Executive Team

Appointed November 2020

René has a wealth of experience from almost three decades in the global shipping industry. In 2012, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Topaz Energy & Marine, a position he held until the company’s successful divestment in 2019. He stepped down after completing the integration process in 2020, having successfully navigated the business through an unprecedented oil & gas environment, while transforming the company into a global leader. Earlier in his career he worked for the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group where he held a variety of executive positions in numerous countries including Chief Executive Officer of SVITZER, Asia, Middle East and Africa.

René graduated from the University of Southern Denmark, and holds an Advanced Management Program Diploma from Harvard Business School. René sits on the Board of BW Offshore as an independent Non-Executive Board Director.

Appointed March 2020

Petter joined V.Group from Eltel Group, a leading provider of technical services for power and communication networks, where he was Group CFO, based in Stockholm.

Prior to joining Eltel in 2017, Petter held a number of senior operations and finance roles in Wilhelmsen Holding ASA; initially combining roles as CFO and Deputy CEO of Wilhelmsen Maritime Service, then in 2010 becoming President of Wilhelmsen Technical Solutions. Petter has also held international senior finance roles with ASSA ABLOY, Boliden and Trelleborg Group.

Petter holds a diploma from INSEAD (Paris/Fontainebleau) on Strategy, Innovation & Leadership, and a BSc in Business Administration & Economics (Civilekonom) from the University of Gothenburg.

Appointed February 2021

Bjoern joined V.Group from OSM Maritime Group, where he spent four years in a number of senior roles, including chief operating officer, president and, most recently, chief executive officer.

His career started at Rickmers Group, where he rose from nautical officer to CEO of maritime services over a period of fifteen years, from which he moved to the position of vice president at Carnival Group, where he was responsible for the development and delivery of ship management strategy.

Holding a Degree in navigation and maritime transport, Bjoern originally pursued a nautical career at sea and later attended post graduate studies for his Master of Business Consulting.

Appointed June 2017

Prior to joining V.Group, Elliot worked for professional services firm, Arthur Andersen. Former roles in V.Group have included Financial Director for V.Ships, Chief Operating Officer V.Ships, Chief Executive Officer of V.Group’s ship supply chain, and Chief Operating Officer V.Group.

Elliot has a BA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Strathclyde and is a Chartered Accountant, and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

Appointed March 2022

Niree has over 24 years of legal and diverse business experience, having worked predominately in the Oil & Gas and Maritime industries. Niree began her career in South Africa in private practice where she was a part of their Commercial & Litigation department.

Subsequently, Niree spent over a decade with Shell and Gazprom in a variety of senior legal roles supporting their Downstream, Marketing and Trading businesses. Niree was appointed General Counsel and Company Secretary for a large LNG company in the UK, where she built a strong legal function and provided significant M&A and Commercial support to the business. Prior to joining V.Group, Niree held the role of Group General Counsel & Company Secretary for Inchcape Shipping Services, supporting the business with complex legal and commercial challenges.

Niree graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. She is a qualified lawyer in England & Wales, South Africa, and the Kingdom of Lesotho.

Appointed September 2021

Robert joined V.Group from P&O Maritime Logistics, a global marine logistics company, where he was Chief Commercial Officer and Offshore Director.

Robert joins with an 18 year track-record of successfully leading cross-functional teams in shipping businesses. Robert brings a breadth and depth of experience in leading the strategic commercial agenda and delivering solid business results including significant contract wins, deepening customer relationships, and developing strategic partnerships and markets.

Prior to P&O, Robert spent nine years with Topaz Energy & Marine, most notably as Chief Commercial Officer from 2016 to 2019, where he played an executive leadership role in driving high performance culture initiatives in a global context.

Robert holds an MBA degree from London Business School.

Appointed January 2018

Allan started his professional career in Maersk and spent 15 years there, going through the ranks at sea and ultimately earning his Master’s ticket. He then took up various management positions in the shore organisation, working with dry cargo, tankers and offshore vessels. His career with Maersk finally saw him become Head of Operations in Crew Management for Maersk Line.

Following a tenure as Managing Director of OSM Ship Management ROHQ, Allan joined V.Group in 2017 and was appointed to his current role in November 2021.

Allan holds a Master Mariner Certificate of Competency and has an Executive Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Appointed September 2021

Stephen MacFarlane is V.Group Chief Information Officer, formerly Managing Director of V.Group’s ShipSure Technology Platforms business. Stephen is responsible for driving for driving our digital platforms, business intelligence, data strategy and architecture, as well as continuing to lead operational IT. He has an extensive experience in the development, deployment and integration of software systems to support marine and corporate operations.

Stephen is a Chartered Manager, Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and holds an MBA. Following a seagoing career, he has held a number of senior technical and engineering roles within the Maritime Industry.

Appointed in September 2021

Graeme brings over 25 years of international business experience across EMEA and North & South America. He has held several senior HR and Business Transformation roles predominately within Oil & Gas, Power/Utilities, and International Shipping. Graeme spent close to 11 years with Petro-Canada/Suncor in a number of senior HR roles, including HR Director for their International Upstream business based in London. Subsequently he held the roles of VP, Corporate Services and SVP, Business Transformation with the Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (TAQA). Following his experience in Abu Dhabi, Graeme joined Topaz Energy & Marine as CHRO, where he helped lead the successful divestment of the company in 2019.

Graeme holds a B.A. Psychology from the University of British Columbia and an Honours Diploma in Human Resource Management from the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Graeme is a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) and holds an Industrial Relations certificate from Queen’s University in Canada.

Appointed October 2022

Morten is a senior strategy executive with 25 years of experience in shipping, oil and gas, strategy consulting and logistics across Europe, the Middle East, South America and Africa. He brings a strong track record leading strategic projects, including strategy development and implementation, capital markets, M&A, communications and business transformation. Morten has worked for several large and complex organizations including AP Møller-Mærsk, Bain & Co, Maersk Oil and Topaz Energy & Marine, and most recently as Vice President, Strategy & Excellence at ADNOC Logistics & Services.

Morten holds a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (International Management and Economics) from Copenhagen Business School and an MBA degree from London Business School.

Appointed February 2022

Ian brings over 25 years of global maritime industry experience from across multiple sectors. He has worked at sea, as a navigating officer, and since coming ashore has held senior HSSEQ roles within Oil & Gas, Ports, and Subsea, and has held senior consultant roles in organisations that shape both national and international maritime legislation and policy.

Ian holds an MSc in Safety and Risk Management from Heriot-Watt University, and he currently represents V.Group on several industry bodies that are actively working for the continual improvement of safety culture, and safe working practices, to the benefit of the international maritime community.

Appointed July 2017

Matt is a Master Mariner and has sailed on Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels. His career ashore began in 1996 with Acomarit which was later acquired by V.Ships in 2001. His roles included time spent as a Ship Operator, Fleet Operations Manager and Fleet Manager, before taking up the role of Divisional Risk, Safety and Quality Director, Chief Operating Officer, Group Director Marine Operations and latterly Group HSSEQ Director.

As Sustainability & Decarbonisation Director, Matt is responsible to drive V.Group partnership with the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (the Center) to help the industry transition to a net zero future. He is working closely with the Center to support their work and provide practical guidance regarding safe solutions to achieve decarbonisation aims.

Matt is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.