Speakers 2026

Frederik ERDMANN

Moderator and contributing correspondent Shippax

Frederik Erdmann is a Shippax correspondent since 1996 and professionally involved with shipping since 1999 when he joined the German port agency network, Sartori & Berger, on a vocational training program. After his graduation as Shipbroker & Liner Agent and subsequent studies of Business Administration, Frederik held various positions with Sartori & Berger until 2010. After a period of working for the Flensburg Chamber of Commerce, he belonged to the management team of Wyker Dampfschiffs-Reederei, a leading German domestic operator, from 2015 to 2021, with responsibilities among others for Safety/Security as well as for Environmental and Quality Management. He then became self-employed under the brand of Frederik Erdmann Maritime Consulting, specialising in Passenger Ship Management, Quality and Environmental Management, Risk & Resilience Management, Emergency Management, related crew education/training as well as all aspects of Dangerous Goods Transportation. Frederik is a permanent visiting lecturer at the Flensburg University of Applied Sciences, teaching in the Maritime Transport, Nautical Sciences & Logistics as well as the Ship Operation Engineering degree programs. He regularly contributes to maritime business publications in the UK, Scandinavia and Greece, and is a member of the Tourism Committee as well as the Transport & Infrastructure Committee of the Flensburg Chamber of Commerce. After a decade of activity in municipal politics, June 2023 saw Frederik being elected Mayor of Rügge, the municipality which he is living in. His professional involvement in the shipping sector is complemented by a genuine passion for maritime history and ferry design, with a particular focus on ships built between the 1950s and the 1980s. His private collection encompasses ferry-related literature, numerous technical documents of ships, as well as a collection of ship models. Other interests of Frederik include motorcycling and, somewhat more exceptional, agricultural aviation.

Alan LAM

Co-moderator and correspondent and analyst Shippax

Based in Hong Kong and Austria, Alan Lam is a freelance journalist and maritime transport business researcher. He has been collaborating with Shippax since 2010, regularly contributing articles to both its monthly and yearly publications. He also writes for other shipping publications worldwide and compile customised market reports for investors, lenders, and suppliers.

Matteo CATANI

CEO GNV

Matteo Catani, born on November 8th, 1978, was appointed CEO of Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV) in 2016. Previously he served GNV in different positions, lastly as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer.

Mr. Catani joined GNV in 2007 after previous experiences within the Danone Group, a multinational company leader in the food-and-beverage industry, where he had held different business planning related positions.

In GNV Mr. Catani has assumed roles of growing responsibility, ranging from finance and controlling to revenue management and business development, and then getting commercial and marketing executive responsibility.

Mr Catani is board member and treasurer of AssArmatori, Italian Association of Shipowners, where he coordinates the Short Sea Committee, and member of the Comité Directivo (Executive Committee) of ANAVE, the Spanish Association of Shipowners. He is a member of the Stakeholder Adivsory Committee at various Italian Port Authorities, as a representative for the Shipowners and the Shipping Industry. He also serves different educational bodies and international associations related to the shipping sector.

Mr. Catani holds a bachelor's degree in Economics at The University of Genova and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) at the The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Mike CORRIGAN

CEO Interferry

Mike Corrigan is CEO of Interferry, the trade association that represents the worldwide ferry industry. Mike’s focus leading Interferry is to ensure that it continues to be the voice of the worldwide ferry industry in matters of safety and operational best practices, is the industry’s voice with regulatory agencies such as IMO, and that the trade association’s value continues to grow for existing and new members. Mike brings extensive executive experience in the ferry industry, most recently as the CEO of BC Ferries, one of the world’s largest ferry operators. Before joining BC Ferries, he held various senior management roles at WestCoast Energy’s operations across Canada. Mike holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Victoria where he was awarded the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award for the business school.

Magne EKERUM

Chief Design Officer Seat Innovation

Magne Ekerum is an industrial designer, innovation adviser, and business developer with more than twenty years’ experience as a professional in the automotive, maritime, and business consulting sectors. Magne has been working with Seat Innovation since 2008 and is now Chief Design Officer, responsible for innovation, strategy, and design.

Ingeteam

Speaker TBA

Euan LONMON

Director Grendi

Bruce PETER

Professor of Design History at the Glasgow School of Art

Bruce Peter is Professor of Design History at the Glasgow School of Art. He has a life-long interest in merchant ship design and passenger shipping operation and has written extensively on these subjects. His latest maritime publications are a history of the Danish liner, ferry and logistics company, DFDS, and a history of Tor Line, which DFDS purchased in 1981. He is also currently working with colleagues in Finland on a history of Finnish shipbuilding, has written for the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) a book about the design of the Kappel propeller and is assisting the Victoria & Albert Museum in London to curate an exhibition about ocean liner travel.

Marcus RISBERG

CEO Viking Line

Marcus Risberg (born 1975) assumed the position of CEO of Viking Line on 3 November 2025. He previously served as CEO of Destination Gotland, a position he held since March 2021. Marcus has extensive experience in the passenger ferry industry through a long career with Silja Line and Tallink Grupp. Between 2015 and 2021, he held the position of Managing Director at TallinkSilja AB. Prior to this, he worked in the industry in various finance roles, including Chief Controller and Finance Director at Silja Line, and later at TallinkSilja between 2002 and 2008.

During a six-year period, he left the industry and worked in IT and telecom, with positions at Nokia and Microsoft. In 2014, his interest in shipping grew strong again, and he decided to rejoin TallinkSilja as Sales Director.

Marcus grew up on Åland, where the passenger ferry sector is a natural and integral part of everyday life.