Ion G. Varouxakis Board of Directors, Chairman of the Board
President and CEO
Ion G. Varouxakis is one of our founders and is the Chairman of our board of directors. He also serves as our President and Chief Executive Officer. In 2003, Mr. Varouxakis founded Free Bulkers, the beginning of a single-vessel, self-financed entrepreneurial venture that led to FreeSeas’ founding and NASDAQ listing in 2005. Under Mr. Varouxakis’ leadership, FreeSeas has grown to be a leader in the Handysize and Handymax segment in the U.S. capital market. Prior to founding Free Bulkers, Mr. Varouxakis held since 1997 management positions in private shipping companies operating in the drybulk sector. Mr. Varouxakis holds a candidature degree in law from the Catholic University of Saint Louis in Brussels and a bachelor of science degree in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Mr. Varouxakis is a member of the Hellenic Committee of the Korean Register of Shipping and is an officer of the reserves of the Hellenic Army.
Kostas Koutsoubelis Board of Directors, Member
Vice President and Treasurer
Kostas Koutsoubelis joined our board of directors in 2007 and serves as our Vice President and Treasurer. In addition, Mr. Koutsoubelis is the group financial director of the Restis Group of Companies and also the chairman of Golden Energy Marine Corp. Furthermore, he is a member of the board of directors of First Business Bank, South African Marine Corp. S.A., Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. and Swissmarine Corporation Ltd.
Before joining the Restis Group, he served as head of shipping of Credit Lyonnais Greece. After graduating from St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, he held various positions in Mobil Oil Hellas S.A. and after his departure he joined International Reefer Services, S.A., a major shipping company, as financial director. In the past he has also served as director of Egnatia Securities S.A., a stock exchange company, and Egnatia Mutual Fund S.A. He is a governor in the Propeller Club - Port of Piraeus and member of the Board of the Association of Banking and Financial Executives of Hellenic Shipping.
Focko H. Nauta Board of Directors, Member
Audit Committee, Chairman
Focko H. Nauta has served as a director since 2005. Since September 2000, he has also been a director of FinShip BV, a maritime corporate finance company. From 1997 through 1999, Mr. Nauta served as a managing director of Van Ommeren Shipbroking Ltd, a London-based ship brokering company. Prior to 1997, he worked in Rotterdam for MeesPierson (till 1992) and was general manager of Fortis Bank in Oslo (1992-1997). Mr. Nauta holds a degree in law from Leiden University in the Netherlands.
Didier Salomon Board of Directors, Member
Corporate Governance Committee, Chairman
Mr. Salomon joined the board in 2008. He has spent fourteen years as head of global shipping at BNP Paribas. Prior to that, he held similar positions at Banque Louis-Dreyfus, Banque Bruxelles Lambert and Credit Naval. Mr. Salomon holds a diploma in political science (Sciences Po Paris), a degree in law (Paris Assas) and a post graduate diploma in banking (Centre d'Etudes Superieures de Banque). For many years he has been a lecturer on the economy and capital markets at the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers in Paris.
Maria Badekas Board of Directors, Secretary
Maria Badekas holds a Bachelor in English and European Laws from Essex University (UK) and a Master of Law from University of Cambridge (UK). From 2001 to 2003 she was a political expert to the European Commission, DG Development. From 2003 to 2005, she was a special advisor to the Mayor of Athens and participated in the preparation of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games (international affairs and public relations). Between 2005 and 2006, she was a special advisor to the Minister of the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and from 2006 to 2009, she was special advisor to the General Secretary for European Affairs of the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ms. Badekas replaced Alexis Varouxakis, who resigned as our Secretary on May 11, 2010.
Mr. Keith Bloomfield Board of Directors, Member
Mr. Bloomfield joined the Board in 2010. Mr. Bloomfield has over 13 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, and wealth management. He is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Forbes Family Trust, a private wealth management firm which he founded in September 2009. From October 2006 to September 2009, he was a Senior Managing Director and Corporate Counsel at Third Avenue Management, a global asset management firm with approximately $16 billion in assets under management. At Third Avenue, he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions, corporate transactions and business development. Prior to joining Third Avenue, he was a corporate attorney with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
Dimitrios Panagiotopoulos Board of Directors, Member
Dimitrios Panagiotopoulos joined our board of directors in 2007. In addition, he is the head of shipping and corporate banking of Proton Bank, a Greek private bank, where he has served since April 2004. From January 1997 to March 2004, he served as deputy head of the Greek shipping desk of BNP Paribas and before that for four years as senior officer of the shipping department of Credit Lyonnais Greece. From 1990 to 1993, he was working as chief accountant in Ionia Management, a Greek shipping company. Mr. Panagiotopoulos also serves on the board of directors of Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. He holds a degree in economics from Athens University and a masters of science in shipping, trade and finance from City University of London. He served his obligatory military duty as an officer of the Greek Special Forces and today is a captain of the reserves of Hellenic Army.
