If I were to tell my young self in the 1980's that I am working for a global ogranisation where women are in top two management positions, my young self would not have believed me.

As an industry, we have come a long way already, and I count my blessings to be working for an organisation whose goal is to strive to be a leader in equality, diversity and inclusion.

Having worked in the same company for 25 years, I am inspired by how much the business continues to improve. KPI OceanConnect keeps renewing itself on so many fronts. This includes its flexible working policies, which enables me to work from home three days a week to support my family and spend as much time as possible with my children.

With the changing dynamics of the marketplace, the green transition and shifting social expectations, adaptability and innovation are key requirements needed in today's workplace. This creates great opportunities for more diverse teams and new approaches to business.

Ensuring an equitable playing field for all employees is a key pillar in KPI OceanConnect's strategy. We have diverse perspectives among the workforce, combined with an inclusive culture and agility.

We will see more women joining us at KPI OceanConnect for our array of roles on offer, including the trading and broking floor. We are offering new two-year trainee programme called Get Fuelled for young professionals who would like to embark on a career in marine fuels trading and look forward to welcoming even more diversity to our global organisation.

Shipping is a sector that commonly comes under intense scrutiny and attitudes towards good governance have changed dramatically and will continue to change. As a global organisation, we pride ourselves on our responsible and transparent approach to doing business, where trusted partnerships are a key component of our organisations, and our customers', sustainability.

The next step for the entire maritime value chain when it comes to driving forward ESG is to set targets on each pillar and ensure an appropriate level of focus on each. By publicly monitoring and measuring these targets, this will allow for true accountability and for others to track performance. Further enhancing ESG reporting will create greater opportunities for our industry and the people working in it.

As decarbonisation is high on the shipping industry's agenda, we provide extensive guidance on when and where alternative fuels will be available. We see particular interest in which global ports are supplying biofuels, because they offer an immediate way to reduce vessel emissions.

As with all my colleagues across the globe, I've received wide ranging training about all aspects of future fuels, including ammonia, methanol and hydrogen, so that I can guide my clients through the upcoming market changes. It's been a great way to develop my skills.

At KPI OceanConnect, the flat organisational structure allows easy access to senior management due to fewer hierarchical layers. This structure improves decision-making, creativity, adaptability and innovation in the team. It builds employee autonomy, responsibility, and motivation to create a more productive and satisfied workforce.

We are all encouraged and able to interact with the CEO and Managing Directors, which I think this is rare in the trading and shipping industries. The open-door policy at KPI OceanConnect has really helped learn, develop and progress in the business.

Sustainability in shipping is crucial. As a marine energy provider, I sense our organisation's resoluteness to engage for a clearer picture on clean energy. Our role is to facilitate the transition to low-carbon fuels and to help clients and stakeholders fulfil their environmental criteria. It sets a good tone for KPI OceanConnect to be taking the first steps; looking at new fuels, using our relationships with clients to support their transition to cleaner sources of energy. Doing this is good for our reputation, and good for the future for employees, customers, suppliers. We're not just trading for short term profitability; we're trading for a longer-term future. We are committed to stepping forward and leading the way. We want to do everything we can to facilitate the transition to low-carbon fuels.

As a trader, governance safeguards us from penalties, sanctions, or fines. And I think it underlines our ability to do good things in other areas of sustainability.

Being transparent and demonstrating the company is running as it should create confidence and trust at the banks and investors that back us, and means we can continue to do more good things. The focus is there, and we are heading in the right direction to achieve our governance goals.

I am grateful for the many opportunities that working at KPI OceanConnect provides, for example I have a great network across all our global offices, both virtually and physically with frequent travel. This allows me the pleasure of working and socialising with different people from diverse cultures around the world, an extremely positive aspect of my role.

Our diverse team consists of 21 different nationalities. We are a creative and innovative team, and we are good at coming together to solve problem.
It's a virtuous circle, KPI OceanConnect empowers people with the confidence needed to share ideas and develop initiatives that enhance our organisation and our industry.

Diversity and inclusivity matter in a professional setting, KPI OceanConnect is serious about defining accurate and fair policies, which I value and appreciate.

In our office, we chose to support WISTA Turkey through our 50for50 campaign. It helps female students who want to embark on a career in maritime schools, which fully aligns with our values and our Women in Shipping initiative.

As a market leader, we are employing people in a fair environment, making valuable donations and working in accordance with all applicable rules. I am very proud to work for a company like KPI OceanConnect, which values these good causes.

I have always felt the company's support and care throughout my time working here. Our office in Istanbul, Turkey recently welcomed new women to our trading floor, taking our ratio to 44 men and 56 women. This is a great reflection of our company's stance to offer an attractive, diverse and inclusive environment to for women to work in shipping. I believe our new colleagues are very talented and will soon be very experienced traders in the market in the near future.

I believe we all have a personal responsibility towards helping the environment. Every day we are buying, using and disposing of consumer products, creating waste and releasing CO2 emissions into our atmosphere. I now review my use of energy, such as air conditioning, lighting and paper, and finds ways to improve energy efficiency and conservation to establish a greener working environment for myself, colleagues and the planet.

I first joined KPI OceanConnect as a maternity cover in the trade support team, and this was my first time working in the marine fuels segment. My role involved liaising between traders and the back office, assisting the team and playing a more functional role in contract and spot deals to create a smoother process. From the offset, KPI OceanConnect has always been very encouraging towards people developing their career within the company. After only six months of working with trade support, I was offered a permanent position. A year later I got the opportunity to move over to the commercial side as a key account manager. I have now begun an intense training programme, where I will benefit from the support of my entire team, including colleagues in our other offices. I am thankful to have the foundation knowledge from working in trade support, where I learnt the basics of what a trader does. I chose to work at KPI OceanConnect because it was made very clear that progression and development is encouraged. Another key feature is the high retention rates, and it's great to see that so many people stay here for the long-term and it is clear why.