THE JUDGES

Abir Leheta has served as CEO of Egytrans since 2015 and currently holds the position of Group CEO in Egytrans NOSCO. She also serves as co-chair of the Executive Education Advisory Council at the American University in Cairo; vice chair of the transport committee at the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association (EBA); co-chair of the transport committee at the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham); chair of the Transport & Logistics Committee of the Egyptian African Businessmen’s Association (EABA); and board treasurer of the Global Compact Network Egypt. Abir has been recognised four times by Forbes as one of the Middle East’s 100 most powerful businesswomen.

Andy Tite has over a decade of experience in the industry, from both an asset owner (land and marine based) and project freight forwarding perspective. He has held various roles within all the main functional phases of project logistics from explorations or conception, pre-feed, tendering and execution followed by MRO engagement and contract management for operational facilities.

Bernd Schwengsbier formerly served as the managing director of equipment manufacturer TII Group. He has 45 years of knowledge in the worldwide heavy transport sector, 15 years of which in management positions. Throughout his career, Bernd gained extensive experience servicing the oil and gas, shipyards, steel mills, wind energy (on and offshore), special transport, space and aviation industries.

Formerly the global project director at Pentagon Freight Services, now retired Chris Kent has been at the vanguard of the industry for five decades.

He joined the project forwarding industry in 1972 where he started with Kuehne & Nagel before relocating around the world to work at some of the sector's leading companies, including Panprojects and deugro.

In 2022, Chris was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Heavy Lift Awards.

Dennis is the owner and lead Project Logistics Consultant of Mottola Global Logistics LLC which provides customized supply chain/logistics assessment and solutions support services that assist client shippers, LSPs, or other related entities in being the best at what they do. His career in Supply Chain and Global Logistics leadership spans experience in shipper logistics management, expediting, supply quality, and as a provider of logistics services. He retired from Bechtel Corporation in 2019 after leading Bechtel’s global logistics function for over twenty years at the company.

Dennis earned a Business Logistics degree from Penn State University in addition to completing various university executive programs and professional certifications over his career. He participates in several Supply Chain/Logistics industry organizations and thought leadership activities including ECMC, Breakbulk Americas, HLPFI, The Journal of Commerce, and serves on the advisory boards for HMAA, Lone Star College, and Houston Community College supply chain/logistics programs.

Dennis Devlin is Managing Director, DT Project America, a project forwarder and Southquest, an asset-based trucking company.  DT Project is a subsidiary of the larger DIMOTRANS Group, headquartered in France. Dennis has spent his career in various roles in project logistics.

He previously held various positions with Maersk Project Logistics, BDP International (now PSA-BDP) in Philadelphia, in Shanghai where he had regional responsibility for project logistics in Asia, and later in Houston.  He also worked for Panprojects / Panalpina, DB Schenker and GEODIS.

Dennis has been a speaker at various conferences since the early 2000s.  He is a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and a 1987 honors graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University.  He also pursued studies in Glasgow, Scotland, where he struggled to understand Glaswegian English; in Paris, France, where he studied French; and in Taipei and in Shanghai, where he worked and studied Mandarin Chinese.

Dominik Keller started his career in freight forwarding back in 1989 at Switzerland’s Natural, which later became Agility and now DSV.

He went on to serve at several logistics companies around the world including Brazil, Spain and the US, before becoming head of global development at the Fracht Group in 2014.

He is responsible for the supervision, support, management and development of the global office network, partnerships and the Key Account Management of the Fracht Group.

Elisabeth Cosmatos has been working in the shipping, forwarding and logistics sectors for the past 25 years and was appointed managing director of Cosmatos in 2000. Her expertise spans all aspects of multimodal transportation, in diverse industries such as oil and gas, renewable energy, and defence logistics. Elisabeth currently serves as the president of THLG, having been part of the association’s executive committee for the past seven years; served on the executive committee of the Thessaloniki Shipping Agents Association from 2002-2008; is a WISTA Hellas member, and a WISTA ambassador for northern Greece.

Mr. Kuzucu was graduated from Bosphorus University, Istanbul as Industrial Engineer. He started his career in STFA Construction Co. and he respectively carried out Import/ Export Manager at the company and Managing Director roles at the STFA Maritime Co. In 2001 he started to work HAREKET Heavy Lifting and Project Transportation Co. For 19 years he worked as Managing Director at Hareket. Since 2020 he continues his duty as Board Member at Hareket.

President & Founder Jade Management Group Inc, an industrial and capital supply chain advisory and consulting company.

Prior to this Grant established Combi Lift Projects in Americas, preceded by his role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Agility Project Logistics, Inc.

Grant has over 50 years of industry experience in leadership roles setting strategy and implementing strategic plans to meet financial results and operational excellence in the complex and volatile service, engineering, petrochemical and industrial manufacturing sectors. Tactical experience in project management and operations in more than 60 countries for commercial entities in heavy manufacturing, capital project supply chain upstream, midstream, downstream, marine and the logistics service sector.

He holds a Bachelor of Administrative Studies degree from York University, Toronto, Canada and Chairman Emeritus of The Logistics Institute. Grant is an active member of Breakbulk Magazine Editorial Board, Exporters Competitive Maritime Council as well as other professional organizations.

Guillermina del Pino is a global logistics leader with more than 25 years of experience. She leads Siemens Energy Project Logistics for the Americas, driving success across planning, execution, and on-time project delivery.

Having lived and worked in Argentina, Spain, Brazil, Venezuela, and Peru, and now based in the United States, Guillermina brings a multicultural perspective shaped by building strong partnerships across diverse teams. She is passionate about collaboration, inclusion, and teamwork as drivers of performance, engagement, and a sense of belonging.

Outside of work, Guillermina enjoys hiking, crafting, and traveling.

Iris Katrin Muellejans is Managing Partner Director of Rolf Riedl GmbH, an international freight forwarding company, which she has led for over 22 years after taking over the family business. She specialises in heavy lift and project logistics, with extensive experience across the power and energy sector, managing projects from initial feasibility studies through to full on-site execution. Her expertise spans overland, air, and ocean logistics, alongside rigging and foundation installation. Known for her hands-on approach, Iris combines strategic leadership with practical execution in delivering complex global transport solutions.

Jake Swanson is the Chief Commercial Officer for DHL Industrial Projects, leading all commercial activities for the group. Previously he led Americas Region for DHL Industrial Projects and has worked in various capacities within the group for the last 9 years. He has worked in the transportation and logistics industry for over 20 years, and has experience on the EPC, Project Ocean carrier and freight forwarder sides of the industry. He graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Logistics and Intermodal Transportation and then spent a year sailing on container vessels. Swanson holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Houston.

Justin Archard has been commercially involved in the breakbulk and heavy lift industry for more than 24 years, working for Jumbo Shipping and SAL Heavy Lift in a variety of roles from chartering manager through to corporate commercial director.

He established the independent shipbroking firm One World Shipbrokers in 2021 specialising in breakbulk, MPP and heavy lift chartering; founded and manages The Market Sentiment Index for the MPP industry, and is a feature writer for HLPFI profiling leaders and characters from the heavy transport logistics sector.

Kevin Kwateng is the founder and principal consultant of Project Logistics Engineering Solutions Inc., a heavy transport and lift engineering consultancy operating across North America. With a civil engineering background, Kevin specializes in heavy haul route surveys, rigging engineering, bridge analysis, and transport logistics for clients in the mining, energy, wind, hydroelectric, and industrial sectors. His portfolio spans Arctic corridors, wind farm installations, and complex industrial lifts coast to coast. Kevin is also developing a suite of technology tools purpose-built for the heavy transport industry, bringing engineering rigour to a sector hungry for purpose-built solutions.

Kohki Uemura is the President & CEO of DENZAI K.K. the holding company of the DENZAI Group, a global leader in heavy lifting, transportation and construction services with innovative engineering solutions. He has overseen the growth of DENZAI, expanding the group to more than 1330+ employees and 40+ bases around the world.

Kyriacos Panayides has served the shipping industry for over 30 years. He graduated with a degree in business administration, a post-graduate degree in shipping studies and thereafter becoming a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. A staunch advocate for sustainable growth, he combines extensive experience in management and widespread projects across a variety of shipping segments - shipowning, shipmanagement, tanker operations, multipurpose and project heavy lift, container feeder operations and shipping agency.

Kyriacos also sits on the boards of several other shipping companies within the Schoeller Group and has participated on numerous shipping industry committees, as well as non-shipping related bodies.

UTC’s COO of Global Projects, Mirko Knezevic, has spent his 30-year career in logistics and freight forwarding. He is a leader with a strong work ethic and a desire to mentor and motivate staff to become leaders in project management. Experienced with start-ups, he has learned to think entrepreneurially and to always consider the bottom line.

With a focus on projects that are complex, he provides specialized knowledge on varying types of cargo shipping to remote and challenging locations. Many of Mirko’s clients have been doing business with him for over 25 years, a testament to his work and the loyal relationships he has built.

Peter joined Trans Global Projects in 2020. Having worked for numerous major European freight forwarders over the last three decades, Peter brings a wealth of industry knowledge. Leveraging his extensive freight forwarding expertise, Peter leads our Swiss team in providing first-class project forwarding services for ocean and road freight. In 2025, Peter assumed the role of Group COO.

Riccardo Tippman has worked in the heavy transport, heavy lifting and project forwarding industry for more than 40 years.

He joined Italy’s Fagioli Group as business development manager in 1985 and during his 33 years with the company he overlooked the management of many international projects and built up the international network of the Group, setting up strategic alliances and international JV’s. Director on the corporate Board for many years and managing several International Group Companies Worldwide.

Since 2019, he operates as a professional advisor from Milan, through his own firm, RTC.

Ruediger Fromm held various management roles in heavy haulage and project logistics before joining Siemens in 2008, where he oversaw project logistics for Power Generation, Wind Power, and Energy Management. Until September 2024, he managed global project logistics for Siemens Energy Global's Project Entity.

Since October 2024, he has been the Logistics Business Partner for Siemens Energy Global's Wind Power Business Area.

Ryan joined BWS in January 2026 to lead the EP&P Division of the group. Ryan has over 25 years’ experience in Project Logistics, with the past 23 years working at DHL Industrial Projects. He led the DHL IP vertical for the last 6 years until his appointment here at BWS. Ryan held multiple senior leadership roles during his tenure there including CCO, COO, Regional VP Europe and finally Global CEO.

Throughout his career, Ryan has built and led high-performing international teams, delivering complex, multi-modal logistics solutions across energy, infrastructure and industrial mega-projects. He has a strong track record of driving profitable growth, strengthening global key account relationships, and enhancing operational governance across diverse geographies.

At BWS, he is focused on scaling the EP&P Division globally, strengthening engineering-led solutions, and positioning the business as a trusted partner for large-scale capital projects worldwide.

Susan Oatway is a highly experienced analyst who joined the Journal of Commerce by S&P Global in January 2023 as a senior research analyst for multipurpose and project shipping. Her focus is on the multipurpose, breakbulk, project cargo, and related shipping markets, including roll-on, roll-off and refrigerated shipping. In September 2025 she became the Chair of the Journal of Commerce Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference, held annually in New Orleans. Susan is fully conversant with all aspects of the multipurpose and dry bulk shipping market. Prior to joining S&P Global, she was the principal author of Drewry’s Multipurpose and Heavy Lift publications for nearly 20 years. She has extensive consulting experience working for carriers/shipping lines, financial intermediaries and other key industry stakeholders. She is regularly asked to share her market knowledge and insights at leading industry conferences and lectures on dry bulk chartering for the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS). She was the first female International Chair at the ICS from 2019 to 2021 and remains a Fellow of the Institute. She is also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights.

Thomas Skellingsted has more than 30 years of experience within transport and logistics—starting in the transport industry as a freight forwarder trainee in 1988 in Denmark and since then holding various management roles, including several years at ABB. With a proven track record of both theoretical and practical experience, he joined 4D Supply Chain Consulting in 2021, serving as president of the company based out of London and Houston.