Experienced shipping executive Niki Fotiou has joined Pankaj Khanna’s expanding tanker and bulker pool operation Heidmar.
The company said the former George Economou group finance expert will become head of finance & accounting in the Athens office.
Heidmar principal Khanna is also an Economou group alumnus.
Fotiou has more than three decades of experience in accounting and finance.
Chief executive Khanna said: “We are fortunate to have Niki Fotiou join Heidmar to strengthen the team and help us take the company to the next level.”
Fotiou has been finance and accounts manager at Moundreas-owned tanker and bulker operation NGM Energy since 2020, after a year at small-scale LNG carrier operator Avenir LNG as financial reporting consultant.
Before that, Fotiou was finance & accounts manager at Greek tanker and bulker owner Kassian Maritime for nearly three years.
She began her shipping career as group controller of George Economou’s Cardiff Marine between 2006 and 2009, before moving on to Economou’s publicly listed shipowner DryShips as a senior vice president for five years, and then his Ocean Rig venture until 2017.
Fotiou started in auditing with a stint of more than 10 years at Deloitte Athens.
In February, Heidmar made a key appointment as it looks to set up a bulker business in Asia, bringing in experienced dry cargo executive Navin Arjun Soni to run the Singapore office.
He was previously commercial manager at ArcelorMittal/DryLog joint venture Umang Shipping for two years, and before that was vice president of commercial at Hong Kong bulker company KC Maritime for five years.
Last month, Heidmar revealed a successful move into dry bulk as it continues to add to its tanker fleet.
Khanna told TradeWinds: “We now have close to 60 vessels signed up to pools or commercial management.”
He said the company has moved on to starting a dry bulk operation, with a team in Athens managing around eight vessels.
Since last summer, it has also been busy building its managed tanker fleet.
Six vessels have been added, including a VLCC built in 2022 by Hyundai Samho in South Korea and another built in 2019 by China’s Dalian Shipbuilding.
