The affairs of SSA are managed by a Council, supported by the SSA Secretariat.
Biennially, the Ordinary Members of the Association elect seven Council members, and in turn they can co-opt up to six other members, at least two of who must be representatives of Ordinary Members of the Association, to form the Council.
Both the elected and co-opted Council Members hold their offices for a term of two years.
SSA President Ms Caroline Yang Chief Executive
SSA Vice President Mr René Piil Pedersen Managing Director
SSA Vice President Ms Katie Men Managing Director
Ms Caroline Yang started her career with Hong Lam Marine Pte Ltd as their in-house counsel in 1991 and was appointed as Executive Director in 2002. In her current role as Chief Executive, she also directly oversees the Legal and Human Resources functions.
Ms Yang graduated with L.L.B. Honours (University of London) and B.A. Honours (National University of Singapore) both in 1990. She was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1992. She subsequently passed Bar Exams of Singapore in 1992 and called to the Bar of Singapore in 1995. She is a member of the Singapore Academy of Law.
Ms Yang has close to 30 years of experience in the shipping industry. In 2019, Ms Yang was elected as the President of the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), becoming the first female to helm the Association since its inception in 1985. Currently serving as the President of the SSA for a second term, Ms Yang is also one of the four Vice-Chairs of the International Chamber of Shipping. She is also a board member of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Maritime Foundation.
Mr Rene Piil Pedersen is Managing Director of A.P. Moller Singapore Pte Ltd (Maersk), which is the owner of around 125 container vessels registered in Singapore representing investments of more than 5 billion USD. Furthermore, Rene Piil Pedersen is responsible for Marine Relations globally. In these capacities he has been based in Singapore since the beginning of 2012.
Rene Piil Pedersen is Vice President of Singapore Shipping Association and Council Member of Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF). Furthermore, he is serving on the boards of various Maersk companies with activities in shipowning, global and regional shipping liner services, crewing & training as well as energy & offshore. He has also served and contributed to various Singapore Government Committees and Working Groups, including the Committee of the Future Economy (Sub-Committee on Connectivity) and the Singapore Customs Advisory Council.
Rene Piil Pedersen holds a Master in Economics (M.Sc.) from University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and a Diploma in Business Administration/International Business from Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. Furthermore, he holds an AMP from IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain, and have followed other executive courses from various international business schools.
Rene Piil Pedersen is a Danish national, married to Lisa for 26 years and have two sons, presently studying in Europe.
Ms Katie Men is currently Managing Director of iSEACO investment Pte. Ltd, a tramp container and drybulk ship-owning company. She has been with the firm since 2006 and is very active in the international shipping industry. Prior to join iSEACO, she worked as an equity trader at Wall Street and marketing manager with a logistics firm in New York City.
She graduated from SUNY Maritime College with a Master of Science degree in International Transportation Management as well as Master of Science degree in Investment Management.
Since 2011, Katie has been a Council Member of the Singapore Shipping Association and was formal Vice-Chairman and Chairman of SSA Young Executives Group from 2007- 2013. Currently she serves as Vice president and Honorary Treasurer of SSA.
She is also Honorary Treasurer of Asian Shipowner Association.
SSA Council Member Mr Teo Teng Seng Executive Director
SSA Council Member Mr Colin De Souza Regional Head South Asia
SSA Council Member Mr Apostolos Boutos General Manager
Mr Teo is the Managing Director of PIL Logistics Pte Ltd since the company was founded in 2001. Prior to starting up PIL Logistics, Mr Teo was the Executive Director for parent company, Pacific International Lines since 1993 and is still serving PIL on this role.
Mr Teo’s responsibilities in PIL Logistics include providing strategic direction to guide the business into the future planned goals, objectives and tactical plans. He refines go-to-market strategies including value propositions, services, solutions, marketing and branding. He also oversee and identify new areas of growth for the company and builds international strategic partners to facilitate the growth of the company.
Mr Teo graduated from the University of Tennessee with an Electrical Engineering degree and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Washington.
Colin leads a team of diverse yet driven professionals across a region covering the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, South East Asia and Oceania.
As regional head, Colin is responsible for pursuing the company’s interests and performance in the region.
Colin has worked in the shipping Industry for 35 years. He learnt on the job and added to his skills and experience with every position he held during his career. Intelligent, adaptable, and highly driven, Colin has gone from strength to strength working in many different roles and countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.
Colin’s key strengths are his knowledge of the business, people skills, his ability to communicate effectively and keep up with technology. Outside of work Colin’s interests are sport, music, and technology. Keywords in Colin’s vocabulary are Resilience, Agility and Teamwork and Innovation.
Apostolos Boutos is the General Manager of Thenamaris Singapore. Apostolos moved in Singapore in 2018 to setup and head the newly founded Company. Previously he had been working in Thenamaris (Ships Management) Inc in Athens, Greece holding different roles both in Chartering and Operations (Bunkers, Disbursements). Founded in 1972, Thenamaris is a ship management company providing technical and commercial management of tankers, bulk carriers, and containerships.
Thenamaris LNG focused on LNG & LPG carriers . Thenamaris manages 93 vessels (64 tankers, 19 bulk carriers 3 containers, 3 LNG and 4 LPG carriers), employs 300+ employees and 3.000+ seafarers.
SSA Council Member Mr Lee Keng Lin Chief Executive Officer
SSA Council Member Mr Lakhbir Singh Managing Director
SSA Council Member Ms Akanksha Batura Pai Head of Strategy and Growth
Mr. Lee Keng Lin is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at CYAN Renewables Pte Ltd), a provider of best-in-class offshore marine assets and services for the global offshore Wind Sector. Mr. Lee is also presently the Chair of Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) Council’s Offshore and Renewables Committee. He has more than 2 decade’s experience in the offshore marine industry, including as a CEO of PACC OFFSHORE SERVICES Pte LTD and a track record of serving as director in international maritime companies including shipyards, shipping and venture group. Mr Lee graduated from NUS with a first class honours in Electrical Engineering and is on the Vice Chancellor’s List. He is a CFA chart holder and an alumnus of INSEAD.
Akanksha is the Head of Strategy and Growth at Sinoda Shipping Agency Pte Ltd, and is serving as a Strategy Consultant to Raks International Pte Ltd and TransAsia Marine Services Pte Ltd. Among other duties, she is spearheading the digitization efforts of the respective companies. To encourage other SME shipping organisations to embark on the digitalisation journey, Akanksha has been featured in MPA and Enterprise Singapore’s Go Digital videos and marketing collaterals to share her experience at Sinoda, a ship agency that is leading the forefront of digitalisation.
Akanksha is also the Liaison Officer at The Hon. Consulate-General of the Republic of Malta, Singapore. She handles various cultural events, trade events and diplomatic matters.
Akanksha strongly believes in giving back to the community – maritime and beyond. She has served as the Secretary of the Young Entrepreneurs Network (YEN) Committee at the Singapore Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the past. She is currently serving as a Council Member of Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), is Chairperson of the SSA’s Young Executives Group (YEG) and is part of various other committees at SSA as well. She is an active member of the Circle of Digital Officers (CDO) of MPA. Akanksha is appointed the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Goodwill Maritime Ambassador to represent Singapore. Akanksha actively volunteers (as emcee etc.) at events of the Singapore Logistics Association (SLA) and also at NUS. She is serving on the NUS Business School Alumni Board as a Co-Opt Director since 2020.
Akanksha is the current 2020/2021 CEMS Alumni LC Singapore President and has been serving as the President since 2014.
