Themistocles Vokos Founder Member, Honorary Chairman Founder, Seatrade Themistocles Vokos, born in Athens, Greece in 1939, started his career as a journalist in 1957 and worked for the Greek maritime weekly NAFTILIAKI, published by his father and as a foreign correspondent for a number of newspapers and publications. He also contributed articles to the Financial Times, The Sunday Times, Lloyd’s List and other journals. He later founded a number of companies involved in publishing, trade fair organising, management training, investment consultancy and market research, with offices in Hong Kong, the UK, Greece, USA, Japan and Brazil. He is a founder member of Posidonia and is now Honorary Chairman of this international maritime Congress and Exhibition which is the largest and most prestigious event in the International Maritime Calendar, held in Greece every two years since the late sixties. Posidonia re-shaped the international image of the Greek shipping industry and was instrumental in promoting Greece as an international maritime centre. In 1970 he established The Seatrade Organisation in the UK which published Seatrade magazine and runs the Seatrade Academy in Cambridge. He moved the headquarters of Seatrade and other member companies of his group to Hong Kong under a holding company, the Hong Kong Trade Fair Group and became its Chairman in 1980. He established China 2000 Limited, a market research organization in 1983 and Computership, a data entry enterprise in China and the Philippines in 1985. Based in Hong Kong, Vokos established a number of major Trade Fairs covering diverse industries. Themistocles Vokos established Seatrade Japan and was responsible for launching the first Sea-Japan exhibition in Yokohama in 1993 which is now established as an important event in the international maritime calendar. -2- He has also been responsible for establishing other international conferences and exhibitions around the world, thus bringing the maritime community together, with events such as Riomar in Brazil, Marintec in China and Cruise Miami in the US, as well as others in the Middle East and Australasia. Themistocles Vokos pioneered relationships with China in the fields of media and communications following his first visit to the People’s Republic of China in 1979. In partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Communications he established two chinese language magazines, Maritime China and China Transport in 1983, followed by another chinese language publication Medical China, in cooperation with the Chinese Ministry of Health and US publisher McGraw-Hill. These publications, together with a number of other magazines and newsletters circulated widely throughout China becoming a bridge with the ‘outside’ world. A number of professional and business conferences and exhibitions, sponsored by these publications were organised during the 80’s - at a time when access and contacts with China were not as widely available as they are today - encouraging exchange of ideas, better mutual understanding and joint venture business activities. In 1983, Themistocles Vokos organised a major international conference in Hong Kong to discuss the role of Asia and China in particular, in an increasingly interdependent world. This conference had a far reaching impact by bringing Asian and Chinese leaders together at a time when relations with China were still being cemented. Henry Kissinger, who was closely involved with the planning of this conference, was keynote speaker and a participant at this event, attended by senior political and business personalities from across Asia. -3- In February 1994, the Hong Kong Fair Group was acquired by the UK multinational group United News and Media – now INFORMA - and Themistocles Vokos became President and CEO of the Asian Division of United News and Media PLC. He was based in Hong Kong, with responsibility for group subsidiaries in Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore and acquisitions and development projects throughout Asia. He held this full time position, until the middle of 1996. In addition to activities in Asia, Vokos was also active in the Americas, particularly the United States and Brazil. A number of events were staged in New York and Brasil, with the participation of personalities such as Henry Kissinger, Hubert Humphrey, Lord Chalfont, Secretary of the US Navy John Lehman and Senator Patrick Moynihan among others. Since 1989, The Seatrade Organisation has staged the Annual Seatrade Awards Ceremony at Guildhall in the City of London This prestigious event celebrates the achievements of the maritime community and the contribution that people in shipping have made towards the protection of the marine environment, safety at sea and innovations in shipping, projecting a positive image of the shipping industry to the wider world. It was the first of its kind and a pioneering initiative that has since then been followed by many organisations around the world. Principal guests to the Awards Ceremonies have included His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, His Royal Highness The Duke of York, The Rt Hon Sir Edward Heath, Admiral JW Kime, Commandant, United States Coast Guard, Professor David Currie, Dean, City University Business School and UK Minister of Transport The Rt Hon Alistair Darling and the Secretary General of the IMO, amongst other prominent personalities. Vokos has supported the programmes of the City University in London, led by Prof. Costas Grammenos, by establishing the John A Hadjipateras Scholarship which, over a period of eleven years, has financed the study of two students. -4- He has also supported the work of the ELLINIKI ETAIRIA, a non-profit organization promoting environmental and cultural issues in Greece, including its programme for the sustainable development of the Aegean islands, which he has sponsored. He is also an honorary member of HELMEPA, the Greek organisation promoting the protection of the marine environment. He is a Vice-Patron of the Tall Ships Youth Trust, a UK non-profit Organisation offering ‘character building’ sailing programmes for young people. In 2006 Vokos donated a 62 foot Catamaran sailing yacht to the Trust which has enabled the Trust to provide sail training for younger people aged 12 and 13, particularly those with special needs. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and commendations from various bodies and organisations. In February 2003 the Union of Greek Shipowners presented Themistocles Vokos with an honorary award in recognition of his services to the maritime community. Other Awards include ones from the London Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee, from the Union of Hong Kong Shipowners Association in 1973, the US Coast Guard Pacific Command, from HELMEPA the Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association and a Special Seatrade Award presented in May 2013 by the Secretary General of the IMO, the International Maritime Organisation, among others. In April 2014 he also received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the International Hellenic University of Thessaloniki, Greece Themistocles Vokos has lived outside Greece since 1963, with time spent in the UK, USA, Brazil and Asia and is currently living in London. **********