HANSA HEAVY LIFT executive team

Roger Iliffe | Board Member

Roger Iliffe is a Senior Vice-President at the US investment fund Oaktree Capital Management
He sits on the Boards of both Gulmar, an offshore oil and gas DSV provider based in Dubai, as well as Jackson Square Aviation, an aircraft leasing company based in San Francisco
Prior to joining Oaktree in 2009 Roger Iliffe ran a European fire and security business for United Technologies Corporation (UTC)
From 2002-2008 he was with Bombardier Transportation, the world’s leading producer of trains
From 1998-2002 Roger Iliffe worked for McKinsey & Co where he concentrated on Operational Improvement
From 1989-1995 he served as an Infantry Captain in the Canadian Army
Education: MBA from SDA Bocconi, Milan and BA (Hons) from McGill University, Montreal

Tomas Dyrbye | CEO
Managing Director

As CEO Tomas Dyrbye is responsible for the overall performance and development of HANSA HEAVY LIFT and is head of the management team
Prior joining HANSA HEAVY LIFT Tomas Dyrbye worked for the Danish shipping group A.P.Moller - Maersk for 27 years
He held the position of the CEO at Safmarine, a Maersk subsidiary specializing in transports to/from India, Middle East and Africa for three years
Before that he was head of Maersk Line Northern Europe, based in Sweden
Earlier assignments include postings to India and Poland, 10 years at the A.P.Moller - Maersk group head office, and three years at their shipyard business unit
From 1983-85 he was posted in the USA for the Danish Foreign Service
He holds an MSc from Copenhagen Business School

Dr. Axel Bialek | Business Management
Managing Director

Dr Axel Bialek is responsible for all cross-functional processes within HANSA HEAVY LIFT
Before joining HANSA HEAVY LIFT he was Head of Business Development at Beluga Chartering
Prior to Beluga Chartering Dr Axel Bialek worked for Kellogg’s D-A-CH as Sales Operations Manager
Previously Dr Axel Bialek held different positions in marketing & sales within Unilever
Education: University degree in economics from University Münster, Diplom-Volkswirt and PhD

Hans-Jörg Simon | General Counsel
Managing Director

Hans-Jörg Simon as General Counsel of HANSA HEAVY LIFT is responsible for all legal and tax issues
Before joining HANSA HEAVY LIFT he was Senior Legal Counsel Corporate and Tax at Beluga Shipping
Prior to Beluga Shipping, Hans-Jörg Simon worked during more than ten years for various international law firms in the Structures Finance division, at last in the position as Salaried Partner
Hans-Jörg Simon is member of the German Maritme Arbitration and acts as arbitrator
Education: law degree from the University of Mainz, 2nd State Examination for Law (equivalent to Bar examination) in Munich; Master of German and Foreign Law, Tax Specialist

Alex Karakassis | CFO

Prior to joining HANSA HEAVY LIFT Alex Karakassis worked for 13 years with Citigroup in London as Investment Banking/ Capital Markets Divisions Director where he gained significant experience in the transportation sector
Prior to joining Citigroup he worked for five years with Lufthansa Airlines as Business Analyst and Operational Controller
Education: Bachelor of Science degree in BA from the American College of Greece and an MBA from Harvard Business School

Joerg Roehl |Chief Commercial Officer

Joerg Roehl is responsible for global business development activities, overseas offices and worldwide agent network within HANSA HEAVY LIFT
Previously, he supported the investor Oaktree Capital Management and advised the CEO Roger Iliffe on setting up HANSA HEAVY LIFT as well as the Asian activities and an office in Singapore
With more than 20 years of experience in the logistic and maritime industry Joerg Roehl held various senior management positions with Kuehne & Nagel, SDV Group and Agility
He spent ten years in Asia with responsibilities as Managing Director and Director Asia Pacific with various logistic companies
Education: Degree in Business Management and logistics from a German Academy

Steve Dawson | Director Ship Management

Steve Dawson holds 37 years of shipping experience as seagoing Chief Engineer
Previously he worked as Managing Director of an independent ship management and consultancy company operating 20 vessels for various clients
Prior Steve Dawson was Consultant to leading marine underwriters in London and Chairman of Germanischer Lloyd North European Committee
Prior to this he held positions of joint Managing Director with a Joint Venture between Reederei Rickmers and Peter Doehle whilst holding the Shipping Director position with the Joint Venture’s parent Company Midocean Shipmanagement Ltd
Education: BEng from Newcastle University

Steve Hutty | Director Chartering & Operations

Steve Hutty was employed as Managing Director of CB Marine Ltd, a ship management company
Additionally he worked for Lomar Shipping Ltd as Operations Director
Steve Hutty was also Senior Operations Manager at NYK Bulkship Ltd and Senior Manager at GearBulk
He worked as Port Manager for Port of Howden and went to sea with CP Ships and Maersk Line
Education: Master Certificate – made the rank of Chief Officer with Maersk Line, Trinity House Nautical School Diploma in Nautical Studies

Jesper Ambrosius Traerup |Head of Asia, HANSA HEAVY LIFT (ASIA) Pte. Ltd.

Jesper Traerup is responsible for HANSA HEAVY LIFT activities in Asia, leading a team of professionals based in Singapore
Prior to joining HANSA HEAVY LIFT Jesper Traerup was a shareholder and Director of Scan-Trans Shipping & Chartering Sdn. Bhd. Malaysia from 1997 to 2011
Before moving to Asia he worked six years in Hamburg, Germany for InterScan as Operations Manager as well as Nuesse Shipping as Chartering Manager
Jesper Traerup did his traineeship in his native country Denmark
Education: Graduated from Grenaa Business School, Denmark and completed a creative leadership program (LDP) at Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) in Singapore

Kirk Hoffman | Head of Americas, HANSA HEAVY LIFT Americas, Inc.

Kirk Hoffman is responsible for HANSA HEAVY LIFT activities in the Americas, leading a team of professionals based in Houston
Previously, he was Director of Logistics, then Chief Supply Chain Officer for an offshore oil field services company in Houston
Kirk Hoffman also has extensive maritime industry experience in roles of increasing responsibility with NYK Line, APL, Hamburg Sud, and Ports America, on the U.S. West and Gulf coasts
He started his career as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, including six years at sea in the Pacific
Education: Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, Connecticut, and Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Norwich University in Vermont, USA

Martin Schmidt | Director Human Resources

Martin Schmidt is Director of Human Resources at HANSA HEAVY LIFT Headquarters, Hamburg
Previously, he was in charge of HR at Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, and acted before then as Chief Human Resource Officer at Impress Metal Packaging for six years
Martin Schmidt began his career in Employment Recruiting and Management in various functions at Gillette Germany
Education: Legal studies at the Universities of Bayreuth, Freiburg i.Br. and Munich
Licensed attorney since 1996