Biennial Conference 2026


Chris O'Keefe is the founder and principal of Emerald House Advocacy, a strategic communications and advocacy firm working across energy, environment, and public policy. A former journalist and radio host, Chris brings a sharp understanding of how media, politics, and business intersect. He advises leading organisations on media strategy, stakeholder engagement, and campaign delivery, with current work spanning renewable energy, environmental markets, and government relations. As national spokesperson for the Clean Energy Council, Chris is a prominent voice on Australia's energy transition, grid reliability, and the role of solar, wind, and battery storage in replacing ageing generation and strengthening regional economies.

Gene Seroka is the Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest container port in North America. The Port has experienced a series of record-breaking performances since his appointment, which was confirmed by the Los Angeles City Council in June 2014. In addition to multiple monthly and quarterly cargo records, the Port of Los Angeles has set two new milestones during his tenure: The first port in the Western Hemisphere to process 10 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in a 12-month period in June 2021 and 1 million TEUs in a single month in May 2021. As Executive Director, Seroka interacts with a wide range of stakeholders, including Port customers around the globe, industry partners, elected and appointed officials at all levels, business leaders, community organizations and local residents. A respected global trade expert, Seroka has advocated for rules-based trade agreements that benefit American exporters and manufacturers.

Chris Minns is the 47th Premier of New South Wales and the Member for Kogarah. Chris was born and raised in the St George area. He previously worked in politics, the charity sector and briefly as a retained firefighter while completing his studies. Chris was elected as the Member for Kogarah in 2015 and became leader of the NSW Labor Party in June 2021, successfully leading the party to Government at the 2023 NSW Election. Chris has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England and a Master’s in Public Policy from Princeton University where he won a full scholarship to complete his studies. He is married to Anna, a businesswoman and lawyer and together they have three sons, Joe, Nick, and George.

Isaac Wingfield advises port authorities and terminal operators on planning and delivering infrastructure that supports long term growth while minimising operational disruptions. For more than 20 years, Isaac has delivered in the ports and waterfront sector, for numerous cargo types, and at major gateway ports and constrained operating environments. He has led or overseen more than 180 projects worldwide spanning master planning, terminal expansion and modernisation, mega equipment integration, and program management. Isaac served as AECOM’s senior program manager for Georgia Ports Authority’s delivery of a 10 year, $4.5 billion capital program, supporting executive decision making, investment sequencing, and delivery across multiple marine and inland terminals of over 110ha of new facilities, bridges, roadways, warehouses, and resiliency. As AECOM’s Head of Ports for Global Transportation, Isaac brings a practical understanding of how vessel operations, terminal layouts, construction phasing, and capital planning intersect in live port environments.

Jens Meier 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. He previously held board positions at Fiege Holding, the tts Group, Systematics AG (later EDS), and Software Design & Manage-ment AG (Ernst & Young Group). In 2019, Jens Meier was elected Vice President for Europe of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), later also assuming temporary vice-presidency for the Africa region. He was elected IAPH President in 2023 and was re-elected for a second term in October 2025. He is a frequent speaker with a large media out-reach, in particular on future maritime affairs and in the area of digitalization. Jens Meier is a founding board member of the Hamburg Informatics Forum and member on several supervi-sory boards and boards of trustees. From 2015 to 2018 he served as president of Hamburger Sport Verein e.V. (HSV).

Joseph Catanzariti is the Principal, Strategic Advisor and Mediator at Joseph Catanzariti & Associates. He served as Vice President of the Fair Work Commission from June 2013 to June 2024. Previously he was a senior partner at Clayton Utz leading its Workplace Relations, Employment and Safety Practice. He is an experienced commercial litigator. Joseph holds academic appointments as Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales and Adjunct Associate Professor in Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney. He is the Chairman the College of Law Limited and is a Director of the College of Law New Zealand and the College of Legal Practice (UK), and on the advisory board of Syncing Minds Partners LP. He is co author of Workplace Bullying and has held numerous senior leadership roles in legal and industrial relations bodies. His contributions have been recognised with lifetime awards and appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2016.

Marika Calfas is the Chief Executive Officer of NSW Ports, the private sector organisation responsible for managing Port Botany and Port Kembla and the rail intermodal terminals at Cooks River and Enfield in New South Wales, Australia. Marika has over 20 years’ experience in the port sector. She is passionate about driving efficiency across port supply chains, informing the wider community and decision makers of the importance and value of ports to our lives and economy, and identifying opportunities to build supply chain system productivity and resilience. Marika has represented the sector advising state and federal governments on industry reform agendas. She has been appointed by the NSW Government to the board of Infrastructure NSW and is a Director of TT Club, an international insurer for the transport and logistics industry. Marika was elected as Vice President of the International Association of Ports and Harbors for South-East Asia and Oceania, is a board member of Ports Australia, Deputy Chair of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, Council member of the Australian Logistics Council and board member of Regional Development Australia Illawarra – Shoalhaven. Marika holds a degree in Engineering (Environmental), Masters of Engineering Management and Masters of Environmental Law. She is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Fellow of Engineers Australia and member of Chief Executive Women.

Mike joined Ports Australia in 2017. He has been instrumental in lifting the awareness of the Australian port sector and the important role it plays in Australia’s supply chain future. He represents Ports Australia and the wider port sector on a variety of state and federal government committees. Mike is widely recognised for his robust approach to policy development. Before joining Ports Australia, Mike was appointed the role of NSW Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for the Hunter and later the further role of Minister for Industrial Relations. Mike also served as a Police officer for over 16 years, including his appointment as a Detective.

Nicola brings over 20 years of experience in international shipping, freight logistics, landside operations, and project cargo management, with a strong track record of delivering commercial outcomes and operational efficiency across multiple leadership roles. Her background includes senior positions with Port of Brisbane, Höegh Autoliners, and Seaway Agencies, with extensive experience in: Government and industry engagement; Supply chain optimisation and landside logistics; Customer and stakeholder relationship management; Project and operational leadership; Business development and trade facilitation. Nicola is widely regarded as highly motivated, energetic, and deeply committed to building meaningful industry relationships, and is currently the Chair of the Ports Australia Logistics Committee and the Port of Brisbane Landside Logistics Forum.

Ong Kim Pong is the Group CEO of PSA International, responsible for the company’s global performance and strategic growth alongside the Senior Management Council. Since joining PSA in 1997, he has held leadership roles across Europe and Asia, driving PSA’s international expansion and service excellence. Committed to strengthening Singapore’s position as a leading global hub, Kim Pong serves as a member of the National Research Foundation Board, the Manufacturing Trade & Connectivity Domain International Advisory Panel and the Economic Strategy Review Committee on Global Competitiveness. He is the Chairman of ALPS, Singapore’s public healthcare supply chain agency. A 2024 Public Service Medal recipient, Kim Pong also nurtures future leaders through his roles on the NUS Business School Management Advisory Board and as an adjunct professor at NUS.

Patrick Verhoeven is managing director of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH). The organisation represents 202 ports and 175 port-related businesses in 94 countries. Prior to joining IAPH in 2017, Patrick spent twenty-four years in Brussels representing the interests of shipowners, port authorities, terminal operators and ship agents at EU level. He started his career in 1991 with the Antwerp-based ship agent Grisar & Velge. From 2019 to 2022, Patrick served on the supervisory board of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority as deputy chairman. Patrick holds a PhD in applied economics and a bachelor’s in law from the University of Antwerp. He is associate professor at the university’s Centre for Maritime and Air Transport Management (C-MAT).

Richard Ballantyne joined the British Ports Association in 2007 and became the Chief Executive in 2016. Richard has in-depth expertise in ports, transport, trade and environmental policy matters as well as a wide experience of the legislative process around the UK. He is a champion of sustainable development and is also a passionate advocate of the value of the UK ports industry both to the regions in which they are based but also as national gateways. He is a Director both of Maritime UK and the Scottish Maritime Cluster, a Trustee of the Merchant Navy Welfare Board charity and was previously a Director of Port Skills and Safety Ltd. Before joining the BPA Richard spent five years at a Westminster political consultancy and was previously an MP’s researcher in the House of Commons. Richard was also awarded an OBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours for his services to the maritime sector.

Mr McSkimming was appointed CEO of Pilbara Ports Authority in May 2023. He has extensive experience in leading all aspects of multi-user bulk infrastructure, including in operations, marketing, commercial negotiation, and corporate affairs. Prior to joining Pilbara Ports, Mr McSkimming was in an executive general management role in bulk export rail roads. Mr McSkimming has a background in competition law and regulatory economics, and has studied at Harvard Business School and the University of New South Wales, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws (Hons).

Shane Walden graduated from Monash University in 1999 with a degree in International Business. Not long afterwards Shane joined ANL Container Line Pty Ltd, an international shipping and logistics operator servicing the Oceania region. During his 22 years with ANL, Shane spent 2.5 years working in the CMA CGM Group Global headquarters in Marseille where he held a number of roles working in the Asia / Europe trades. From 2006 until 2010 Shane was ANL’s Regional Director for Asia based in Hong Kong. During the last 10 years Shane has held a number of trade, commercial and management positions in the ANL head office in Melbourne. Being passionate about global issues, international trade and a champion of customer experience resulted in Shane’s promotion to ANL’s Managing Director in 2020. In his current role, Shane is the Managing Director of CMA CGM Group Agencies (Oceania) & ANL Container Line.

Stewart Lammin was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Flinders Port Holdings in March 2018. Previous to this Stewart was the General Manager of Flinders Ports for six years and was responsible for the overall performance of the Ports business, including Flinders Ports Land Developments. Stewart is a highly experienced ports industry professional with over 35 years in the sector. He has a background in ship broking, and container shipping having spent 15 years at global shipping line, Hamburg Süd. Stewart has a master’s in business administration (MBA). He also currently holds the position of Chair of Ports Australia which he has held since 2020 and Chair of Complexica, a South Australian business that is the leading provider of Artificial Intelligence software applications that can be utilised to facilitate supply chain decisions.

Sunil Krishnakumar is General Manager, Singapore branch at the International Chamber of Shipping. He is a qualified Marine Chief Engineer and has sailed on various types of ships including oil tankers, bulk carriers, container and cruise ships before joining ICS. Sunil is the ICS lead providing subject matter expertise on marine fuels, air emissions and other technical matters and has recently taken up the responsibility of further developing and strengthening ICS’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region. Sunil is passionate about safety of ships, especially on the safe use of fuels and is an active participant in the IMO work on marine fuel safety. He is currently involved in the development of Lifecycle GHG emission Analysis of marine fuels and the development of safety measures for the use of alternative low-and zero-carbon fuels. He is a chartered engineer, a member of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology and a member of the Renewable Energy Institute.