Two prominent women in the Cyprus shipping sector, Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou, co-CEO of the marine communications company Tototheo Maritime and Natasa Pilidou, Deputy Minister of Shipping, have been recognised as leaders in the industry.
Theodosiou, president of WISTA, the international body of women professionals, was declared International Personality of the Year at the 16th Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards ceremony held in Athens last week in recognition of her contribution to the international maritime industry.
Despina has brought the topics of diversity, inclusion and sustainability to the top of the global shipping industry’s agenda, by transparent communication, technological advancement and the general evolution of the maritime industry’s ecosystem.
As co-CEO of Tototheo Maritime, she has promoted the importance of embracing evolution and change as success factors towards shaping a sustainable shipping industry.
“I am deeply honoured by this distinction, which emphasises the importance of our industry’s need for evolution in order to remain fit-for-purpose and sustainable in the future”, said Despina.
“Over the past years I have witnessed a mindset shift in our industry, and it is a privilege to have been able to contribute to this change.”
Despina has been included in Lloyd’s List Top 100 most influential people in shipping globally for three successive years, in 2017 and 2018. In the 2019 rankings announced on Friday, she was the only Cypriot, sharing the distinction with 12 other Greek shipowners.
Lloyd’s List said that as one of the busiest leaders in the maritime industry, “Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou has already made her mark after two years at the top of Wista International. The president has expanded the organisation’s footprint and tirelessly pushed for more diversity in the industry.”
In 2017 she was one of Lloyd’s List’s Top 5 Next Generation executives and she was also listed in the Top 10 Women in Shipping internationally.
Despina has been President of Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) since October 2017, re-elected earlier this year for a second term, having previously served as the Secretary of the organisation from 2015 to 2017.
She has been instrumental to WISTA’s success in receiving consultative status at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in July 2018.
Despina is a board member at the Cyprus Shipping Chamber, the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEB), Invest Cyprus, the Cyprus Maritime Academy, and on the Strategic Committee of Crans Montana – Club of Ports.
Joining Lloyd’s List Top 10 Women in Shipping this year is Deputy Minister of Shipping, Natasa Pilidou, recognised for the department’s efforts to promote Cyprus as a prominent maritime destination and to promote diversity in the sector.
Pilidou shared the top ten rankings with Tanya Saadé Zeenny of the French container shipping group CMA CGM, Kathi Stanzel of the Intertanko trade body for the tanker sector, Ane Maersk Mc-Kinney Uggla of shipowners AP Moller-Maersk, Alexa Aponte Vago of the Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) that operates one of the world’s largest containership fleets and cruise line, Cecilia Eckelmann-Battistello of terminal operator Contship Italia, Rita Al Semaani Jansen of the maritime law firm Ince, Kathy J. Metcalf of the Chamber of Shipping of America, Karen Purnell of the shipowners’ association ITOPF, and, Unni Einemo of the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA).
Lloyd’s List said “one year into her post as Cyprus’s Shipping Deputy Minister, Natasa Pilides is co-ordinating growth in the maritime community to great effect. Ms Pilides was appointed to her position in March 2018 following several years of calls from the shipping community in Cyprus for a stronger presence in government than one of many elements in the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Public Works. At the time, she wanted to diversify the maritime cluster beyond the trusted stalwarts of shipmanagement and the ship registry, one of Europe’s largest by tonnage.
“Ms Pilides has been omnipresent at industry conferences and exhibitions this year because, in her words, “we need to be present in the conversation. People must feel we’re on the map; we should have an opinion”. Her influence is on the rise as a result and Cyprus seems well-positioned to benefit.
