ABS Chairman, President and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki has been awarded the GREEN4SEA Leadership Award recognizing his industry leadership and contribution to a more sustainable industry.

Wiernicki, a naval architect and engineer, has more than 35 years of extensive commercial, government and international experience in marine and offshore design, operations, infrastructure and safety management, ports and bunkering, digitalization, cybersecurity, and the clean energy transition.

He said, “It is my great privilege and, at the same time, a daily challenge to lead a world class organization through a period of rapid and profound change. As the forces of digitalization, decarbonization and geopolitics, not to mention the aftermath of a global pandemic, conspire to create a uniquely challenging landscape, leadership has never been more important than it is today.” 

GREEN4SEA Managing Editor Apo Belokas said, “As a truly inspirational leader, Mr. Wiernicki keeps playing a decisive role in delivering net zero for shipping by 2050, supporting the green shipping corridors and clean energy marine hubs which are key priorities for shipping on the path to decarbonization.”

In a speech outlining his philosophy on leadership and its role in today’s marine and offshore industries, Wiernicki said, “A leader needs to think about today and tomorrow, not about yesterday; it’s essential to look forward and maintain a positive outlook. This is particularly true when you consider shipping’s decarbonization challenge. The sheer gradient of the curve ahead of us is daunting but together we will get there.

“At the same time, leadership means making a friend of uncertainty and being comfortable with embracing change and the unknown. To do that successfully means working hard, creating opportunities, trusting your intuition, not being afraid to take risks and maintaining resiliency if things go wrong.

“This has never been more true than it is today, when these principles of leadership have been critical to guiding ABS through these early innings of the coming decade of change and setting us up to lead the industry through the clean energy transition.”