Francisquiel Obias Mancile joined the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) in 1991 as Senior Corporate Attorney. He is a master’s degree holder in Business Administration and UNCTAD TrainForTrade Graduate for Trainers Workshop. His managerial capacity is vouched by the fact that he is one of the few Career Executive Service eligibles in the organization.
He rose from the ranks and held various positions of increasing responsibility with focus on the legal and technical aspects of port operations, management, and ad- ministration.
As the former department head of PPA’s Legal Services, he crafted pioneering and sometimes unconventional negotiating roadmaps to prevent and resolve disputes, to maintain industrial peace in the waterfront.
In his 32 years of service in PPA, he became the Port Manager of three (3) Port Manage- ment Offices, namely, PMOs Bicol, National Capital Region-South and Marinduque/ Quezon, until he was headhunted and appointed to become Assistant General Man- ager for Operations. He is now designated as the Officer-In-Charge, General Manager of PPA in concurrent capacity.

Marc-Yves Bertin is Director General of Marine Policy at Transport Canada where he leads efforts on domestic and international economic issues affecting Canada’s marine transportation system. Marc-Yves Bertin joined Transport Canada from Global Affairs Canada, where he was the Director General of International Economic Policy. In that capacity, he was responsible for providing economic policy advice that advanced the Department’s foreign policy, trade and development agendas. Prior to this role, Marc-Yves served in a number of key positions within the Department, including as Director General of the International Assistance Envelope Bureau, and Chief of Staff to the Deputy Minister of International Development. Prior to joining Global Affairs Canada, Marc-Yves was the Director of Counter-Terrorism Policy and Coordination at the Department of Public Safety. He has also held positions at the Privy Council Office from 2000 to 2006. He has a Masters of Arts from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.

Jaime J. Bautista is the newly appointed Secretary of Transportation under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.
Sec. Bautista has a strong financial and operational management background. Prior to his appointment to his first government post, he was a member of the board of directors / trustees of various companies ranging from mining, banking, shipping and resort & leisure property development.
He was President and Chief Operating Officer of the national flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) from 2004 - 2012 and 2014 - 2019.
Prior to being PAL president, he was president and chief executive officer of Air Philippines, now PAL Express.
He led PAL through some of its most significant milestones - from 2004-2005 to 2007-2008 and most significantly from 2014-2016 when PAL posted profits despite tough industry conditions. PAL's 2015 profit was five times that of 2014.
In September 2007, he successfully steered PAL out of an eight-year receivership period. He was subsequently named “Aviation Person of the Year” for 2007 by Orient Aviation magazine.
His PAL service record spans nearly three decades starting with vice president – comptroller in 1993. Other key PAL posts include senior vice president and chief finance officer, and executive vice president in the mid-1990s.
Mr. Bautista held various management posts and board memberships in different companies under the Lucio Tan Group of Companies since the 1980s.
He is a member of several socio-civic professional organizations including Makati Business Club, Rotary Club of Makati West, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) and also recipient of numerous awards, such as Doctor of Humanities (honoris causa) from the Central Luzon State University.
A certified public accountant, Mr. Bautista holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree, magna cum laude, from the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Manila.
Outside the office, Jimmy Bautista likes to bring his family on quick out-of-town trips and play golf when his schedule permits. He is married to Josefina, also a CPA, and they have a daughter, Jamie Liza, and two grandchildren.

Mr Tan Cheng Peng was appointed Executive Director of the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) on 1 September 2021.

Prior to joining SMI, he was the Director (Special Projects) in the Chief Executive’s office at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), where he oversaw MPA’s China engagement strategy and maritime heritage and represents MPA at international engagements in various fora.

Prior to this, he was the Director (Port Policy) at MPA with more than 10 years’ experience in the long-term port planning, port regulation and port policies for the port of Singapore. In this portfolio, he oversaw the long-term master-planning for the Pasir Panjang Terminals and the future Tuas mega port.

Mr Tan also held the appointment as the First Vice President (since 2014) of the APEC Port Services Network (APSN), an international organisation formed in 2008 with 18 member economies under the auspices of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation).

Mr Tan has a Master in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School of Government/Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He graduated with a First-Class Honours in Bachelor of Engineering from the National University of Singapore in 1991.

Mr. Elmer Francisco U. Sarmiento, is the newly appointed Department of Transportation’s Undersecretary for the Maritime Sector. His appointment to the Department of Transportation is a fitting selection to his extensive maritime knowledge, which is part of the logistics industry. He served Royal Cargo for more than 40 years as a staunch member of its management team until he became the President and CEO. Royal Cargo is a Filipino multinational logistics company present in thirteen (13) countries outside of the Philippines.

Mr. Sarmiento retired from Royal Cargo, Inc. last January 2022. His contributions in his long, remarkable tenure with the Royal Cargo Group brought tremendous success to the company. A stalwart partner of the group’s top management, Mr. Sarmiento, led the expansion of its business operations by asset acquisition, investments and integrating other businesses to reinforce and strengthen the company portfolio. These breakthroughs enabled Royal Cargo to establish its position as one of the industry leaders in the Philippines and globally.

Mr. Sarmiento is likewise a member of the board of various companies, which include Iris Shipping Lines, the only Philippine-flag international container shipping line in the country.

He was also a member of the Board of Advisors of the Worldwide Project Consortium and the Projects Professional Group, whose membership covers more than 100 countries worldwide.

In 2017, Mr. Sarmiento was selected as one of Smart Enterprise Global Filipino Executive of the Year during the Asia CEO Awards. He added another feather to his cap last 2020 after bagging one of the Outstanding Leaders in Asia at the Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability Award (ACES) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Undersecretary Sarmiento graduated from Colegio de San Juan de Letran and passed the CPA Board Exam in 1977. He joined SGV & Co. after his graduation.

Undersecretary Sarmiento loves to play golf and swimming.

Captain K. Subramaniam began his career in the Merchant Marine in 1981 obtaining his Captaincy in 1992. He joined Port Klang Authority in 1994 as a Harbour Pilot and held several designation before being appointed the General Manager in 2016 becoming the 1st scholar sponsored by PKA to head the organisation.

He holds a Unrestricted Pilot License for Port Klang since 1997 and has been the Chairman of the Port Klang Pilotage Committee since 2011.

In his years at Port Klang Authority, he was instrumental in implementing the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) in Port Klang in 2004 and in 2010 coordinated Port Klang's participation in Mega Ports Initiative jointly with Royal Malaysia Customs, Atomic Energy Licensing Board and the US government. Amongst his notable achievements in Port Klang are introduction of safe working practices in port operations, safety of navigation and maritime security besides enhancing the use of digitalisation and green technology in the port and logistic industry.

Capt. Subra is also prominently involved in the international maritime arena. Currently he is the President of the International Association of Ports & Harbours, IAPH, Advisory
Board Member of APEC Port Services Network, Secretary General of Eastern Dredging Association EADA and Vice President of the International Harbour Masters Association.

Kenneth is the Assistant Chief Executive (Industry & Transformation) of Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) since 1 Jan 2021. Kenneth has built up a strong network of maritime Singapore industry players including the digitalisation and HR innovators of shipping companies and the start-ups community. He currently is overseeing Transformation Office, International Maritime Centre, Business Capability Development as well as Innovation, Technology, and Talent Development.
Kenneth was seconded from Government Technology Agency (GovTech) in 2017 as Chief Technology Officer. In GovTech, he was the Cluster Director tasked with harnessing info-communications technology and related engineering for public sector transformation covering 10 public agencies’ CIO teams.
Kenneth has over 25 years of technology-related experience, starting his career as a programmer in PSA, and becoming Vice President Technology Development, Trade & Logistics in CrimsonLogic and Senior Vice President in Energy Market Company before joining the public sector in 2011. His professional experience covers sectors in the Sea Port, Logistics IT and Energy industries.
Kenneth has been awarded the “Supply Chain Asia– Visionary of the Year” in 2019 and is a frequent speaker in many conferences and events advocating digitalisation.

Captain Halim is the Deputy Director General (Planning), Marine Department Malaysia under the Ministry of Transport Malaysia. His responsibility includes to plan and determine the direction of The Marine Department to achieve the objective which is to spur towards quality development of national maritime policy by establish a safe, secure maritime transport and marine environment protection. Mainly to manage administrative related to shipping and ports including maritime affairs within Malaysian waters.

Previously he was appointed as Maritime Attaché under High Commission of Malaysia for the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland from 2016 to 2018 in the UK. After that he was appointed as the under Secretary for Maritime Division, Ministry of Transport Malaysia from October 2018 to May 2022.

Currently he is the Second Vice President for APEC Port Services Network (APSN). He is also the Chair for APEC Maritime Expert Group (MEG) under the Transportation Working Group (TPTWG).
He was a seafarer and sailed around the world before he decided to join Malaysia Public Service where he started as Marine Officer at Marine Department Malaysia. He got his Master of Foreign Going Ships in 1995 from New Zealand Maritime Safety Agency. He earned his master’s degree, MSc. In Maritime Affairs in 2004 at World Maritime University, Sweden.

Mr. Li Fengli is currently the board director and general manager of Shandong Port Group Co., Ltd., and has a doctor degree in engineering. He is a member of China Shipping Forum 50, Vice President of China Association of Port-of-Entry, Vice President of China Port Association. He has served as the deputy director-general of Qingdao Municipal Construction Committee, the deputy secretary-general of Qingdao Olympic Sailing Committee, the mayor of Sifang District of Qingdao, the mayor and party secretary of Licang District of Qingdao, the executive deputy director-general and secretary general of Qingdao World Horticultural Expo 2014, the director-general of administration committee and mayor of Qingdao West Coast New Area, and the party secretary and board chairman of Qingdao Port (Group) Co., Ltd. He was elected "Qingdao Annual Economic Figures" for 2019 and 2021 and " China Shipping Celebrity List" 2019 and 2021.

Mr. Meisner retired from Transport Canada in 2016 where he served as the Director General of Marine Safety and Security responsible for advancing the safety, security, and environmental protection of Canada’s marine transportation system. He has also served in several other key positions within the department, including Director General Marine Policy and Executive Director for the reviews of railway safety and aviation security. He also held management positions with the Canadian Coast Guard and is past President of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Port Services Network and a past member of the Board of Governors of the World Maritime University. Mr. Meisner obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Dalhousie University and his Certified Management Accounting (CMA) designation. He is currently a part-time member of the Transportation Appeals Tribunal of Canada (TATC) and consults on transportation safety, security, and policy areas.

Christian Razón Gonzalez is the Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI).

Mr. Gonzalez has over 25 years of experience in the port industry particularly in container terminal management and operation. As Executive Vice President, he has oversight over the ICTSI Group’s operating terminals and business development worldwide. He also in Asia and the Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. As Chief Risk Officer, he is responsible for analyzing and mitigating risks and threats to the Group. As Chief Sustainability Officer, he drives the integration of sustainability into the core of the business

Mr. Gonzalez has been with ICTSI since 1997. In 2005, he was appointed CEO of the Group’s Madagascar operations. He was the lead in redeveloping the terminal, implementing operational and administrative initiatives amid a challenging environment to turn around the terminal into one of Africa’s most efficient. Mr. Gonzalez was also key in the acquisition and development of the concession in Melbourne, Australia’s first automated terminal.

Mr. Gonzalez sits on the board of several ICTSI subsidiaries both in the Philippines and abroad. He is also the President of ICTSI Foundation, Inc., the ICTSI Group’s corporate social responsibility arm. Mr. Gonzalez takes the lead in sponsoring and implementing programs for the youth, social development and the environment in areas where the Group has a business presence.

Outside of ICTSI, Mr. Gonzalez is a Board Member of Bloomberry Resorts Corp., owner of Solaire Resort and Casino in the Philippines, and of Prime Infrastructure Capital, the Razon Group’s infrastructure division with projects worldwide.

Mr. Gonzalez is a Board Trustee of Asia Society Philippines and of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association.

Guy Platten was appointed Secretary General of ICS in August 2018.

He has extensive experience in the maritime industry both at sea and ashore and is a qualified Master Mariner. He has held a number of senior positions including Chief Executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping, Chief Executive of Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (a ferry and port owning company providing lifeline ferry services to communities in Scotland) and Director of Marine Operations for the Northern Lighthouse Board which is responsible for lighthouses, buoys, beacons and Aids to Navigation throughout Scotland and the Isle of Man.

Guy’s career at sea began in 1982 with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service. He joined the RNLI in 1993 as an Inspector of Lifeboats, latterly as Inspector for Scotland training and overseeing lifeboat crews around the coast and following this he served with the MOD as a Salvage Officer and led or contributed to a number of projects including the removal of oil from a sunken World War 2 battleship, recovery of ditched aircraft and the refloating of a grounded warship.

Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou is joint CEO of TOTOTHEO MARITIME, a leading global service provider specialising in innovative, efficient, and functional solutions in the fields of digitalization, maritime satellite communications, automation, and navigation systems.

In August 2021 she was appointed as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus. She also currently serves as Vice President of the Natural Gas Infrastructure Company (ETYFA) and is a Member of the Board of Directors at the Cyprus Organization for Storage and Management of Oil Stock (KODAP).

A strong advocate of diversity and inclusion in maritime, since 2017 Despina has been President of Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association, an organization comprised of 55 National WISTA Associations globally. She was instrumental to WISTA’s success in receiving consultative status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2018 and has since established numerous initiatives to support diversity and gender equality in the maritime sector.

She is a board member of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber and serves on the Executive Committee of the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation. She also sits on the Board of Governors of the Cyprus Maritime Academy. Despina is also a board member at the Limassol Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In July 2020, she was elected as a Member to the General Committee of the Association of SA and Limited Companies in Greece where she is also Chair of the Shipping Companies Sector Committee and the Women's Committee.

For 5 consecutive years spanning 2017 – 2021, Lloyd’s List has selected Despina as one of the Top 100 Most Influential people in shipping. In 2019 she was also named as “International Personality of the Year” at the Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards.

Despina holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the National and Capodistrian University of Athens, an Executive MBA in Shipping and Logistics from the Copenhagen Business School, a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Strategy from the University of Oxford and a Master of Science degree in Major Programme Management at the University of Oxford.

She is an Honorary Fellow of the Cyprus Institute of Marketing.

Jens Eskelund serves as Chief Representative in China for A.P. Moller - Maersk. His main responsibilities are to engage Chinese Government entities, institutions and trade associations on matters of policy, regulatory environment and business development on behalf of the companies within A.P. Moller - Maersk.
Jens Eskelund was born in 1970 in Aarhus, Denmark. He holds an MA in philosophy and has studied at University of Aarhus and University of Texas.
Coming to Beijing as a student in Chinese at Renmin University in 1998, Jens Eskelund has since worked as Commercial Officer at the Danish Embassy to China before taking on a position as Marketing Manager for Maersk Line in Beijing in 2000. He has since held positions as General Manager for Public Affairs for Maersk Line Greater China Area, Director of Public Affairs for North Asia, and later as Managing Director of Maersk China Ltd.
Jens Eskelund is former Chairman of Danish Chamber of Commerce in China as well as Chairman of Maritime Working Group of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China. He is now Board Member of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China.

Ding has been working for 22 years in port and supply chain investment & management. With SPCCO (Shanghai Port Container Co., Ltd.), he had roles in investment analysis, successfully supported the several port investment decisions alone Yangtze River and been promoted into the head office. After taking part in a joint training program between Shanghai International Port Group(SIPG) and AP Moller Maersk Group, he worked in the logistics division of SIPG, and went back to SIPG to help founding the Strategy & Research department in 2008.
Ding is a Certified Senior Programmer, he has a degree in Maritime Economics from Shanghai Maritime University.

Professor of the Practice of Policy and Engineering, a joint appointment between the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy and the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. She served as the Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles from 2006 to January 2014. She was the first woman to serve in this role and made a significant impact through the creation and implementation of the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan, an aggressive plan that reduced air emissions by combined port operations of over 70 percent over five years which is recognized around the world for its innovation and success. She was also the Managing Director of the Port of Long Beach where she also led a number of environmental initiatives, including the Green Port Policy and Truck Trip Reduction Program.

She is past president of the American Association of Port Authorities and past president of the International Association of Ports and Harbors. She serves as Gov. Brown’s appointee on the Ocean Protection Council. She has received numerous awards, including Outstanding Women in Transportation (Journal of Commerce, 2007), Woman Executive of the Year (Los Angeles Business Journal, 2007), Compass Award (Women’s Leadership Exchange, 2008), honorary PhD, Maine Maritime Academy (2009), and the Peter Benchley Ocean Award (Blue Frontier Campaign, 2012). In 2014, she was named a member of the National Academy of Engineering in recognition of her international leadership in the engineering and development of environmentally clean urban seaports.

Mr. Sean Perez is the Senior Vice President of Manila-based trade enabler Asian Terminals Inc. He is a highly esteemed practitioner in the Philippine ports and shipping circles with extensive experience in marketing, commercial, business development, regulatory affairs, shipping, and terminal management and operations spanning nearly three decades. Mr. Perez has held senior management positions in ATI’s containerized, non-containerized, bulk, break-bulk and passenger operations in Manila, Batangas, Laguna and formerly Mariveles, all in the Philippines, since joining company in 1996. He is an Economics degree holder from the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines and has attended executive and leadership programs from prestigious international trade and maritime institutions.

Biju Ninan Oommen serves as the Senior Port & Maritime Transport Specialist at The World Bank, based at Singapore. Oommen supports the Transport & Digital Development Global Practice, engaging in strategy and development, preparation and supervision of projects and technical assistance, sharing of knowledge and experience, and the design of innovative solutions for ports and maritime transport infrastructure development.
Prior to joining The World Bank, Oommen worked for a short sea container ship owner/operator, first as a Commercial manager developing the logistics and liner shipping business in South Asia & West Asia – Arabian Gulf, and later as the Chief Executive Officer managing the short sea container feeder operating business from Singapore to South East Asia and South Asia region.
Oommen is a post graduate in Business Administration from Madras Christian College, India and holds an MSc in Maritime Studies from Nanyang Technological University Singapore.

Luo Xunjie, Doctor of Engineering / MBA, senior engineer, is currently the vice president of Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd. He used to be the General Manager of the Operation and Technology Department of APM Terminals Greater China, Maersk Group; and the Senior General Manager of the Investment Management Department of the Asia Pacific Region (and COO of Qianwan Container Terminal Co., Ltd., Qingdao Port Group); the Port Manager of P&O Ports Greater China, UK Iron and Steel Group; Deputy Director of Engineering Department of Shanghai International Port (Group) Co., Ltd., Deputy Chief Commander of the Fourth Phase of the Automated Terminal Engineering Construction Department of Shanghai Yangshan Deepwater Port, and Deputy General Manager of Shangdong Branch. He is the author of "Container Terminal Control Optimization Management", "Container Terminal Operation Management" and "Container Terminal Management".

Mr. Bui Van Quy serves as Executive Vice President of Saigon Newport Corporation (SNP) and Vice-Chairman of Vietnam Port Association (VPA). On November 17, 2021, Mr. Bui Van Quy was re-elected as the Chair of the Advisory Board for another term at the 10th Meeting of the APSN Advisory Board.