OceanPal has made two executive appointments that will create a rarity in shipping: a majority female C-suite.
The New York-listed shipowner, a spin-off of Diana Shipping whose board is chaired by one of shipping’s high-profile woman leaders, has appointed Vasiliki Plousaki as its chief financial officer.
And Margarita Venio has been named company secretary, which she will hold alongside her current title as chief corporate development and governance officer.
They will replace Ioannis Zafirakis, who is stepping down as interim chief financial officer, secretary and president.
Zafirakis will continue to serve as a board member of OceanPal, in addition to his roles as chief financial officer, chief strategy officer and secretary at Diana Shipping.
The changes mean that Athens-based OceanPal has two women and one man in its C-suite — a reference to the team of top executives with titles starting with “chief” — with Robert Perri as its chief executive.
It is a small team for a small company. Semiramis Palou-chaired OceanPal, which spun off from Diana Shipping in November 2021, has five ships in its fleet.
Plousaki has served as OceanPal’s chief accounting officer since June 2021, with responsibility for all of the company’s financial reporting requirements.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she spent seven months as a regional controller at Drew Marine before joining the company, after nine years at accountancy giant EY.
Veniou has been at OceanPal since November 2021, where she’s been involved in the implementation and supervision of general corporate matters, including strategic planning.
But she is not new to the group of companies backed by Simeon Paliou and family, where she has worked since September 2004 in various roles.
Since July of last year, Veniou has been chief development, governance and communications officer at New York-listed Diana Shipping and has held the same title at private ship management company Diana Shipping Services.
