The DA-Desk team is 373 strong and is located globally to serve our customers. Many of them with a background in maritime and shipping, the team has deep expertise in customer service, process management, IT, solutions development, integration, finance, management, business strategy, and innovation.
This page just shows the DA-Desk team. To see the Marcura team members, please click here.
Founder and Chairman
Christian Siemers Haunso is the founder and Chairman of Marcura.
Christian’s focus is on Group innovation and strategy.
Previously, Christian worked in the Structured Commodity Finance Division at ING Barings in Amsterdam and Moscow, with the focus on the metals and shipping industries.
Prior to that he worked at a shipbroking and trading house in Hamburg where his duties covered operations, chartering and grain trading.
Earlier he worked in the shipping liner trade for Überseeschiffahrtsagentur Transnautic in Hamburg.
Christian holds a Master in Shipping, Trade and Finance from Cass Business School.
Group Chief Executive Officer
Jens Lorens Poulsen is co-founder of Marcura and Group CEO.
His focus is on the market, business models and service strategies of the portfolio companies.
Previously, Jens was a Senior Partner at Cultivator A/S, then one of Scandinavia’s leading Management Consultancies, where he provided management counsel to Engineering, Software and Pharmaceutical companies.
Earlier, he was involved in the initial launch of Cisco Systems, Inc. in all Scandinavian countries.
Prior to that he was Financial Director at UNIRAS A/S, a pioneering scientific visualization software company with global customers. He has held a position as VP Finance for the Treasury of Hafnia, a major Scandinavian insurance group. He started his career with Andersen Consulting, now Accenture.
Group Chief Financial Officer
Karsten Gregory is the Group CFO for Marcura.
Karsten is involved in a broad range of strategic and tactical issues related to the Group’s overall mission and practices, including the support to the portfolio companies. These include forecasting, accounting, financial planning and analysis, regulatory compliance monitoring, and the identification of income-enhancing and revenue-generating opportunities.
Karsten’s 20 years of international financial experience includes five years as a CFO, as well as work for leading IT companies such as CSC and Dell.
Group Chief Commercial Officer and Non-Executive Chairman of DA-Desk
Hans-Christian is the Group Chief Commercial Officer and Non-Executive Chairman of DA-Desk, the first established Group company (2001) and the world’s largest provider of port cost management services.
As Group CCO, Hans-Christian’s primary focus is on commercial strategy and value creation for Customers, Agents and Partners that engage with Marcura’s solutions in the payments, procurement and voyage administration sectors.
He has held a number of positions previously including Managing Director for DA-Desk, Managing Director for Maersk Line in Russia, Finland and the Baltic States as well as European Sales & Marketing Director for P&O Nedlloyd.
Hans-Christian was educated in the A.P. Moeller/Maersk Denmark Management Trainee Program and holds an Advanced Certificate for Executives from MIT Sloan School of Management.
Group General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer
As the Group General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Felix provides advice and counsel to the Group’s boards and business units with regards legal matters, material transactions, risk management, compliance and overall strategy and corporate governance.
He has worked and consulted with various international companies and had operated a financial services agency in California representing industry-leading institutions. He is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association, and the Institute of Directors (UK). He has served in the ABA Advisory Panel and is also a Charter Member of TechGC.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Ateneo de Manila University, a Certificate in Finance (With Distinction) from UC Berkeley Extension, and a Juris Doctorate from John F. Kennedy University School of Law. He also attended the University of Cambridge Judge Business School’s Advanced Leadership Programme.
Board Director of Marcura and Managing Director of Marlin Equity Partners
Jan-Olivier’s primary responsibilities at Marlin include deal qualification, conducting due diligence, transaction execution and portfolio monitoring.
Prior to joining Marlin, he worked at 3i Group where he focused on private equity investments across a broad range of sectors and geographies. Prior thereto, he worked as an investment banker at Jefferies where he specialised in mergers and acquisitions and public market transactions.
Before his career in finance, Jan-Olivier held software development positions at diagnostics company Roche and telecoms provider Ascom. He earned a M.Sc. in Finance and Economics from the London School of Economics and a M.Sc. in Communication Systems from the Swiss Institute of Technology (EPFL).
Managing Director
Dionysis is the Managing Director of DA-Desk and is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with customers, whilst ensuring customers obtain optimal value from the DA-Desk service offering.
Dionysis joined DA-Desk in 2017 as Commercial Finance Manager and later became Director of PortPayables where his role was to manage and enhance DA-Desk’s payment processing solutions.
Prior to working with DA-Desk, Dionysis worked for more than ten years with Eletson Corporation in Piraeus, where he held the position of Treasury and Corporate Finance Manager. He was responsible for the banking relationships, treasury functions, and investor relationship management during this time.
Dionysis holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance from Athens University of Economics , and has a Master in Finance from Henley Business School at Reading University. He is a Scholar at the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation.
Operations Director
DA-Desk
Duncan joined DA-Desk in 2012 and has more than 16 years’ experience within the shipping industry, both at sea and ashore.
He has sailed on a variety of vessels including LNG, LPG, Product and VLCCs.
He has held management positions ashore for shipping lines with previous roles including Head of Hub Port Management for Asia Pacific and Cargo Operations Manager for Africa, both with Maersk Line.
Duncan has global shipping experience having worked in the UK, South Africa, Denmark, Singapore and Hong Kong, where he held a commercial management position in CSAV Norasia. Duncan has a BA (Hons) Degree from the University of Sunderland.
Director of Process Excellence, DA-Desk
Alexander Tarasenko has been with Marcura since 2011, initially as Business Development Manager. He transitioned to DataFactory, a new group business unit where he played a key role in launching and managing it.
He is currently Director of Process Excellence for DA-Desk continuously working on improvements towards processes and service delivery.
Prior to DA-Desk, Alex worked with Maersk Line for 7 years both as Finland and Baltics Operations General manager and Russia Cluster Process Excellence manager.
SVP, Key Account Management
Lars joined Marcura in 2020 and is based in Copenhagen, Denmark to support existing, new and future customers globally.
Lars has worked in the shipping industry (project and dry bulk) since 1984, with responsibility for day-to-day operations worldwide and the last 25 years with Clipper Group as manager/leader of Clipper Group’s Global Operations and Shipping Services (Claims/Insurance, Bunker procurement and Operations control), handling change management, optimisation of process locally and globally, cost optimisation and digital transformation.
He has attended various leadership programs with London Business School in the UK and the Institute of Management Development in Switzerland.
SVP, Business & Operational Transformation
George joined DA-Desk in 2022, helping to drive exciting new initiatives to increase the value our customers enjoy from our service.
Having worked as an advisor with many private and public sector institutions in Greece, UAE and KSA, George has a demonstrated track record of digital and business transformations across a variety of industries and domains, always building strong relationships with clients and delivering tangible value for their business. As a system integration enthusiast and with a strong technical background, he is constantly looking for new ways to leverage technology in order to optimise business processes, expand the service portfolio and improve the customer experience.
George holds an Integrated Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece and a Masters Degree in Business and Information Technology with Distinction from Aston Business School in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
SVP of Financial Services,
PortPayables,
UAE
Bruce joined DA-Desk in December 2016 as Commercial Manager of PortPayables, and is responsible for commercial contact with customers, the onboarding of new customers and ensuring the smooth and efficient running of PortPayables.
Previously, Bruce worked with Ernst & Young and prior to joining DA-Desk, he was a Financial Director for a mining company operating across East Africa.
Bruce has a degree in commerce from Stellenbosch University in South Africa, and is a qualified chartered accountant.
SVP Strategic & Enterprise Sales
Thomas is SVP Strategic & Enterprise Sales for DA-Desk. He joined DA-Desk in early 2010 and has been in Dubai since 2015, responsible for the Global Sales Team.
Thomas has close to 20 years’ experience in the maritime industry and previously worked with companies such as Maersk Data, ShipServ and Inchcape Shipping Services.
He lived and worked in Asia for 18 years before relocating to Dubai.
With a dedicated, sincere and relevant approach to solving problems for our customers, Thomas retains a strong understanding of the issues facing the industry and how DA-Desk adds value.
Thomas holds a Blue MBA from Copenhagen Business School.
VP Group Business Development Team
“My desire for growth, exceeds my desire to defend my position.”
Commercial Director
Mark joined DA-Desk in 2007 and is currently Commercial Director. Mark has 30 years’ experience in the shipping industry, working in the UK, Switzerland, France and the UAE.
Prior to DA-Desk, he was an operations manager at Mediterranean Shipping Company in Geneva, working in vessel operations and on the acquisition and development of container terminals.
Prior to this Mark worked as an operator and in planning cargo stowage with Norasia, OT Africa Line and CMA-CGM. He also worked in a commercial management role and in port operations at Thamesport in the UK.
Mark has a shipping-related MBA from Middlesex University.
Business Development Team member
“Working hard at living life to the full.”
Business Development Team member
“A positive mindset brings positive outcomes.”
Business Development Team member
”Helping shipping professionals streamline their processes since 2012.”
Business Development Team member
“Dedicated to facilitating growth through understanding and informed risks.”
Business Development Team member
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
Senior Commercial Project Assistant
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
Business Development Team member
“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life
interesting.”
Sales Manager
“I am passionate about revolutionising the world of business and dedicated to driving real results .”
General Manager,
USA
Sofia Drakou joined DA-Desk as Account Manager in 2016. For almost two decades, Sofia has worked in the shipping industry with focus on operations and disbursement accounting.
Before joining DA-Desk, Sofia established the Disbursements Department for Product Shipping & Trading S. A. in Athens and was also a Senior Operations Manager at A.M. Nomikos in London managing commercial operations for bulk carriers.
Sofia is also experienced in the tanker segment in Capital Ship Management as well as Trafigura Maritime Ventures Ltd. in Athens
Regional Customer Manager,
Japan
Takashi joined DA-Desk as Account Manager in 2009 and is responsible for managing DA-Desk’s growing Japanese customer base.
Prior to joining DA-Desk, he was an extensive user of the DA-Desk web application while an Operator/Manager at a Japanese shipping company doing tramping business worldwide.
A 20-year veteran of the shipping industry, Ikeda-san also worked at a number of tramp shipping companies in Japan.
He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University of Japan, and holds a Bachelor of Economics degree.
Key Account Manager,
UK
Zoe joined Marcura in summer 2022 as a Key Account Manager for DA-Desk’s Europe Operations.
Zoe is based in London, UK and supports existing, new, and future customers across Europe.
Zoe has worked in the shipping industry for the last 8 years in the tanker sector covering worldwide operations and chartering positions.
Zoe started her career in a VLCC/Suezmax brokerage company, before moving to a trading house where she worked with Chemical Tankers and Barges.
Zoe is a member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers.
Key Account Manager,
UK
Helen joined Marcura in 2021 as a Key Account Manager. Based in the UK, Helen supports our existing, new and future customers across Europe.
Helen has worked in the shipping industry since 2001 and is an experienced IT management professional with a strong background in freight trading, IT transformations and maritime application developments.
Prior to joining Marcura Helen was a manager at Maritech (Sea) and was responsible for providing support services for a suite of applications used by key players within the shipping and offshore industries.
Helen has a BSc in Maritime Studies from University of Wales, Cardiff and is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS).
Key Account Manager,
UAE
Tom joined the company in 2012 and has 18 years varied shipping experience including nearly a decade in port operations and a similar amount of years in vessel management and logistics, working on vessel stowage, scheduling and port and services contract negotiations.
He has worked for some of the world’s largest and most diverse shipping corporations such as CP Ships, K-Line and Hutchinson Port Holdings.
He holds a certification in the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Sea and Vessel Stability as well as a Diploma in Supervision and Management.
Key Account Manager,
UAE
Michael started with DA-Desk in 2012 and has 20 years of experience within the Crude, Clean Petroleum Product, Dry bulk and LNG sectors, most recently as a manager with Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG).
Michael graduated from the University of Northumbria and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers.
Key Account Manager, Greece
Miranda joined Marcura in 2016 as a Sales Manager, based in Greece, helping our existing and prospective customers transform their business with Marcura suite during the seaborne trade execution.
Miranda is based in Athens and supports existing, new and future customers in the region.
Key Account Manager, Singapore
Leila joined Marcura early 2023 as Key Account Manager for DA Desk in APAC ex Japan region.
She is based in Singapore and supports existing, new and future customers in the region.
Prior to joining Marcura, Leila has been working in the shipping industry as an Operations Executive, Freight Broker and Freight Trader in Singapore.
Leila has a Bachelor from National University of Singapore (Communication and New Media).
General Manager,
Group Agency Business Development,
Cyprus
Alex joined Marcura in 2021, where he is primarily responsible for Group Agency Business Development and is based in Cyprus and also supports clients locally.
Alex is a master mariner with 25 years of experience in the marine industry and 12 years of shore-based experience with multinational companies within the marine industry.
Most recently he was Product Delivery Manager for Hub Services for GAC, based in Dubai, responsible for building and maintaining networks with third-party ship managers and ship owners to provide global husbandry/agency service. It was here that Alex became familiar with DA-Desk’s services.
Prior to that, he worked as the Managing Director of GAC Transfer Services, which provided global ship-to-ship transfer services and mooring masters for various FSOs.
He also worked as a marine manager, STS Mooring master / POAC, STS Superintendent, and a mooring master in West Africa for ExxonMobil, as well as other sailing positions, including sailing on VLCCs and shuttle tankers.
Head of Customer Integration and Applications,
UAE
Masaki has been with DA-Desk since 2003, initially as Account Manager.
He transitioned to business analysis/ requirements for the software development side acting as a conduit between the business and the development team, building the DA-Desk application based on customer requirements.
He is also responsible for handling development requirements for DA-Desk data integration with Voyage Management Systems and other DA-Desk applications.
Prior to joining DA-Desk, he worked as interline manager at a liner shipping company in Miami.
Masaki holds a degree in mathematics from the Queen Mary University of London and a Master’s degree in Trade, Transport and Finance from Cass Business School, City, University of London.
Commercial Finance Manager – Financial Services,
PortPayables,
South Africa
Sarah joined DA-Desk in November 2021, and is responsible for commercial contact with customers, the onboarding of new customers and ensuring the smooth and efficient running of PortPayables.
Prior to joining DA-Desk, Sarah managed a team at Absa Bank Limited responsible for the onboarding of international institutional and corporate clients for the corporate and investment bank division.
Sarah has a degree in commerce from Stellenbosch University in South Africa and has an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science.
Senior Commercial Manager – Financial Services,
PortPayables,
UAE
Janos joined DA-Desk in May 2019 as Commercial Manager of PortPayables.
Previously, he spent over 6 years with Thomson Reuters where he rose to the position of Account Director focusing on the company’s financial services and risk & compliance operations.
At PortPayables, he is responsible for developing and enhancing our customers’ DA-Desk journey from a commercial perspective and the smooth running of the department.
Janos obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management from the University of Keele in the UK.
Sector Manager – Bulk,
India
Balaji joined DA-Desk in January 2005 and has worked with all aspects of the services provided to customers.
Over the years, he has been involved in operations, customer experience, onboarding management, key account management, all such roles that benefit him in his current role as Sector Manager.
Prior to joining DA-Desk, Balaji worked for a shipping agency in India, focusing also on disbursement accounting. Balaji holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science from Mumbai University.
Sector Manager,
Philippines
Eric joined Marcura on March 2020 and heads the operations for Marcura Equities FZE in the Philippines.
He is a seasoned seafarer with about 20 years of seagoing experience on various types of vessels.
He was also a former Maritime professor from the Philippines Merchant Marine School for several years.
As a pioneer in DA-desk operations Manila, he managed to push the onboarding of people as start up for the group in the heat of the pandemic.
He also pioneered the establishment of KLAVENESS Operations in Manila as a Ship Operator and has also handled roles such as process, systems and competence improvement.
Sector Manager – Bulk,
India
Manjunath joined DA-Desk in 2006.
His prior experience includes shipping operations for 12 years in a steamer agency department and he has a diploma in Electronics Engineering.
Head of Sector – Tankers,
UAE
Ruchir has worked with DA-Desk first from 2004 to 2011 as Assistant Operations Manager, and returned to serve DA-Desk customers as Account Manager in April 2016.
Ruchir is focused on and responsible for continuous system and process efficiency improvements.
Previously, Ruchir worked at the Offshore Oil Terminal, Kandla Port Trust, in India.
In 2008, Ruchir completed the Professional Qualifying Examinations for the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers in 2008.
Sector Manager – Tankers,
UAE
Sarvotham Bhandary joined DA-Desk in 2006 as a knowledge worker and has risen through the ranks to become Account Manager and manages some of DA-Desk customers.
Prior to working with DA-Desk, Sarvotham spent 10 years with a leading Indian Shipping Agency.
Sarvotham holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Mangalore University and is currently pursuing the qualified membership of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers.
Sector Manager – Tankers,
India
Peter joined DA-Desk in 2004 and has worked with all aspects of the services provided to customers including operations and customer experience, all which benefit him in his current role as the Sector Manager.
Peter holds a Master of Commerce degree from Pune University.
Before joining DA-Desk, Peter worked for P&O Nedlloyd in India and was part of the team involved in transferring processes from Europe and US front offices to their India office.
Sector Manager – Projects
UAE
Andrea joined DA-Desk from university in a graduate trainee program.
Since 2002, she has progressed through various departments and roles in DA-Desk, such as Onboarding Manager in 2014 where she was responsible for on-boarding, training and lead-in of new key customers.
In 2017, she moved to an Account Manager role, responsible for customer relationship management and is the first point of contact for customers’ senior management.
Andrea holds a Bachelor of Business Management degree from Bangalore University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers.
Head of Sector – Husbandry,
India
Capt. Pramod Pillai joined the group in 2019 and is the Head of Operations at Marcura India Services Pvt. Ltd.
He holds a British Masters certificate and has spent 16 years at sea onboard a variety of vessels sailing worldwide. He has over 17 years of shore-based experience, which includes port management, vessel operations, ship broking, chartering and shipping agency.
His previous roles include working as Owners Representative for a New Ship building at Gdansk, Poland for Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement – a German shipping company. Capt. Pillai is overall responsible for our operations teams in Marcura India.
Sector Manager – Husbandry
Vinu joined DA-Desk in 2007 and has experience in operations with shipping NVOCC agencies.
Vinu has an MBA in International Business from Guru Jambheshwar University.
Process Improvement Manager
Vijay Mishra joined DA-Desk in 2008 and is responsible for ensuring that DA-Desk processes are continuously improving and delivering value to its customers.
He manages Lean Six Sigma and Quality initiatives on process improvements.
He is also involved in promoting sustainability programs. Prior to joining DA-Desk, for more than 12 years he worked at leading global companies including Dell and ICICI Bank dealing with back office processes.
He graduated in Mathematics from Mumbai University and is a Trained Six Sigma Black Belt.
Head of Sector – Chemical
Pallavi joined DA-Desk in 2011 and has created substantial impact across departments in Marcura including operations, customer experience, as well as HR.
Pallavi is currently playing a dual role within Marcura. She heads operations for the chemical sector, leading a team of 20+ people. Additionally, she manages the customer experience division which caters to more than 350 customers across sectors.
In her previous role within Marcura, Pallavi was instrumental in building up our India office from scratch, where she managed the migration of 80+ employees from Dubai to Mumbai, and grew the team to 250 employees over 2 years.
Prior to joining Marcura, Pallavi led business development efforts for technology companies like Aricent and travel companies like Thomas Cook and Make My Trip.
Pallavi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology (Gold Medalist) and a Master’s Degree in Tourism Management (Gold Medalist) from Delhi University.
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