Andrew Cutler became CEO of the Britannia Group in 2012 having joined on the claims side in 2006 where he headed up the Scandinavian team. Under Andrew’s guidance the Club has reinvented itself, with a focus on mutuality, service to members and strong finances.

Before joining the Britannia Group, Andrew worked with English maritime law specialists Holman Fenwick Willan for 13 years, being based for most of his time in Hong Kong and Shanghai and latterly heading up the Shanghai branch. He originally qualified as a barrister (Lincoln’s Inn) and then requalified as a solicitor of England & Wales and Hong Kong SAR.

Andrew Cutler became Chair of the International Group of P&I Clubs in November 2022 having previously been actively involved across the IG, including sitting on its Sustainability, Sanctions, Pollution, Maritime Security and Reinsurance Committees.

Gary started his career at sea as a cadet on general cargo vessels sailing worldwide before coming ashore in 1983 with a BSc degree in Nautical Studies and a Masters Certificate. Since then he has been involved in P&I and today, as an Associate Director of the London P&I Club, heads a team of lawyers handling P&I and FDD claims for European, Turkish and Middle East owners and charterers. He is the current Chair of the IG Correspondents Committee.

Angad Banga is the Chief Operating Officer for The Caravel Group, a role he took on in 2016. As Group COO he has direct operational and managerial oversight for the Asset Management, Investment, Finance & Operations, and Administrative areas of the business. He has been with The Caravel Group since its inception in 2013 when he joined as Executive Director and has been an integral member in shaping the company’s business growth strategy. In addition, Angad is a key member of the Group’s Management, Investment, Risk and Credit Committees, and he oversees the IT Steering Committee which drives the Group’s digital strategy.

Angad is on the Board of Directors of Fleet Management Limited (a Caravel Group company), and he also serves as Director on the Board of several companies in The Caravel Group’s portfolio of direct private equity investments. In 2014, Angad saw the potential of Indian beauty omnichannel retailer Nykaa, now one of India’s biggest success stories. As Nykaa’s very first and largest external investor, he played a key role in advising, steering, and helping drive the Company from their Series A fundraising to their November 2021 IPO on both Indian stock exchanges.

In November 2023, Angad was appointed Chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association (HKSOA), one of the world’s largest shipowner associations with more than 180 members representing companies owning, managing and/or operating a fleet, as well as providing professional services to the shipping industry. He has been a Member of HKSOA’s Executive Committee since November 2017 and has served as Chairman of their Marine Sub-Committee since November 2019. Angad was a Member of the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board for two consecutive terms, ending in March 2024. With a strong interest in the industry’s continued digitalization, he is part of the City University of Hong Kong’s School of Data Science Advisory Committee.

Prior to joining The Caravel Group, Angad was a Principal with KKR, a world-leading global investment firm, where he focused on investing in Leveraged Buy-out (LBO) transactions across the Asia-Pacific region. He also ran the Asian Leveraged Finance business for KKR Capital Markets Asia, where he helped finance some of the largest, most complex, and highly structured private equity acquisitions in Asia. Angad started his career as an Investment Banking Analyst at J.P. Morgan in Hong Kong.

A firm believer in corporate social responsibility, Angad spearheaded a partnership between Cricket Hong Kong (CHK) and The Caravel Foundation (the Group’s charitable arm) in support of their mission to make cricket accessible to children and youth in Hong Kong. Through the partnership, CHK has successfully launched a Youth Pathway Programme and revived School Cricket, one of their former flagship initiatives that allowed Angad to enjoy the sport at school throughout his younger years.

Angad received his AB with Honors in Economics from Dartmouth College. He recently served on Dartmouth’s Board of Visitors of The John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, and on its Presidential Commission for Financial Aid.

Nick was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the International Group of P&I Clubs in July 2019. Nick is responsible for co-ordination of the collective activities of the International Group member clubs including the internal organisation of the Group activities, co-ordinating the formulation and development of Group policies, the operation of the Group large claims pooling and reinsurance arrangements and the representation of the Group at inter-industry, government and intergovernmental levels. Nick has practised in Shipping and Marine Insurance law since 1990, and has extensive knowledge and experience of the Shipping Industry and the P&I world coupled with considerable high level management experience gained as the Shipping Group Practice leader at the former Richards Butler from 2003-2007, and, following its merger with US based international law firm Reed Smith as Global Shipping Industry Group Leader from 2007-2019. He has extensive experience of the Asian market having lived and worked in Hong Kong for two years and managed teams there and in Singapore.

Chris joined Burgoynes as a forensic investigator in London in 2010 before transferring to the Hong Kong office in 2017, where he specialises in the investigation of fires and explosions. Chris holds a 1st Class Honours Degree in Chemistry from the University of Greenwich, and is a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Associate of the Institute of Fire Engineers. He is also a Member of both the International Association of Fire Investigators, and the International Association of Arson Investigators. Before joining Burgoynes, Chris spent eight years as an analytical chemist working in the pharmaceutical industry, and he also has five years’ experience working as an industrial firefighter, responding to fires, first aid emergencies and chemical spill incidents. In addition, Chris worked for three years as a Retained Firefighter for Kent Fire & Rescue Service.

During his career with Burgoynes Chris has investigated over 500 incidents, both land-based and marine. The land-based incidents have included fires involving small electrical devices and household appliances; motor vehicles and machinery; commercial premises; warehouses, factories and petrochemical plants; and low and high voltage electrical distribution equipment. In the marine industry Chris has investigated fires and explosions involving ship engine rooms and machinery spaces; accommodation and storage areas; containerised cargo; bulk and general purpose cargo; oil and chemical tankers, and car carriers. He has also provided live fire-fighting and fire safety advice to vessel operators and their crews. Drawing on his analytical chemistry background, Chris has advised on claims involving alleged marine cargo contamination, and incidents arising from industrial and chemical process control failures.

Quentin joined the Club’s Claims Dept in London in 1993 after graduating with a BA in Modern Chinese Studies from the University of Leeds and an MPhil in Management Studies from the University of Oxford. He is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute and has been working in the Club’s Hong Kong office since 1994. Quentin is a Director of the Hong Kong office with responsibility for claims services provided to members in China and Vietnam.

Dhananjay joined Bilbrough in July 2020. He holds a MSc (Distinction) degree in International Shipping & Transport Logistics from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Before joining Bilbrough, Dhananjay has worked at sea as navigating officer with one of the world’s largest container shipping company responsible for planning, safe execution of voyages and maintaining high safety standards on board. He stepped ashore in the role as a Marine Surveyor, where he was predominantly representing P&I clubs for entry condition surveys, casualty investigation and cargo damage surveys. He is a member of London club’s ESG working group, Publications team and Sanctions Compliance Committee. Dhananjay currently handles P&I Claims on behalf of the club’s Far Eastern membership.

During his time at the Club, Guy has looked after Taiwanese, Northwest European and Middle Eastern Members from a P&I claims perspective. Guy has been an active Member of the IG Correspondents Committee since 2016. In that time Guy has sat on various working groups within the Committee and assisted in contributing to various conferences and projects. As a former commercial correspondent in West Africa and Mexico, Guy remains passionate about the challenges and opportunities P&I correspondents face globally and has a particular interest in developing the next generation of correspondents.

Benjamin Budd is deputy director of the Budd Group, established in 1850. He oversees the commercial development and relationships of the Group as well as the enhancement of internal processes through digitalisation and the development of new offices, partnerships and services. Benjamin is also in charge of the Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy. Prior to joining the family business, Benjamin worked in the media arm of the Bolloré Group where he contributed to developing activities on the African continent. Benjamin is a graduate of King’s College London (BA) and of the University of Oxford (MSc). He was awarded the P&IQ Certificate in May 2024.

Neil has been handling a wide range of P&I claims for more than 35 years. In 2021 he took over the role at NorthStandard as the director in charge of managing and developing the relationships with their worldwide network of correspondents. Neil is also NorthStandard’s representative on the IG Correspondents’ Committee.

Before the creation of Oasis, Alan was a director of one of the International Group P&I clubs and prior to that he worked for a large ship owner. He is very familiar with various types of claims faced by clubs and their members and is experienced in dealing with them.

Sean joined Thomas Miller from an international marine consultancy. He has worked in shipyards and marine consultancies which were based in Singapore, Malaysia and the UK. He has a background of offshore & shipyard operations, salvage & wreck removal operations and marine warranty surveys. Sean registered as a Chartered Engineer and OCIMF OVID surveyor before joining Thomas Miller.

Sharon Chan joined Gard in 2016 and is a qualified lawyer in Hong Kong. Before joining Gard, she worked for Ince & Co, Hong Kong since 2000. She practiced insurance laws including advising on compliance and regulatory issues and specialized in personal injuries matters with a focus on marine industry and crew claims. Sharon had also represented ship owners and defended on their behalf in personal injuries proceedings and crew claims at the instruction of various P & I Clubs. She is now a Senior Claims Executive, Lawyer at Gard dealing with all sorts of P & I matters, in particular people claims.

Chair of the IG Sanctions Committee

LLM in Maritime Law from University of Oslo, LLM in Commercial Law from University of Gothenburg

Deck Officer Class VII from Chalmers University of Technology

Thomas has over 35 years of international experience in the energy sector. He graduated as a Chemical Engineer and worked in Refinery Operation. After joining DNV, he started doing Risk Management of Offshore Oil and Gas assets but soon became a class surveyor for some 20 years.  He is a senior member of the Chinese SNAME and represented DNV China to the committee of CSNAME. In recent years he has moved into the decarbonization sector involving LNG, Hydrogen Production, Offshore Wind, Battery Storage and Hydrogen Fuel Cell. 

He is DNV Energy Systems’ Market Area Manager for HK & Macau.  

Dr Zak Hodgson is a Project Lead at AMA’s UK R&D office, where AMA develops novel technical solutions to solve problems, provide insight, mitigate risk, and prevent losses across industry. This includes creation of bespoke hardware and software for both internal and external use, along with simulation-model development to enhance AMA’s other services. Zak is also engaged in the AMA science team as a Consultant Scientist / Engineer and forensic investigator, with prior cases covering the spectrum of hull & machinery failures and the resulting casualty mitigation and investigation.

Paul Smit is Head of Legal for the Shipowners’ Mutual P&I Club. He joined the Club’s London office in 2009 initially as a claims handler and syndicate manager, before relocating to Singapore in 2012 as Head of Claims for the Club’s Asia-Pacific business and gaining significant experience in those markets over the next 10 years, particularly in relation to vessel casualties. Having returned to working for the Club’s London office he took up the position of Head of Legal in 2023, and represents the Club on the IG’s Sanctions, Pollution and Group Liaison Officer committees.

Prior to joining the Club Paul qualified as a lawyer in South Africa with a leading P&I correspondent law firm; and subsequently as an English solicitor with a boutique shipping law firm in London.

Nicola Mason, LLM Barrister and CEDR Accredited Mediator is Deputy Head of Skuld Hong Kong office and Head of Claims. She has over 34 years’ experience within the P&I industry, 29 of which have been spent with Skuld Hong Kong. During that time Nicola has dealt with several major pollution incidents and casualties in the region.  Nicola deals with all aspects of P&I, FDD, regulatory and compliance issues, and has spoken at many major industry events on behalf of Skuld and the IG.

David joined ITOPF in November 2014. He holds a BSc in Marine Biology and an MSc in Tropical Coastal Management and has worked extensively throughout Asia Pacific in CSR, event management and sustainable tourism. His previous work focused upon operational issues specifically dealing with remote locations, waste processing and project management. Since joining ITOPF David has attended a number of incidents in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and North and South America dealing with a range of oils and pollution related issues including fisheries, tourism and environmental assessment. In addition to response work he has also been involved in national oil spill contingency planning, OPRC training courses and presented at a number of international conferences. In 2023 David was seconded to lead the initial operation of ITOPF’s inaugural satellite office in Singapore.