Ioannis A. Alafouzos, Chairman & Director
Ioannis Alafouzos is the founder of OET, and has served as our Chairman and as a director since our inception. He previously also served as our Chief Executive Officer until December 2022. Mr. Alafouzos began his career in shipping in 1981 and has over 40 years of experience in all facets of the industry. He founded Kyklades Maritime Corporation’s tanker arm and has been the key strategist for the company’s cyclical asset plays. Mr. Alafouzos holds an MA from Oxford University in History of Economics. He has held numerous industry positions, including a member of the ABS Technical Committee (2005-2009, a board member of Ionian and Popular Bank during the 1990’s, as well as and a board member of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping during the 1980’s.
Robert Knapp, Independent Director
Robert Knapp has been a director since our inception. He is the CIO of Ironsides Partners, an investment manager based in Boston, which he founded in 2007. Ironsides is an asset value investor with an emphasis on market dislocations or disruptions. Mr. Knapp serves as a director for several investment companies including Barings BDC which listed on the NYSE and was a director of MPC Container Ships AS when it was founded. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Oxford University.
Daniel Gold, Independent Director
Daniel Gold has been a director since our inception. He is the CEO of QVT Financial LP, an asset management company with offices in New York and New Delhi. QVT Financial, through its managed funds, is an experienced global investor in the shipping and offshore industries. Mr. Gold holds an AB in Physics from Harvard College.
Joshua Nemser, Independent Director
Joshua Nemser has been a director since our inception. He is a New York-based senior portfolio manager at VR Capital Group. He oversees the portfolio and members of the firm’s NA+ team, which pursues performing and distressed credit and other special situations in North America and other developed markets as well as transportation and other hard asset sectors. Prior to joining VR, Mr. Nemser was an investment banking associate at Moelis & Company, where he advised on a range of mergers, acquisitions, recapitalizations, and restructurings. Prior to Moelis, he was an attorney in the Business Finance & Restructuring department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Prior to Weil, he was vice president and chief pilot of a federally certificated air carrier. Mr. Nemser holds a J.D. from the New York University School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude, and a B.S. in business administration from the University of Southern California. He is a licensed airline transport pilot with over 2,000 flight hours.
Charlotte Stratos, Independent Director
Charlotte Stratos has been a director since our inception. She has served as a Senior Advisor to Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Division Global Transportation team from 2008 to 2022. From 1987 to 2007, Ms. Stratos was a Managing Director and the Head of Global Greek Shipping for Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank of the Credit Agricole Group. Ms. Stratos served in various roles with Bankers Trust Company as Vice President of Greek shipping finance from 1976 to 1987. She currently serves as an independent director of Costamare Inc., a containership company listed on the NYSE. Previously, she held the position of independent director for Hellenic Carriers Limited, a shipping company listed on London’s AIM between 2007 to 2016 and as a board member of Emporiki Bank from 2006 to 2008.
John Kittmer, Independent Director
John Kittmer has been a director since our inception. He has held senior positions across the U.K. public sector. Between 2013-2016, he was the British Ambassador to Greece and responsible among other things for British commercial relations in Greece. He has served other senior roles in the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Cabinet Office. He holds a BA from the University of Cambridge, an MA from the University of London and a PhD from King’s College London. He is Chairman of The Anglo-Hellenic League and the Gilbert Murray Trust, U.K. registered charities working on educational and cultural issues.
Petros Siakotos Konstantinidis, Independent Director
Petros Siakotos Konstantinidishas been a director since December 2021. He has spent most of his career in international banking, successively with Salomon Brothers, HSBC, Credit Suisse and as Managing Director at UBS Russia. He has advised the Greek and Russian governments in key privatizations and has helped corporate clients with numerous equity and debt raising and strategic transactions. He then served as Senior Advisor to EBRD for the Greek market until 2018. He is currently a director and chief financial officer at NUR MINOS, a company developing renewable energy generation projects and is involved in several energy efficiency initiatives. Mr. Siakotos Konstantinidis is also a director in Inspiration Holdings Limited, a private investment company, and in Res Capital S.A., a private equity firm. Mr. Siakotos Konstantinidis has a BA from Yale University and an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.
All Directors are up for re-election at the 2024 Annual General Meeting.
The Board of Directors of OET currently consists of seven directors. The Chairman of the BoD, Mr. Ioannis Alafouzos is connected to the company’s largest shareholder, the Alafouzos family. Board members Mr. Daniel Gold, Mr. Joshua Nemser and Mr. Robert Knapp are connected to shareholders of the company (each being less than 10% of our common stock) and are not otherwise connected with the company, its management, or main shareholders. Board Members Ms. Charlotte Stratos, Dr. John Kittmer and Mr. Petros Siakotos are not otherwise connected with the company, its management, or main shareholders nor do they hold any material ownership in our common stock. Consequently, the BoD of OET is in accordance with the recommendation of the Norwegian Corporate Governance Code (NUES).