• August 11, 2022
• Environment, Legal/Safety, News, Shipping

Gina Panayiotou

West P&I has appointed Gina Panayiotou as its environmental, social and governance (ESG) manager. In that role she will be responsible for reviewing the P&I club’s approach to sustainability, people and governance, and for developing and implementing a strategy that supports its commitment to ESG.

A maritime lawyer, Panayiotou has held senior roles ranging from legal manager at a leading shipowner to global head of shipping and energy for a multijurisdictional law firm and in-house legal counsel of an international cruise line.

After mainly working at shipowners for several years, where she focused on legal strategy and policy, Panayiotou founded Oceans Arena in 2021. The consultancy provides and supports industry stakeholders with practical ESG strategies.

Throughout her career, Panayiotou has formulated internal ESG policies and practices in the workplace, and run in-house awareness briefings, covering issues such as diversity, sustainability, safety and transparency. She has also advised companies on ESG compliance for external affairs.

An experienced maritime lawyer, Panayiotou has been recognized in the Legal 500’s GC Powerlist for Greece and Cyprus as one of the top 100 in-house counsel for driving innovation within maritime. She focuses mainly on strategy and policy.

She has been named as one of All About Shipping’s 100 Top Women in Shipping for the past three years, shortlisted for the Greek International Women Awards and recipient of the first Young Leader Award in Cyprus, for being a vigorous “brand ambassador” of the maritime sector. She is secretary of WISTA U.K., represents the U.K. at the WISTA International Trade Committee, is a board member of YoungShip UAE and is U.K, Chair of the G100 Network on Sustainable Brand Creation.

“We are delighted to welcome Gina, a very experienced and highly respected figure in shipping, to the club,” said Tony Paulson, corporate director at West P&I. “At West, we are committed to enhancing and improving our ESG practices and the support that we offer to our members, and Gina is perfectly placed to drive this strategy.”

“Within maritime, diversity, crew welfare, mental wellbeing and decarbonization are top of the agenda, and I could not be more excited to embark on this new journey with West P&I, an organization that has embraced ESG initiatives for many years,” said Panayiotou..”I’m confident we will go above and beyond in delivering tangible results and leading positive change in this respect for the organization, our members and the industry as a whole.”