Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore has announced key leadership appointments in new operational areas and at its Paris head office to drive its LEAP | 28 strategy. The move will strengthen BV’s management presence in the key maritime hubs of London, Athens and Shanghai.

Three Senior Vice Presidents have been appointed in a redesigned operational structure.

David Barrow is responsible for Western Europe and Americas (WEA), based in London. Previously based in Singapore, David has over thirty-five years of experience in the maritime sector, including in business development and innovation management.

From left to right: Alex Gregg-Smith, Paillette Palaiologou, David Barrow

Athens-based, Paillette Palaiologou is now the head of Eastern Europe, Mediterranean Sea, Middle East, India and Africa (EMA). With thirty years in shipping, Paillette combines advanced technical expertise and experience as a naval architect and marine engineer with a deep understanding of the market and leadership in securing pioneering projects and major new clients.

Alex Gregg-Smith heads Asia Pacific (APA), combining the previous North Asia and South-East Asia Pacific Zones. He will continue to be based in Shanghai. Alex was previously BV’s Senior Vice President for North Asia and Country Chief Executive, China. He brings more than three decades of experience in senior ship management and shipbuilding roles as well as his previous classification career experience.

Additionally, the appointment of Lilli Chi in APA, now in role as Vice President for BV’s South East Asia Pacific Zone, based in Singapore, underscores the significance of the zone and Singapore as a shipping hub. Lilli has a wealth of experience: nine years at Wärtsilä - in various leadership roles across Europe and Asia, and in S&P with shipbroker Fearnleys, chartering with Bery Maritime, and business development with Wilhelmsen Ships Service.

Pierre de Chateau Thierry, appointed Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at the end of last year, provides global commercial leadership for both classification and advisory services. He leads teams focusing on cementing BV’s leadership in key markets and ship types, marketing, sales, and product development.

In June, Suba Sivandran from Deloitte and BMT joined Bureau Veritas’ Paris head office as Director of Strategy, Sustainability and Advanced Services. He is responsible for the Future Shipping Team (FST), BV’s global approach to supporting colleagues, clients and stakeholders to help shape a safer and more sustainable shipping industry. The FST was created to enable the sharing of research and expertise across the BV Group, both upstream and downstream of the maritime sector, including CO2 value chain, alternative fuels, wind-assisted propulsion and nuclear energy, for example.

Matthieu de Tugny, President of Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore, said: “The future of shipping depends on technology and fuels being developed and deployed on ships – so, a focus on people and developing their expertise and careers in shipping is vital to our success. These senior appointments provide experienced strategic, commercial, and operational leadership to address these challenges.

“The future of shipping also requires action and collaboration beyond maritime. Our ability to collaborate externally and internally, through initiatives such as our Future Shipping Team, and by leveraging the expertise of our 83,000 colleagues in the wider Bureau Veritas Group, are key differentiators for us. In a more complex world, the depth and strength of BV across supply and value chains provides significant added value to our maritime clients.”