It might be called a new role with “the new Eagle”.
Costa Tsoutsoplides accompanied Eagle Bulk Shipping chief executive Gary Vogel to Noble Capital’s recent NobleCon event outside Fort Lauderdale in Florida for the first time in the recently created role of chief strategy officer.
As the two managers explained in a sideline interview with TradeWinds, when there is a strategic initiative up for discussion at the New York-listed owner, Tsoutsoplides is never far from the discussion.
His promotion in November last year elevated him to the core group of Eagle Bulk senior managers alongside Vogel, chief financial officer Frank De Costanzo and chief commercial officer Bo Westergaard.
Taking a lead role
“Costa is very much there on all the important initiatives, taking a lead role in discussions with myself and Frank and Bo, especially helping to bridge the gap in discussions around financing and commercial development of the fleet,” Vogel said.
“We’re a small management team. There’s very little that happens without all four of us being involved.”
And in one regard, Tsoutsoplides is the most “senior” of the executives. That is in longevity with Eagle Bulk, having worked with the company for about 12 years — longer than all but one current employee.
He is a holdover from the “old” Eagle Bulk founded by shipowner Sophocles Zoullas and taken public in New York in 2005. He joined in 2010 when the owner was still based in Manhattan and led by Zoullas.
As the owner emerged from a 2014 pre-packaged Chapter 11 reorganisation, Tsoutsoplides was convinced to stay on by Eagle Bulk board chairman Paul Leand.
He quickly became a key advisor to Vogel upon the chief executive’s appointment in 2015.
“My tenure gives me a certain perspective — Eagle today is a very different company from when I joined,” Tsoutsoplides said. “Early on, I think it was helpful for Gary to have me on in terms of context: how things were running, how things were not running.”
Tsoutsoplides has played a key role in the building and renewal of the current fleet, now at 53 vessels and averaging nine years old.
Both managers said Eagle Bulk is always vigilant for the next deal, but it’s not necessarily the current priority.
“Right now, it’s really about execution and harvesting what we’ve done,” Tsoutsoplides said.
