from left to right: Andreas Pagalos, Ioannis Chiotopoulos, Ioannis Kourmatzis.
Piraeus, 30 November 2015 – After being appointed as the new Regional Manager for the Maritime Region East Mediterranean, Black & Caspian Seas in July, Ioannis Chiotopoulos took the opportunity today to introduce himself to the Greek maritime press in DNV GL’s Piraeus office.
Chiotopoulos and his management team presented the new structure of the local office and the people who hold the key positions of DNV GL Piraeus. In the future, the Piraeus office is becoming more important for DNV GL since its geographical responsibilities are expanding. As of 1 January 2016, the Area Middle East, formerly part of Region Middle East & India, will be integrated into the Region East Mediterranean, Black & Caspian Seas to form the new Region South East Europe & Middle East. Ioannis Chiotopoulos’s responsibilities will then span from Italy to the coasts of Oman and Fujairah and from Romania and Ukraine to Egypt.
Another keystone of DNV GL’s strategy 2016–2020 is to make Greece the company’s third home market in addition to Norway and Germany. This means that during the next five years DNV GL will develop the Piraeus office in order to be able to deliver enhanced services to the local shipping community, to response faster to customers and to strengthen the responsibility and capability of the Region.
from left to right: Andreas Pagalos, Nikolaos Kakalis, Aristidis Efstathiou, George Teriakidis, Ioannis Chiotopoulos, Dimitris Dedepsidis, Ioannis Kourmatzis, Dimitris Sariklis, Stelios Kasotakis.
To achieve this, a series of measures will be implemented, including:
- The hiring of Greek-speaking surveyors to key locations around the world (permanently stationed there)
- Strengthening the global responsibility for the tanker and bulk carrier segments in Piraeus to underline how important Greek customers are for DNV GL.
- DNV GL’s new DATE (Direct Access to Technical Experts) service will also be delivered from Piraeus.
- The existing research and development team will expand and their work will be aimed mainly towards the local maritime community. Importance will also be given to the signing of joint development projects with local shipping companies.
- All approval jobs regarding fleet in service will be carried out in Piraeus which means that communication with customers will be quicker and more effective. Additional authority for local decision-making will be given to the Piraeus office (e.g. through the allocation of a Chief Surveyor), thus providing quicker response times to the DNV GL customers.
In his new role as Regional Manager, Ioannis Chiotopoulos will report to Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO of DNV GL – Maritime. “Ioannis is very experienced when it comes to building and maintaining customer relations. I am sure that he will further establish DNV GL within the Region South East Europe & Middle East,” said Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen.
“DNV GL’s relationship with the Greek shipping industry goes back almost 100 years and we have always cooperated very closely with shipowners in this market. Coupled with our new measures and existing services, we are confident we can achieve this goal and become the preferred partner for Greek customers,” said Ioannis Chiotopoulos.
Background information Ioannis Chiotopoulos
After almost 15 years working in Korea and China, Ioannis Chiotopoulos returned to Greece this summer to take on the new position as Regional Manager. In this role, he succeeded Andreas Pagalos. A marine engineer and naval architect by education, Ioannis Chiotopoulos joined legacy DNV in 2000 after several years of work experience in Greek shipping companies. He has held a variety of positions within the company, such as Fleet in Service and Newbuilding surveyor, Site manager, Newbuilding Production Manager and District/Area Manager in Greece, Korea and China. His last position before returning to Greece was Area Manager in China East.
About DNV GL
Driven by its purpose of safeguarding life, property and the environment, DNV GL enables organizations to advance the safety and sustainability of their business. Operating in more than 100 countries, the company’s 16,000 professionals are dedicated to helping their customers in the maritime, oil & gas, energy and other industries to make the world safer, smarter and greener. For more information visit www.dnvgl.com/maritime