Transas Marine, Columbia Shipmanagement, AlixPartners and Risk Management Consultant Laura Bugden Join Reed Smith to Discuss Tomorrow’s Maritime World, Today

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 14 -- Reed Smith, a law firm, issued the following news release:

Global law firm Reed Smith will be hosting a panel discussion on 'Tomorrow's Maritime World, Today' on 12 September, as part of London International Shipping Week. The discussion will touch upon the impact of technology, trends in financing and insurance, and world politics impacting on shipping markets.

With panellists representing a cross-section of the industry from technology solutions to ship management to legal, each will bring their unique experience to discuss upcoming trends and developments within shipping and the wider industry.

London International Shipping Week is a bi-annual event which attracts business leaders from around the globe and from all sectors of the international shipping industry.

"London has a long and deep history as a key market for the world's shipping industry. While the ships and docks might be gone, the financiers, brokers and lawyers remain. We look forward to celebrating the importance of London as a shipping centre with many of our international colleagues who will be visiting for the week's events" said Nick Shaw, global chair of Reed Smith's shipping group.

Meet our panellists

Frank Coles, CEO of Transas Marine

Frank Coles is the CEO of Transas, a world-leading provider of high tech equipment, software applications, integrated solutions and services for the maritime industry. Frank has been vocal in his vision for the future of the global maritime technology company stating that Transas will lead the way in creating an ecosystem of harmonised integrated solutions in safety, navigation and ship operations.

Mark O'Neil, president of Columbia Shipmanagement Ltd

Mark O'Neil is the President of Columbia Shipmanagement ltd (CSM) and future CEO of the intended merger between CSM and Marlow Navigation. A lawyer by profession, Mark was a partner for 10 years at Reed Smith before joining CSM. Before becoming a lawyer, Mark served 5 years as an officer in the British Army, leaving the Army as a Captain in 1991.

Albert Stein, managing director of AlixPartners

Albert leads the AlixPartners shipping team and is known globally as one of the most experienced debt restructuring advisors in the shipping world. For 35 years, Albert has led sovereign debt restructurings in Russia and Iraq and managed complex restructurings in Australian real estate, but, critically, he also solved problems in the shipping and offshore industries while living in Norway in the early 1990s.

Laura Bugden, company secretary and risk manager

Laura has worked in the maritime industry for many years, having been a managing director at Andros Maritime Agencies. Laura was company secretary and group risk director at Braemar Shipping Services and group director of risk at Thomas Miller. Working with a wide range of companies in the industry, Laura will bring a unique perspective to our panel with a particular focus on corporate governance and risk management issues.