Heidmar Names van der Zijde CEO

The Board of Directors of Heidmar has announced the appointment of Hans van der Zijde as Heidmar's new Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. van der Zijde graduated from the Nautical Academy of Rotterdam in 1985 and subsequently studied Maritime and Logistic Management there, graduating in 1992.

Mr. van der Zijde has worked for and held management positions in leading shipping companies in Europe, South Africa and Asia.  He has overall experience across most of the shipping segments, including tankers, and containers and short-sea. This experience extends to many aspects of shipping, ship husbandry, ship management, chartering and raising capital for asset plays.

For the last five years, Mr. van der Zijde has been the CEO of WOMAR, which he started with Heidmar as a joint venture and which has, during this period, become a large pool operator in the chemical tanker market.

Mr. David Morgan, a member of the Heidmar board, commented on the appointment, "The board is delighted Hans is joining our team at Heidmar. Hans comes with a strong background of managing pools, a concept he wholeheartedly embraces, and he has a strong track record of building businesses. He has long been an admirer of the Heidmar model of service and transparency towards its pool partners and customers plus its drive towards providing superior returns."

In accepting the appointment, Mr. van der Zijde said, "Since I became involved with Heidmar through our WOMAR joint venture, I have been consistently impressed with its staff's professionalism, knowledge and commitment to ship owners and customers.  I look forward to working with the Heidmar team to continue providing the highest level of commitment, quality and transparency to all our pool members and customers."

Ben Ognibene, who had been asked by the board to step in as interim CEO, will continue at Heidmar as its Chief Operating Officer.  Mr. Morgan acknowledged his contribution, stating, "We are all grateful to Ben for his excellent service.  The board is extremely excited and confident that Hans, working closely with Ben, Kathleen Haines, our CFO, and the other members of Heidmar's experienced and talented team, will allow the company to remain focused on its core business while enabling it to continue to grow as a global leader, providing pool management services to independent ship owners around the world."