Muller is a partner and participates in the Construction, Energy, Environmental & Natural Resources, and Maritime industry teams. She represents a broad range of companies, from large multinational EPC contractors to private equity portfolio companies, doing business in the energy, maritime, and construction industries, on capital projects and commercial and restructuring transactions, and compliance functions. Cindy also serves as co-chair of the firm’s offshore wind initiative.

Session: Parametric Insurance Panel Discussion

Panelist: Matt Raymer
Chief Risk Officer, Postlane Partners & Gladieux Energy

Matthew Raymer joined Postlane Capital Partners as Chief Risk Officer in October of 2020 where he is responsible for risk identification, risk mitigation and risk transfer strategies for Postlane and it’s operating companies.  He was a part of the deal team that acquired a refinery asset in Denmark in 2021 and has also handled the divestment of two operating assets during his tenure at Postlane.

Matt has over 17 years of experience in the industry as an underwriter, broker and customer.  He began his insurance career with a mentorship at AIG before working his way up to Senior Underwriter for AIG’s National Union Fire Insurance Company where he was responsible for underwriting a large book of Public Company Director’s and Officers Insurance.  Matt moved to Chubb in 2009 and continued underwriting Management Liability lines before moving to the brokerage side of the business in 2014.

Postlane were early adopters of parametric insurance and have consistently purchased parametric coverage for an operating asset with coastal Named Storm Wind exposure.  Matt has seen the parametric product in action and has unique experience with the product.

Matt is a graduate of the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University.

Session: Mercy Ships: Life-Changing Mission Around the World

Speaker: Justin Ray
Vice President Operations, Mercy Ships

Justin Ray is Vice President of Marine Operations at Mercy Ships, a charity with a mission to bring hope and healing to the forgotten poor, following the 2,000-year-old model of Jesus. Justin grew up in Baytown, TX and went to college for marine engineering at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY.

After graduating in 2006, he volunteered for Mercy Ships for a year and a half before taking a position with Rolls Royce in Essex, CT as a marine engineer and naval architect. Justin returned to Mercy Ships in 2008 and worked onboard as an engineering officer, ashore and in shipyards as a project engineer, safety manager, and technical superintendent before becoming Vice President of Marine Operations in 2020. Justin holds a second engineer’s unlimited license from the United States Coast Guard and a professional engineering license in mechanical engineering in Texas and Colorado.

Justin enjoys fishing, hunting, and farming in his free-time and is the proud father of two preteen girls.

Session: Decarbonization in Maritime- An Overview of the Alternative Bunker Fuel Types & Their Implications, from a Ship-Owners Perspective

Speaker: Richard Max Adler
Group Commercial Officer, Atlantic Insurance & Reinsurance Brokers

Richard is the Chief Commercial Officer for Atlantic Insurance & Reinsurance Brokers, an international marine insurance brokerage headquartered in Madrid (Spain). The company also has offices in Houston (TX), Miami (FL), London (United Kingdom) and Bogota (Colombia) and is currently in the process opening an office in Chile.  Atlantic is a boutique marine insurance broker and its partners are maritime lawyers and former shipping executives and as such the company enjoys a very high degree of industry knowledge, particularly in shipping and transportation. Atlantic is an accredited Lloyd’s broker and as a company distinguishes itself from other brokers by its personalized service and its strong focus on risk management and loss prevention. The company counts with a strong claims management team through its own claims company St. Clement Claims Management & Recovery Services. Atlantic already has an important footprint in the United States through its existing office in Miami which mainly acts as a hub for South American reinsurance business. The firm successfully opened its Houston office, Atlantic Gulf, in 2020.

Prior to joining Atlantic, Richard led Marsh’s P&I team of the firm’s global marine practice. Before going into marine insurance broking, Richard worked as Risk & Insurance Manager for a major international shipowner where he led an insurance, claims and legal team. Amongst other, Richard specializes in Crisis Management and is recognized as one of the thought leaders behind Data-driven Loss Prevention. Richard is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers and holds a Master in Shipping, Trade and Finance of the Cass University (now Bayes Business School) of London (United Kingdom).

Session: Sequester Sequestering? A Discussion of Exposures and Emerging Insurance Solutions

Speaker: Michael Gill
Partner Synapse Services, LLC

Michael Gill leads the South-Central Region of Synapse Services, LLC. Mike’s expertise at negotiating complex environmental insurance placements, managing high profile insurance portfolios, and aligning Synapse’s growth strategies with the retail production success has made him an integral part of Synapse’s leadership team. Mike and his team produce and service diverse accounts across a wide range of industries including:

• Manufacturing
• Oil and Gas (upstream, mid-stream and downstream)
• Contracting
• Real Estate
• Private Equity

Mike began his career at AIG Environmental, where he quickly ascended from Senior Underwriter in Boston, to leading teams in San Francisco and New York. At AIG, Mike developed nationwide relationships across the retail broker community. Among Mike’s most noteworthy achievements is the development of the environmental insurance program for the New York World Trade Center Redevelopment.

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, Mike relocated to New Orleans to launch Ironshore Insurance Company’s Gulf Coast office. Under Mike’s stewardship, his combined territory grew to over $50 million in gross written premium in five years with a significant focus in Energy industry accounts.

During Mike’s time at Synapse he established a mission called ReSet, a 501(c) (3) non-profit which raises money to support rebuilding homes in Louisiana post a catastrophic event.