Abhishek Nair is currently Director of Business Development at PortXchange where he guides port communities worldwide in improving operational efficiency through the use of digital collaborative platforms. He is the business lead for key projects with our global customers and more importantly responsible for driving change. He is the team's inhouse expert on all operational and commercial matters pertaining ports and shipping. In addition, he also contributes as subject matter expert on various industry round tables and taskforces with a focus on making shipping and ports more sustainable.

Prior to this, he was Port Superintendent at Stolt Tankers - Trading where he was responsible for managing the port and berth rotations for the fleet in Northwest Europe. Before taking on these shore-based roles in shipping, he has spent 17 years at sea sailing on different types of ships handling a plethora of different cargoes. He started as an apprentice and eventually grew to take on the role of Master on very large crude carriers being responsible and accountable for the ship, cargo and most vitally the lives of the staff onboard.

He holds a Master's degree in Maritime Economics and Logistics from the Erasmus School of Economics, a member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, and an associate fellow of the Nautical Institute. He frequently gives guest lectures on the shipping business at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and is a published author in academic journals.