Kirsi Tikka is President and COO of the ABS Europe Division. The division is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the society throughout Scandinavia, Northern and Southern Europe, the British Isles, the wider Mediterranean region and Africa

Her prior assignment was Vice President and Chief Engineer where she was responsible for guiding engineering policy and leading the ABS Environmental Solutions Group whose innovative solutions support environmental initiatives and maritime operations in harsh environments.

Before joining ABS in 2001, Tikka was professor of Naval Architecture at Webb Institute in New York. In addition to teaching she carried out research on structural strength of tankers and risk analyses and was actively involved in studies on double hull tankers for the US National Research Council Marine Board. She also worked for Chevron Shipping in San Francisco and for Wartsila Shipyards in Finland.

A native of Finland, Tikka has a Doctorate in Naval Architecture and Offshore Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture from the University of Technology in Helsinki. She is the 2010 David Taylor Medallist of SNAME and Fellow of RINA.