Wista UK Board Members

Monica Kohli (Senior Lawyer, Gard UK Ltd.)

President

Monica Kohli is a solicitor specializing in Maritime law. She is dual qualified in India and England & Wales and has been practising shipping and trade law for the past two decades; as an Advocate in India, and as a Solicitor in UK.

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Monica read Maritime law at the University of Southampton, UK and studied for an MBA (Shipping and Logistics), at Copenhagen Business School. She speaks at events in the city and abroad on legal tech, gender, diversity and shipping law. She is also Chair of the Indian Maritime Association UK (IMA, UK) and a Maritime Skills Commissioner.

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-kohli-0b9a6b5/

Gina Panayiotou

Secretary

Gina is a maritime lawyer and industry strategist. With 15+ years of experience she is now the Founder & CEO of ESG Consultancy, Oceans Arena and Chair of the World ESG Forum.

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginapanayiotou/

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Having studied maritime law, with an MBA focused on change management and ethical leadership, Gina has worked with organisations such as the Hartmann Shipowning Group, MSC Cruises, the UN International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and as stakeholder engagement advisor to the Greek Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, of the US State Department led Our Ocean Conference.

Gina has been appointed Seatrade Maritime Club Ambassador for the UK, Philanthropy Advocate of the National Oceanography Centre, sits on the Board of WISTA UK as Secretary, Co-Chairs the WISTA International Environmental Committee and she is also an Lecturer at MLA College.

Furthermore, Gina is a speaker at the largest indsutry conferences, featured among the “Top Maritime Influencers you should follow” by Marine Traffic, made the Top 100 Women in Shipping for 5 consecutive years, the Seatrade 20under40, the “Top 25 Sustainability Champion of the Year,” AntwerpXL’s 40 under 40 lists and shortlisted for the Inspirational Influencer, Global Impact and the Maritime SheEO Entrepreneur of the year awards.

Racehel Lawton

Treasurer

I am a qualified chartered accountant (a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales), qualifying in 1993. In the UK my maritime clients have included Euroceanica and SK Shipping Europe and other transportation companies such as Transdev and Hallin Marine. I am the former Treasurer for WISTA International.

Sue Terpilowski OBE

Immediate Past President & Membership Secretary

Sue Terpilowski started Image Line the leading specialist logistics and supply chain PR, Marketing and Visual Events Agency Image Line Communications over 33 years ago and has a wealth of experience in logistics and transport. Sue also is the Vice Chairman of the Ports, Maritime and Waterways Forum of the Chartered Institute of Transport and their Policy and Public Affairs Chair.

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She is also Chair of Maritime UK’s Women’s Network, Co Chair Maritime UK’s Diversity Taskforce and an active member of Women in Logistics.

Sue is world renowned speaker on ports, shipping and logistics plus diversity in the maritime and logistics sectors. She also chairs a number of global events and conferences.

Teresa Peacock

Executive Committee Member

Teresa has worked in Recruitment and Search for more than three decades. She completed a management buyout of the Locum Group, and subsequent trade sale to Reed Health some 8 years later, after growing the business from a staff of 25 to 180.

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Teresa has experience across a wide range of industries, which includes managing offices and recruitment projects all over the world. Her vast experience means she is perfectly suitedto developing and delivering tailored recruitment solutions for the maritime sector.

Teresa joined Spinnaker in 2008 and worked alongside the CEO and Chairman as Business Development Director, before becoming Managing Director in 2014. She personally manages the Senior Executive Search for Spinnaker and has placed across C-Suite including; CEO’s, CFO’s, CHRO’s, CIO, CTO, Communications, Legal Counsel, Business Development Directors and many NED’s across the industry.

Appointment:

Fellow, Institute of Recruitment Professionals
Joint Membership Secretary, WISTA (Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association).
Member of the governmental All-Party, Parliamentary Group on Women in Work.
Member of the Maritime UK –Diversity in Maritime Taskforce.

Teresa is actively involved in helping young people at school prepare job applications and mock interviews. She is also involved with promoting careers within shipping, with the ‘Inspiring the Future’ project, which connects schools and colleges with employers and people from the world of work.

Jucilla Walters

Executive Committee Member

Jucilla is an experienced Marketing and Business Development professional with over 15 years’ experience in marketing communications, brand development, digital marketing, sales and business development within the finance, media, retail, construction, oil and gas and maritime sectors.

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She is currently the Marketing and Communications Manager for Waves Group, responsible for all marketing, communications, and business development activities for the company. She is member of WISTA and is on the Board and Executive Committee in charge of Events. She is also a Non-Executive Director for Crownsavers Credit Union responsible for Marketing, Risk and Compliance.

She holds a master’s degree in financial management and risk, bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance and a CIM professional qualifications in marketing research and planning. She have managed events on a global scale and has vast experience working on numerous projects within the UK, USA, the Caribbean and Africa.

Helene Peter‑ Davies

Executive Committee Member

Helene is Partner & Master Mariner in the London shipping law firm of MFB Solicitors where her practice is predominantly of an Admiralty nature with the addition of technical dry shipping matters. Her maritime career commenced in 1991 as a dual cadet with Shell and she qualified as both a deck and engineering officer in 1995 before specialising as a deck officer and obtaining her Master Mariner certificate of competency.

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She spent 12 years at sea sailing globally on a wide variety of ships before coming ashore in 2003. Helene’s journey ashore has seen her engaged in a vetting company and in an academic role before obtaining further qualifications and entering the legal sector. In 2018, Helene became the first British qualified female Master Mariner/Solicitor to become a Partner in a Shipping Law Firm.

She has been awarded the Victoria Drummond Award (2019) and Merchant Navy Medal (2020) for services to Women in Maritime and in particular for her work in mentoring of officers and executives with the shipping industry. In addition to her role with WISTA UK, Helene is also Chairperson of the HCMM “Cadet Training Standards Review” Sub-committee which liaises with government and industry on Merchant Navy training in the UK.

Sarah Longden

Sarah Longden is Chief Operating Officer at Quadrant Chambers, which is the leading set for shipping and international trade disputes. She has 30 years’ experience in the legal sector, with 25 years at the Bar. Since 2009, she has worked with the shipping legal market and has embraced its strong sense of community.

Emily Dove

Press & Marketing Officer

Emily is the Business Development and Marketing Lead at BLUE Communications, which specialises in the commercial maritime, leisure marine and renewable energy sectors. Emily’s ambition is to empower brands to be truly sustainable through the adoption of strategic communications and marketing programmes. She holds a passion for enhancing gender diversity, attracting new talent, and mentoring professionals.

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-dove/

Maritime London Officer Cadet Scholarship

WISTA UK is fundraising to support a female cadet with the Maritime London Officer Cadet Scholarship.