Keynote speaker Dr Ahmed bin Mohamed al Futaisi, Minister of Transport

Under the Patronage of His Highness Sayyid Shihab Bin Tariq Al-Said- Adviser to His Majesty the Sultan. Top-flight personalities representing heavyweights in the world of logistics are being lined up to present at the 2nd GCC Supply Chain & Logistics Conference due to be held at Al Bustan Palace - A Ritz Carlton Hotel during April 13-16, 2015. The event, organised by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, will showcase the Sultanate's long-term vision for growth as a logistics gateway to the Gulf and the wider Middle East region.

Dr Ahmed bin Mohamed al Futaisi
Prefacing the high-powered line-up is Dr Ahmed bin Mohamed al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications, whose keynote address is set to be one of the most anticipated presentations of the conference. Dr Al Futaisi's presentation will focus on, among other core issues, the Sultanate of Oman Logistics Strategy 2040 (SOLS), which spells out a 25-year road map for securing a place for Oman in the ranks of the world's top logistics performers.

Kim Fejfer
Also headlining the opening day's inaugural proceedings is Kim Fejfer, Chief Executive Officer, APM Terminals, a giant among global terminal operators. APM Terminals operates a Global Terminal Network which includes interests in 71 port facilities and a 186 combined port and Inland Services operations, employing 20,300 professionals in 63 countries, and on five continents.

With world headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, the company provides port management and operations to over 60 liner shipping customers who serve the world's leading importers and exporters of containerised and other cargoes.

Leveraging over a century of maritime industry experience and the strength of the Maersk Group, APM Terminals has grown to over $4.33 billion in revenue in 2013.

A native of Denmark, Fejfer attended management programmes at IMD, Switzerland and the Cranfield School of Management, in England and Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

He was appointed CEO of APM Terminals in June 2004 and is located in The Hague, Netherlands company headquarters. He is a member of the Group's Executive Board since January 2011.

Eric Sing-Chi Ip
Adding much cachet to the speaker line-up is Eric Sing-Chi Ip, Group Managing Director, Hutchison Port Holdings Limited (HPH), the world's leading port investor, developer and operator. The HPH network of port operations comprises 319 berths in 52 ports, spanning 26 countries throughout Asia, Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australasia.
HPH, which is a subsidiary of the multinational conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL), has also expanded internationally into other logistics and transportation-related businesses.

These include cruise ship terminals, airport operations, distribution centres, rail services, and ship repair facilities. In 2014, the HPH port network handled a combined throughput of 82.9 million TEU worldwide.

Ip, who will deliver his keynote address on Day 2 of the conference, is also Executive Director of Hutchison Port Holdings Management Pte Limited, the Trustee-Manager of HPH Trust. An industry veteran, Ip began his career in the maritime industry in 1980, holding management positions with various leading shipping agencies. He joined Hong Kong International Terminals, a member of HPH Trust, in 1993 as the General Manager of Commercial and was promoted to Managing Director in 1998.

He is an independent non-executive director of COSCO Pacific Limited and China Shipping Development Company Limited, and an outside director of Hyundai Merchant Marine Company Limited.

Allard Castelein
Fittingly, the respective joint venture partners of the Omani government in Sohar Port and Duqm Port are being represented as well at next month's conference. Port of Rotterdam Authority, which is a JV partner in Sohar Port, will be represented by Allard Castelein, who took over as Chief Executive Officer of the Authority on January 1, 2014.
The Port of Rotterdam Authority is the manager, operator and developer of Rotterdam's port and industrial area, a mega-hub billed as the largest in Europe. The Port Authority invests in the development of the existing port area, new port sites (Maasvlakte 2), public infrastructure and in the handling of shipping traffic. The goal is to strengthen the Port of Rotterdam's competitive position as a logistics hub and industrial complex of world standing.

Eddy Bruyninckx
Port of Antwerp, one of Europe's largest maritime hubs, will be represented at the event by its CEO, Eddy Bruyninckx. Consortium Antwerp Port, which is the international arm of Port of Antwerp, is a 50:50 joint venture partner with the Omani government in the operation of Duqm Port on the Sultanate's Wusta coast.

Eddy Bruyninckx has headed the Antwerp Port Authority since 1992, first as general manager of the Antwerp Municipal Port Company (as it was then), and for the last fifteen years as CEO of the Authority in its present form. As CEO he forged the Authority into an efficient, independent company under public ownership, while at the same time establishing peaceful industrial relations within the port of Antwerp.

For this successful turnaround and modernisation he was awarded the title of "Public Sector Manager of the Year" in 2003, conferred for modern public management by the Flemish Association for Management and Administration Science, and in 2012 he had the honour of receiving the first World Ports Award in Abu Dhabi.

Conference partners
Working closely with Oman's Ministry of Transport and Communications in the organisation of the 2nd GCCSCL Conference & Exhibition is the Oman Logistics & Supply Chain Association (OLSCA), a non-profit grouping of professionals hailing from all sections of the logistics and supply chain industry in the Sultanate. Well-known event' management firm Al Nimr Expo & Conferences is providing operational support to the ministry in putting together a world-class conference and companion exhibition.

Event coverage courtesy of Conrad Prabhu - Oman Daily Observer:
http://omanobserver.om/industry-titans-to-address-oman-logistics-conference/


Register to attend

For further information about the 2nd GCC Supply Chain & Logistics Conference, interested parties may visit the event website www.alnimrexpo.com/gccscl/ or may contact the organizers at + 968 247 00656 or Send an email.