What was your earliest memory? On a bicycle in Eastern Long Island next to my brother, with my mother taking pictures of us.
Did you go through training/university or straight into work? I spent pretty much every summer since I was 14 in either a shipping office — cousin’s or grandfather’s — or onboard ships. I also received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Brown University, after which I went directly into shipping full-time.
Who have been your mentors? My grandfather, John M Carras, and his first cousin Costa M Lemos. Both were great businessmen and shipping figures that I still look up to today.
Ambition or talent, which is more important? Definitely ambition. There is no more powerful tool than perseverance channelled in the right way!
What would you have done if you hadn’t gone into shipping? No idea. This is what I’ve wanted to do ever since I was a young boy. I feel passionate about the shipping business and am grateful that I was able to facilitate a career in it.
Your biggest extravagance? Having a Double Whopper with cheese for breakfast washed down with “fountain” Gatorade.
John Michael Radziwill graduated from Brown University, Rhode Island, in 2002 with a BA in Economics, before being employed as administrative officer at Ceres Hellenic Enterprises’ newbuilding site office in South Korea. In 2003 he joined Ceres Hellenic’s insurance and claims department in Piraeus, Greece. After working at Clarksons and Seascope Insurance Services in the UK, he joined the commercial department of C Transport Maritime (CTM) in Monaco, first as a capesize freight trader, then as head of its S&P division.
Since 2010, Radziwill has been chief executive of CTM, and from October 2016 CEO and chairman of GoodBulk. He was also a director of Euronav for three years from May 2013. He is an advisor to SCP Clover Maritime, which manages assets and investments for the Radziwill family. The family is descended from Lithuanian and Polish aristocracy, with links by marriage to the Kennedy family in the US.
How do you relax? I like to spend my off-time reading, whether it’s shipping-related or a good book. The book I am enjoying at the moment is Kochland, which is about the history of Koch Industries since 1967. Also going for walks to reflect on the past as well as strategise for the future.
What would you like to own that you do not possess? Faster mental processing speed! And more patience, especially when going through granular details.
Where and when are you happiest? Walking by myself through our garden in Eastern Long Island or over a beach in Nassau in the Bahamas thinking about how we can bring more value to our operating partners (including myself) at CTM, and reflecting on past mistakes, because Pain + Reflection = Progress.
What would you change in shipping if you could? I would start with slow steaming: it is an initiative I strongly believe in and would reduce emissions from the globally trading fleet almost overnight. It is good for the environment, brings efficiency to global trade and can be implemented immediately, so I cannot understand why it hasn’t been. I would also like to see industry bodies get tougher on substandard ships — like some converted ore carriers where tragedies have occurred already — that are accidents waiting to happen. One total loss is tragic enough, we don’t need more, and we owe it to the seafarers who endure difficult conditions every day. The least we can do is give them a safe home while onboard.
Is politics important to you? Absolutely. Politics frames our daily life, and coming from a family that has been politically involved, it is very important to me.
Which four people, living or dead, would you like to invite to dinner? John M Carras; Costa M Lemos; George Soros — I would love to pick all their brains — and Gwyneth Paltrow.
What would your 20-year-old self say about you today if you met? Given that the market has been so poor for the last decade, I think he would say something along the lines of, “Dude, I thought we were supposed to be much richer by now.”
What keeps you awake at night? Thinking about the next dry bulk market trends and how I can capitalise on them to bring more value to our operating partners/clients and all those we service.
What are your favourite song, book and film? Colors by Ice-T; Principles by Ray Dalio; and Talladega Nights — “shake ‘n’ bake, baby!”
The most important lesson you have learnt? Greed and fear can be the biggest enemies of objective decision-making.
What are your best and worst characteristics? My best: probably having an open mind. I try to embrace others’ ideas and I am always looking to find new ways of doing things to create value. My worst: probably that I’m not really a detail kind of guy.
Your greatest achievement so far? Building CTM into an entity that provides excellent outcomes: in performance — our assets (ships) under management; in the meaningful relationships with all those involved; and in the thought partnership between the owners of assets managed by CTM. Once a new entity comes into the CTM system, we start a thought partnership with that group/individual so we can use all of our information and knowledge to have a better understanding of our business and its underlying markets.
What has been your greatest disappointment? That we control: holding on to losing positions for too long — we have had many of those! That we don’t control: unforeseen acts of gods that take human life and make difficult markets — like Vale’s tailings dam collapse this year.
What ambitions do you still have? To have an immediate family of my own one day.
