Meet The Team

John Kaare Aune
Chief Executive Officer
John Kaare Aune joined Wallem in July 2019. John is a qualified Naval Architect with a degree from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He spent more than six years with the Norwegian Maritime Directorate (NMD), where he represented Norway on several EU expert committees and several different IMO Committees. Before joining Wallem, John was Regional Director, Safety and Compliance at the Cayman Registry, overseeing global commercial services in addition to registration in the Asia-Pacific region. He also served as the executive secretary to the Cayman Islands Ship-owners Advisory Council playing a key role in the growth of the Cayman Registry.

Dickson Chin
Managing Director, Ship Agency
Dickson Chin joined Wallem in 2008 as the General Manager for the Hong Kong ship agency office, where he was instrumental in expanding Wallem’s cruise agency services, doubling the number of cruise calls handled by Wallem. Today, some 35 cruise lines entrust Wallem to look after their ship calls in Asia. In 2012, Dickson was promoted to Managing Director for Indo-China, and two years later appointed Managing Director for Ship Agency overseeing agency services across the entirety of Wallem’s global network. Dickson graduated from Southampton Solent University with a bachelor’s degree in Maritime Leisure Management. He is proficient in English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Swedish.

Maren Moxom
Chief Financial Officer
Maren Moxom joined Wallem in August 2020. Maren has an extensive background in corporate finance, strategic planning and forecasting, business controlling, risk management, and continuous process improvement. Maren graduated from Texas A&M University and received her master’s degree in business administration from the University of Oxford. Prior to joining Wallem, Maren held various positions of increasing responsibility in finance at multinational companies within technology and manufacturing industries, including Raytheon, Stanley Healthcare and Schneider Electric.

Ioannis Stefanou
Managing Director of Ship Management
Ioannis joined Wallem in April 2014 to lead the technical teams in the delivery of safe, reliable and cost-effective ship operations and technical services. Also during his time, it has seen him work on the development and execution of corporate strategy, new product lines, and looking into integrating technologies into Wallem’s business for the benefit of our fleet and our clients. Over his career Ioannis has worked for a number of well-known ship management companies as well as reputable privately-owned ship operators. He holds Master’s degrees in both Marine Technology and Technical Management of Ship Operations and he is a Chartered Engineer registered with Engineering Council UK.

Leonard Tui
Managing Director Ship Agency, Indochina
Leonard joined Wallem in August 2021 from Höegh Autoliners, bringing with him 17 years’ experience in maritime operations and logistics management. In his previous role as Head of Operations at Höegh’s Tokyo office, Leonard oversaw the East Asian, Southeast Asian and Oceanian markets, serving 15 countries, 141 third-party logistics suppliers, 32 agencies and 43 regular ports. Having previously worked at United Airlines, Leonard also possesses experience in logistics operations for the aviation industry. Since 2015, he has been a member of the board of directors at the International Propeller Club of Japan.

Kennis Lee
Head of Procurement
Kennis Lee joined Wallem in February 2005, bringing 20+ years of experience in maritime purchasing. In her previous roles, Kennis was handling the entire procurement and budget planning process, whether for materials requisitions or organizing repairs and services. In 2019, Kennis was promoted to Head of Procurement. Her biggest priority is to ensure the supplies and services delivered to clients are both value for money and fully compliant with all relevant international regulatory requirements. Kennis is keen to develop a more strategic role for procurement that aligns with Wallem’s broader corporate goals. She is also passionate about enabling a full potential in her team to take the company to an even higher level.

Kim Christensen
Technical Director
Technical Director in Shipmanagement, Kim will lead the fleet technical teams in ensuring safe, reliable, and cost-effective ship management operations, as well as a positive customer experience. Kim comes to Wallem with more than 25 years of experience. Having started his career at sea and risen through the ranks, Kim moved ashore as a Technical Superintendent and after a successful career in ship management, in his last role he was a General Manager. Kim has sailed or managed a variety of vessel types such as tankers, bulk carriers, PCTC, container and off-shore vessels and his skills and experience will greatly contribute to Wallem’s expansion efforts.

Ben Shao
Head of Learning and Development
In a career spanning two decades, Ben Shao has held various internal and external talent development roles at multinational companies including Google, UBS, Dell, and the Big Four audit firms, across North America and Asia. He specializes in devising learning and development programmes and change management initiatives that transform individuals into well-rounded professionals and competent leaders. Ben was a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for a number of years before he joined Wallem in 2014. Ben played a key role in establishing the Wallem Academy and rolling out our learning management system. By improving the efficiency and effectiveness of training delivery and methods, he has been instrumental in transforming the learning culture at Wallem.

Abhijit Ghosh
Project Director, Ship Management
Abhijit Ghosh started his career at Wallem as a fifth engineer rising to a Chief Engineer before coming ashore as a technical superintendent. A self-confessed technology enthusiast, Abhijit keeps abreast of the latest developments in AI and machine learning and is keen to explore their potential for transforming, accelerating, and augmenting business processes at Wallem to help improve internal efficiency and deliver an enhanced offering to our customers. Abhijit has represented Wallem in the technical committees of classification societies and submitted a paper on the safety of machinery systems for the IMO-MEPC 73 through his involvement in the Intercargo working group. Abhijit holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering (Gold Medalist) and a Master's from Symbiosis Pune (India), and more recently gained certificates in AI from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and in data science from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a member of various professional bodies.

Vibhas Garg
Safety Director, Ship Management
Vibhas has worked in leadership positions for a number of blue-chip ship owners and managers. An industry veteran with over two decades at sea and two ashore, he has handled all kinds of tankers and bulk carriers, taking on responsibilities ranging from crewing and safety to marine operations and technical functions. Vibhas also led the development and implementation of the behavioural based competency framework for the BW Group’s fleet. Alongside his commercial roles, Vibhas is an Associate Fellow member of the Nautical Institute and has taken on leadership roles in the Asia Pacific Technical Committee and in Owner’s Committees of several leading classification societies. He has collaborated with Singapore’s Maritime Port Authority and the Singapore Shipping Association in various initiatives to improve navigational safety around the regional hub. Vibhas holds an Executive MBA degree from the National University of Singapore.

Yvette de Klerk
Head of Training, Ship Management
Yvette de Klerk joined Wallem in August 2020 brining more than a decade of experience in maritime training. During her career, she has managed a range of crewing and training portfolios, working in several countries. Yvette is passionate about transforming the maritime education and training (MET) landscape through collaboration and technology to increase the industry’s safety culture. She has organized and run industry workshops and conferences on themes including the Maritime Labour Convention and MET in the Digital Era. A member of various professional bodies, Yvette holds a National Diploma in Maritime Studies and Master of Science Degree in Maritime Affairs (MET) from the World Maritime University Malmö, Sweden.

Chittur Subramanian
Operations Director, Ship Management
Chittur has more than two decades of sea-going experience, half of which was spent commanding large tankers managed by Wallem. Ten years ago, he decided it was time to come ashore. Since then, he has applied his substantial practical knowledge and experience in leadership roles across Wallem’s safety, insurance and technical teams. Chittur has gained a Post Graduate Diploma in Marine Insurance from the World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden and completed the Ivey Consortium Program (ICE) / Accelerating Management Talent Program (AMT) with Richard Ivey International Business School. He is also an Associate Fellow of the Nautical Institute.

Praveen Shukla
Crewing Director
With more than 30 years experience working on and off ships, a degree in mechanical engineering and MEO Class-I certification, Praveen joined Wallem in 2007, initially in a technical role. His expertise lies in the operation of maritime assets, crew management, shipping consulting, and project management. He is passionate about developing people and engaging with them to get the best outcome. Praveen participated in the Ivey Executive Consortium program, following which he acquired dual MBA degree from UCLA Anderson School of Management & NUS Business School. He also holds a post-graduate diploma in corporate governance, corporate finance and risk from Singapore Management University.

Joan Lee
Head of Human Resources
Joan Lee joined Wallem in April 2017 with a twenty-plus year track record in human resources holding leadership positions at multinational companies within logistics, engineering and pharmaceutical sectors, including GlaxoSmithKline, Jacobs Engineering and DB Schenker. She has worked in various capacities from developing HR policies to devising compensation and benefits schemes, from talent management and acquisition to specialist HR consulting. Joan graduated in human resources from the Hong Kong Polytechnics University and received a master’s degree in training and HR management from the University of Leicester.

Andrew Lemmis
Service Director, SeaSafe Lifeboats
On joining Wallem in 2012, Andrew’s role was to establish SeaSafe Lifeboats, a specialist subsidiary that takes a fresh approach to the management of lifesaving appliances and related deck assets. A lifeboat industry veteran, Andrew’s career spans 30 years in which he has held senior and executive management positions with some of the industry’s biggest names. He ran service operations in China, Hong Kong, India and Singapore covering all aspects of equipment lifecycle, as well as supervise manufacturing at sites in the UK and China. An expert in lifeboat systems, Andrew is regularly invited to deliver seminars to major shipping lines and shipping associations. He authored a guidebook on lifeboat inspections for Lloyd’s Register in China and played an integral role in updating training materials for ship-based lifeboat systems.