Leadership
Executive Management Team
Experienced, effective and diverse leadership
Kristian Sørensen
Kristian Sørensen
Kristian Sørensen has over 20 years of experience in the LPG shipping industry where he has held several commercial and management positions. He started his career as a shipbroker in Lorentzen & Stemoco in 2002 before joining Inge Steensland AS (today Steem1960) in 2004 as a broker and later partner and Head of Gas department. From 2010-2013, he was responsible for expanding and heading its Singapore office. In 2016 he became CEO of Norwegian broking house Fearnleys, and also served as Deputy Group CEO for the Astrup Fearnley Group until 2021, when he joined Avance Gas as CEO.
Kristian joined BW LPG as Deputy CEO and Head of Strategy in September 2022. Kristian spent two years in the Royal Norwegian Navy as a graduate of the Junior Naval Academy and holds a “Siviløkonom” degree from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).
Born: 1976
Samantha Xu
Samantha Xu
Samantha Xu has more than 20 years of international finance experience in the shipping and energy sectors. Samantha started her career with A. P. Moller-Maersk Group as management trainee, and worked at its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark as financial controller upon graduation. She also headed the finance team for Odfjell SE in Middle East before joining J. Lauritzen Singapore as its CFO in 2012. In 2019, she joined Royal Vopak, a leading independent terminal company, as its Finance Director, managing their terminal portfolio in Asia and Middle East.
Her career primarily focuses on board governance, risk management, project investment and M&A. Ms. Xu holds a Global Executive MBA and a Corporate Governance Certificate from INSEAD.
Born: 1980
Niels Rigault
Niels Rigault
Niels Rigault has 15 years of experience in competitive shipbroking and in all areas of maritime LPG.
He is currently Chairman of the Board of BW LPG India, BW LPG’s India subsidiary. Prior to joining BW LPG in 2016, Mr. Rigault was Senior Partner and Member of the Project department at Inge Steensland where he was responsible for long-term time charters, newbuildings and second-hand vessel transactions. He joined Inge Steensland as a broker in 2006. Mr. Rigault started his career as a broker at Lorentzen and Stemoco A/S in 2002.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from Vrije Universiteit Brussel /Vesalius College and a degree in Marketing from BI Norwegian Business School.
Born: 1976
Prodyut Banerjee
Prodyut Banerjee
Captain Prodyut Banerjee has more than 18 years of experience in Global Operations in the maritime industry. He has held various leadership positions with BW Group since 2005. Prior to joining BW, he worked with ExxonMobil for over 15 years, serving on vessels at sea and in shore positions in the United Kingdom. He has an MBA from the National University of Singapore.
Knut-Helge Knutsen
Knut-Helge Knutsen
Knut-Helge Knutsen has held global leadership positions in the maritime and shipping industry for the past 20 years. Before joining BW in 2013, he was Regional Manager at Veritas Petroleum Services for six years, and was with DNV for 11 years where he led various technical departments related to ship building in Norway and South Korea.
Mr. Knutsen currently also holds the role of Managing Director for BW LPG Fleet Management AS, and he is a member of LIoyds Nordic Committee and DNV Nordic Safety Committee. He has a Master’s degree in Marine Engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Global Business Leadership qualifications from the IMD Business School in Switzerland.
Iver Baatvik
Iver Baatvik
Iver Baatvik had 10 years of investment banking background before joining BW LPG in 2018, and has been working within the finance and commercial departments.
Mr. Baatvik has a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Oslo and a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Administration from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.
Board of Directors
Experienced, effective and diverse leadership
Andreas Sohmen-Pao
Andreas Sohmen-Pao
Andreas Sohmen-Pao is Chairman of the Companyand BW Group, BW Offshore, Hafnia, BW Epic Kosan, BW Energy and Cadeler. He is alsoChairman of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation and a trustee of the Lloyd’s Register Foundation.
Mr. Sohmen-Pao was previously Chairman of the Singapore Maritime Foundation and has served as a non-executive director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd, London P&I Club, Esplanade Co Ltd, National Parks Board Singapore, Sport Singapore and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore amongst others.
Mr. Sohmen-Pao graduated from Oxford University in England with an honors degree in Oriental Studies and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School
Born: 1971
Andrew E. Wolff
Andrew E. Wolff
Andrew E. Wolff has served on the Board of Directors since May 20, 2020 as an independent director.
He was most recently Global Co-Head of the Merchant Banking Division (“MBD”), Head of MBD International and Global Co-Head of Private Equity for Goldman Sachs. He was the Co-Chief Investment Officer of the flagship Merchant Banking private equity funds. Mr. Wolff was a member of the European Management Committee, Corporate Investment Committee, Infrastructure Investment Committee, and Co-Chairman of the Growth Equity Investment Committee. Mr. Wolff joined Goldman Sachs in 1998 in the Principal Investment Area and was named Managing Director in 2005 and Partner in 2006.
He has experience investing across global markets and has served on the boards of companies in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, China, Korea, the United Kingdom, France, Norway and Denmark.
Mr. Wolff earned a BA in Philosophy from Yale University in 1991 and a JD and MBA from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, respectively, in 1998.
Born: 1969
Anne Grethe Dalane
Anne Grethe Dalane
Anne Grethe Dalane has served on the Board of Directors since November 21, 2013 as an independent director.
Prior to this, Ms. Dalane held various senior management positions at Yara, Norsk Hydro in the areas of human resources, corporate strategy and finance. Her board experience includes Arendal Fossekompani, Hafslund, EDB Business Partners, Prosafe and Petroleum Geo Services.
Ms. Dalane is a certified financial analyst and holds an MBA from the Norwegian School of Economics
Born: 1960
Sonali Chandmal
Sonali Chandmal
Sonali Chandmal has served on the Board of Directors since May 20, 2020 as an independent director.
She is currently a partner at A Lamot Incobel & Co, an advisory firm sourcing, structuring and funding private equity opportunities and funds in Europe, India and America. Ms. Chandmal currently serves on the board of directors and renumeration committee of Ageas SA/NV, the board of directors and renumeration committee chair of Ageas Portugal Grupo and the board of directors, audit and sustainability committees of Medicover AB, and the board of directors of Ackermans & van Haaren SA/NV. She is also on the board of directors of the Harvard Club of Belgium and Chapter Zero Brussels.
From 1997 to 2017, she worked at Bain & Company, a leading global strategy and management consulting firm, at its offices in San Francisco, London and Brussels. Prior to that, Ms. Chandmal worked at Robertson Stephens & Company, an investment bank specializing in high technology IPOs and mergers & acquisitions.
Ms. Chandmal holds a BA in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MBA at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration.
Born: 1968
Luc Gillet
Luc Gillet
Luc Gillet has served on the Board of Directors since May 15, 2023 as an independent director.
Mr. Gillet started his career in 1982 with ETPM and joined Bureau Veritas in 1983 where he held various management positions. Mr. Gillet joined TotalEnergies in 2003, he was named Senior Vice President Shipping in 2008 and served until 2022. Mr. Gillet currently serves as an independent director of GTT and Orion Global Transport France (OGTF).
Mr. Gillet is a graduated engineer from Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Techniques avancées (1980) and holds an EMBA of HEC (1991).
Born: 1958
Nomination Committee
The Nomination Committee comprises Ms Sophie Smith (Chairperson), Mr Bjarte Bøe and Ms Elaine Yew Wen Suen as members. The Nomination Committee is responsible for nominating persons for election as directors, providing recommendations on the suitability of candidates for election as a director and to make recommendations for the remuneration of the directors. The Nomination Committee also proposes candidates for election to the Nomination Committee and proposes the remuneration to be paid to the members of the Nomination Committee.
Sophie Smith
Sophie Smith
Sophie Smith is Chief Human Resources Officer at BW Group. She is responsible for the people strategy and creating a workplace where our employees feel inspired, fulfilled, and valued to deliver growth for our business.
Prior to joining BW Group, she worked at Experian, where she most recently held the role of HR Director, Asia Pacific. Originally from the UK, Sophie started her career at Rolls-Royce and moved into HR leadership roles at 3i and NatWest.
Sophie graduated from Durham University with a first class honours degree in Geography. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Bjarte Bøe
Bjarte Bøe
Mr Bjarte Bøe has over thirty years of experience in the finance industry. He currently serves as a Director of Hermitage Offshore, a NYSE listed company and Agera Venture, a Norwegian venture capital company.
Mr Bøe is a member of the Nomination Committee of BW Offshore Limited and Chairman of the Investment Committee at SEB Venture Capital, a subsidiary of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (publ), or SEB, a Nordic financial services group, where from 1995 to June 2019, he held a range of management positions. He most recently served as Head of Shipping and Offshore Finance at SEB, and was Global Head of Investment Banking at SEB Stockholm between 2012 and 2016. Mr Bøe previously held various other bank related management positions at Christiania Bank between 1986 and 1995, a Norwegian bank that later merged with MeritaNordbanken to become Nordea, and was a shipbroker at R.S. Platou between 1983 and 1986.
Mr Bøe has an MBA from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, graduated in 1983.
Elaine Yew Wen Suen
Elaine Yew Wen Suen
Ms Elaine Yew Wen Suen is a Senior Partner in Egon Zehnder, one of the world’s largest executive search and talent strategy firm. Ms Yew’s focus is on CEO and C-suite succession planning, and board effectiveness and she also advises clients on CEO development, top team effectiveness, and organisational culture.
Before joining the firm, Ms Yew led an industry change program while at Global Freight Exchange, the world’s first Internet-based global marketplace for air cargo. Prior to that, she was Executive Director with Goldman Sachs in the European Equities Division and was a Consultant with Monitor Company. Ms Yew started her career with the Singapore Economic Development Board, helping Singapore companies develop their presence in Indochina and Myanmar in the early 1990s. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the National University of Singapore and chairs the Industry Advisory Board of NUS’ Centre for FutureReady Graduates. Ms Yew also serves on the Board of Governors of the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus group of schools in Singapore, the Board of Workforce Singapore and the Advisory Board of Women’s Forum Singapore. Ms Yew is a member of the Asia Advisory Board of Allianz and sits on the board of The Majurity Trust and chairs the Tangent Initiative.
Ms Yew has a BA with Honours in English and Drama from the University of Kent and an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee is responsible for approving the Board’s annual review of the Company’s most important areas of exposure to risk and its internal control arrangements, as well as an annual supervisory plan for internal audit work.
The Audit Committee follows up on internal controls in connection with quarterly reviews of the Group’s financial reporting. At least once a year, the Board and the Audit Committee review the Company’s internal control procedures relating to its financial reporting process. The Audit Committee consists of Ms Anne Grethe Dalane (Chairman) and Ms Sonali Chandmal, both of whom are also members of the Board.
Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee ensures thorough and independent preparation of matters relating to compensation paid to the Executive Personnel. The Remuneration Committee consists of Mr Andreas Sohmen-Pao (Chairman) and Mr Luc Gillet, both of whom are also members of the Board.
Corporate Governance
At BW LPG, we conduct our business with high ethical standards and in compliance with relevant laws. We hold ourselves to high standards, and we expect the same from our external stakeholders and partners. Read more about corporate governance
