Speaker

Mr Tsakiris was trained as a Master Mariner at the Hydra Merchant Marine Academy, Greece’s oldest marine academy, and he holds a degree in Maritime Studies from Liverpool John Moores University. He has a proven track record in marine underwriting and claims.

In 1995 he joined Hellenic Hull Management, the managers of American Hellenic Hull Insurance and of a predecessor insurer, Hellenic Hull Mutual Association Plc. He began his career for the company as a Claims Manager, subsequently becoming Chief Underwriter. He has been Chief Executive of Hellenic Hull Management since 2005.

Notable achievements include overseeing dynamic growth for HMA, an innovative mutual insurer.  In 2015-2016, he launched American Hellenic Hull, managed on behalf of the American P&I Club. He has been credited with negotiating the release of a vessel from pirates in Somalia in 2008 and safely steered HMA through a financial crisis in the aftermath of the collapse of the Mutual Association’s bankers in Cyprus in 2013.

He is certified Insurance Intermediary by the Bank of Greece (CII equivalent) and a subscriber of the Association of Average Adjusters. He is a visiting lecturer at the World Maritime University – founded by the International Maritime Organization - and he also lectures in the Department of Maritime Studies at the University of Piraeus. Since 2019 he is the official ambassador of the UNEP FI Principles for Sustainable Insurance at key shipping industry events, taking into account that AHHIC is the exclusive specialist marine insurance company to sign the United Nations agenda and the sole marine insurance company among world’s insurers and institutions, participating in the development of the first global guide, which provides the framework for the insurance industry to manage Environmental, Social and Governance issues . He also serves as an ambassador of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance initiative (UNEPFI), Sustainable Blue Economy Initiative, a joint venture between UNEPFI and the European Commission.

He has been named for the first time among the Top 10 in Marine Insurance 2020 by Lloyd’s List, the internationally reputed information provider for shipping since 1734. The Top 10 in Marine Insurance 2020, is part of its eagerly-awaited ‘One Hundred People 2020 Edition’, a list of the most influential people in shipping.

Furthermore, since December 2020, Ilias Tsakiris is an elected member of the Ocean Hull Committee of International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI), the first time a Cyprus-based insurer and Insurance Association of Cyprus have been represented on the body. IUMI can trace its roots as a forum and a voice for the international marine insurance industry back to the 19th century.