Giampiero Soncini started his maritime career in 1971 by joining the Italian Navy. Promoted officer in 1972, he then graduated in Electrical Engineering at Pisa University with the second ever thesis in Italy on Optical Fibers, in 1979. From 1979 to 1985 he was involved in the construction of the “Maestrale” Class Frigates, the first Navy ships in the world to have a fully computerized Machinery Control Room. He served on one of the vessels as Chief Engineer/Electrical. In 1986 he left the Italian Navy to join NATO Undersea Research Centre, dedicated to Anti-Submarine Warfare. He was involved in the construction of RV Alliance, nicknamed “the ship of silence”, at the time the most advanced and quietest ship ever built, and the first one in the world to have a commercial GPS and a fully Integrated Navigation System.

In 1989 Mr. Soncini became responsible for the technical management of the vessel, until 1998, when he resigned from NATO to become the Managing Director of SpecTec Italy. Between 1998 and 2005 he opened or managed several South European offices, as VP South Europe; he later became VP Sales worldwide. In 2005 he became CEO of the SpecTec Group. From 2005 to 2012, he managed the Group growth from 9 offices and 135 employees, to 26 offices in 19 countries and over 330 employees. In 2011 he received a Honoris Cause degree in Public Administration by the US Massachusetts Maritime University. In 2012, Volaris Group of Canada bought SpecTec Group. In 2016, Volaris decided to further invest in the Marine IT business and created a new Marine Division, with Mr. Soncini as Managing Director.

David Nordell is Senior Vice President for International Cyber Strategy, Policy and Law of the Centre for Strategic Cyberspace and Security Science (CSCSS), an independent think tank based in London.

David was a full-time journalist for 10 years, including as financial and economic correspondent for the Associated Press in Israel. He has more than 30 years of experience in Information Technology and was the first professional adviser to the Israeli government on Internet and IT infrastructure policy. He is an expert on asymmetric warfare and terrorism, especially economic terrorism, and on cyber threats to critical national and international infrastructure.

David has spoken on cyber-security and broader security issues at several international conferences, and during the last two years, he spoke on cybersecurity at the INTERTANKO annual conference in Athens, at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, China, at the international association of maritime electronics in Italy, and at the operational risk forum of the International Financial Institutions in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

David was a member of the Chatham House workshop teams that examined space security in 2015, and the cybersecurity of nuclear weapons in 2017. He also played the role of the UK defence minister in an international cyber war game at Tel Aviv University in 2016. Most recently, he was the keynote speaker at the Black Sea Maritime Cybersecurity conference in Constanta, Romania, in March 2017. He is leading CSCSS’s activities in maritime cybersecurity and has several conference engagements booked for 2017-8, including the World Cybsersecurity Congress in London, as well as port cybersecurity workshops.

David has a BSc in Civil Engineering from Southampton University.

Jordan Wylie is an experienced maritime security and risk management professional whose career started with 10 years’ service in the British Military as an intelligence and reconnaissance specialist, before entering the private maritime security sector in 2008.

Jordan has provided maritime security and safety consultancy services to many of the world’s largest ship owners and is a retained consultant by several flag states, providing guidance on piracy, maritime terrorism, organised crime at sea and the maritime cyber security approach. Jordan has trained over 10,000 seafarers globally and also completed over 100 missions on board as a security team leader during the height of Somali based piracy, he is a UK MCA and Department for Transport approved ISPS and ISM training instructor.

Jordan holds a BA (Hons) in Marine Risk Management and an MA in Maritime Security Operations, where his much talked about thesis subject was; ‘Cyber Security; The Unknown Threat At Sea’, the catalyst for the free to join global maritime and offshore cyber awareness campaign, that he and his team are driving throughout the shipping industry – BE CYBER AWARE AT SEA.

Mr. Kasaboski joined Northern Sky Research (NSR), as a market Analyst, in 2016. Focusing on mobility within the satellite industry, he has since worked on projects involving maritime and land-mobile satcom, Earth Observation markets, government/military satcom, flat panel antennas, and, most recently, Big Data via satellite.

Prior to joining NSR, Mr. Kasaboski obtained a M.Sc. degree in Space Studies from the International Space University, France. During his studies, he worked on satellite mission design, contract negotiation, and was project manager of a team of young professionals investigating unaddressed challenges in one-way human missions to Mars. His team's final work was presented at the International Astronautical Congress in Toronto, 2014.

During the summer of 2014, Mr. Kasaboski interned at NASA's Johnson Space Center. His work involved designing a spacecraft’s thermal control system, the mission launch procedure, integration, and operation, as well as evaluating the status of the market of technologies necessary for the mission.

Mr. Kasaboski graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Sciences from York University, Canada. His studies have provided him with a rigorous technological background which he combines with the interdisciplinary and international perspective his more recent experience has afforded him.

Patrick Decool is Director of Product Programs & Planning with Marlink, the largest technology-independent satellite communication and digital solutions provider serving the maritime market.

Patrick has the important responsibility to introduce Marlink’s new innovations and develop future business critical services and solutions. His role sees him coordinate closely with Marlink partners, customers and industry-leading providers to support the digital transformation of the Maritime and Enterprise industries.

Key milestones at Marlink have included the launch of services like Inmarsat FleetBroadband and ThurayaIP, as well as overseeing the development of Marlink’s own IP solutions portfolio. Patrick was also pivotal in launching XChange, Marlink’s onboard communication platform, and since then has worked to leverage the XChange value proposition, with the introduction of innovative applications like XChange VoIP, XChange BYOD and XChange Media, which have contributed towards accelerating Marlink’s tremendous growth in VSAT.

Patrick has a record of almost 20 years’ experience in the communications industry, specifically managing innovation projects. Previously, he worked for leading German mobile operator E-Plus / O2, as Project & Product Manager.

He also holds a degree in Electrical Engineering, obtained in France and the UK, and is fluent in French, German and English.

Dana Jongens is Safety Services Manager at Inmarsat Maritime, responsible for ensuring Inmarsat's consistent high standards for the provision of satellite communication for maritime safety, including Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) and Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS). As part of her role Dana will support the application of FleetBroadband and Fleet One for GMDSS compliance. Dana is also involved in Inmarsat’s cyber security service Fleet Secure, where she will support the go to market plan for the new unified threat management solution.

Dana has over 8 years of experience in the maritime industry and before joining Inmarsat Dana held business development and marketing positions at various organisations within the port of Rotterdam and London. Dana has a Master’s degree in International Business from Tilburg University and studied at BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo. She resides in the United Kingdom and is based at Inmarsat’s London headquarters.

Over the last 15 years, Jeff has been the senior operations executive for KVH’s Mobile Connectivity business group. Overseeing its global supply chain, manufacturing operations, network operations, technical support, field service organization, and quality assurance team. Successfully building terminals, managing communication system solution deployments on board ships, and delivering satellite based network services. Working to provide KVH’s customers with the best service and experience.

Jeff has completed graduate programs in Business, Manufacturing Engineering, Communication Systems Engineering, and Cyber Security Technology.

With 30 years of IT industry experience, including commercial IT for small to large businesses and vertical specific including Marine / Maritime, Defence, Industrial Automation, Security & Surveillance, Healthcare, IoT and more, Greg is working with many of the organisations and companies in the Marine Sector, helping shape the future of the Digital Ship.

Lisa Forte is the Cyber Security Advisor for the South West Police Cyber Crime Unit (UK). Her role involves helping businesses protect themselves from the cyber threats that the UK law enforcement are seeing and sharing intelligence with key organisations. She also helps businesses prepare themselves for an attack so that they can pick themselves up quickly and resume trading.

Lisa is a strong advocate for staff training in cyber security as well as the importance of having ongoing processes to assess your security and address any vulnerabilities, human or technical.

Lisa completed a Masters Degree in Maritime Law and worked in the maritime industry for many years before specialising in cyber security. Working on the frontline of the fight against cyber crime means Lisa has experience of what attackers think when they look at your organisation, what they might be after and what tactics they may use to get it. Lisa is therefore uniquely placed to understand the challenges the maritime industry faces.

David Nordell is Senior Vice President for International Cyber Strategy, Policy and Law of the Centre for Strategic Cyberspace and Security Science (CSCSS), an independent think tank based in London.

David was a full-time journalist for 10 years, including as financial and economic correspondent for the Associated Press in Israel. He has more than 30 years of experience in Information Technology and was the first professional adviser to the Israeli government on Internet and IT infrastructure policy. He is an expert on asymmetric warfare and terrorism, especially economic terrorism, and on cyber threats to critical national and international infrastructure.

David has spoken on cyber-security and broader security issues at several international conferences, and during the last two years, he spoke on cybersecurity at the INTERTANKO annual conference in Athens, at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, China, at the international association of maritime electronics in Italy, and at the operational risk forum of the International Financial Institutions in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

David was a member of the Chatham House workshop teams that examined space security in 2015, and the cybersecurity of nuclear weapons in 2017. He also played the role of the UK defence minister in an international cyber war game at Tel Aviv University in 2016. Most recently, he was the keynote speaker at the Black Sea Maritime Cybersecurity conference in Constanta, Romania, in March 2017. He is leading CSCSS’s activities in maritime cybersecurity and has several conference engagements booked for 2017-8, including the World Cybsersecurity Congress in London, as well as port cybersecurity workshops.

David has a BSc in Civil Engineering from Southampton University.

Lisa Forte is the Cyber Security Advisor for the South West Police Cyber Crime Unit (UK). Her role involves helping businesses protect themselves from the cyber threats that the UK law enforcement are seeing and sharing intelligence with key organisations. She also helps businesses prepare themselves for an attack so that they can pick themselves up quickly and resume trading.

Lisa is a strong advocate for staff training in cyber security as well as the importance of having ongoing processes to assess your security and address any vulnerabilities, human or technical.

Lisa completed a Masters Degree in Maritime Law and worked in the maritime industry for many years before specialising in cyber security. Working on the frontline of the fight against cyber crime means Lisa has experience of what attackers think when they look at your organisation, what they might be after and what tactics they may use to get it. Lisa is therefore uniquely placed to understand the challenges the maritime industry faces.

Svend Lykke Larsen is Sales & Business Development Director for the leading Vessel IT services provider PALANTIR. He also has a background from the satellite communications industry as Managing Director for KVH Industries, Europe and prior to that sales, product and Global Key Account Management functions for the maritime electronics manufacturers Navico and Simrad/Kongsberg Maritime.

Glenn Muller has been involved in the global maritime industry for more than 25 years specializing in business and project planning and implementation.

He developed his skills through managing and participating in projects in the United States, Europe, and Asia; projects which addressed challenges through practical, innovative solutions that incorporated current and emerging trends in the maritime industry.

Further supporting the development of the solutions are his experiences in vessel design and construction, onboard maritime vessels, in business development and financing (equity, debt, and restructuring).

As a guest lecturer he is active in guiding the maritime industry’s next generation of shipowners and shipmanagers with understanding the importance of vessel technology and operations on strategic and financial decisions.

Mr. Muller is a graduate of Webb Institute of Naval Architecture (BSc., 1994) and The University of Texas at Austin (MBA, 2003).

He resides with his wife and son in Hamburg.

Joe Walsh, Managing Partner of Clyde & Co's Long Beach office, acts primarily on behalf of multinational energy and transportation companies. His practice involves the full range of maritime and environmental law including regulatory compliance, oil and chemical pollution response, casualty investigations, and litigation stemming from industrial casualties. Joe has represented clients throughout the US in numerous investigations including federal and state civil and criminal enforcement actions relating to pollution and has led internal investigations, audits, and implementations of compliance programs in defense of those actions.

Joe is the Chair of the Special Committee on Cybersecurity for the Maritime Law Association. He is recognized by Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA and The International Who's Who Legal of Shipping and Maritime Lawyers.

OEM Solutions Mary Etienne Business Development Director, Maritime, Shipping and Offshore A business leader with over 25-years industry experience in Fortune 500 companies, Mary Etienne joined Dell in 2011 as Business Development Director of Dell OEM Solutions, where she is responsible for creating business value for customers in the maritime, shipping, and offshore markets. A specialist, global division, Dell OEM Solutions builds industry-grade and long lifecycle products and provides customized logistics and services for customers to sell into the marketplace as part of their own branded products.

After her apprenticeship as a railway technician in her motherland Latvia, Oksana began her studies as information manager at the University for Applied Sciences in Hamburg.

After graduating, Oksana began an almost ten-year tenure at the world-famous ship classification society "Germanischer Lloyd" (today DNV GL SE) in the area of business process analysis, process improvement, software development and merger activities.

Oksana joined Rickmers in 2016, and has managed the business unit “Maritime Business Solutions” within the Group IT since March 2017.

Bas Rijniersce is a certified Microsoft Systems engineer with 20 years of experience in Information Technology. After several years of free-lancing in IT during his studies he started his professional career in On-Site Support for one of the largest IT providers in The Netherlands. His first exposure to the shipping industry was at Nedship Bank where he played an important role in Nedship’s IT separation from ABN-AMRO and integration into DVB Bank SE.

In 2005, he moved with his family to Vancouver to be closer to the great outdoors they like to enjoy. Shortly after his immigration he started at Seaspan Ship Management as IT Specialist. In 2009 he was promoted to IT Manager, in 2013 to Director, IT. In this role, he is responsible for Seaspan’s ship and shore side IT with employees in Mumbai, Hong Kong and Vancouver. His team of 20+ IT professionals support over 100 ships as well as the various Seaspan offices.

Bas has a keen love of technology in all forms. When he is not working, he can be found in his Off-Grid cabin working on solar, plumbing or electrical systems or exploring the local mountains with his family.

Biography pending.