Melanie Drekhopf
CCO dship Carriers
Melanie Drehkopf was appointed Chief Commercial Officer for dship Carriers GmbH in September 2023. Since 2018, Melanie has been pivotal in working with dship Carriers’ CEO, Lars Feller, in driving the company’s continued success.
Melanie has been in the breakbulk industry for nearly three decades - from her beginnings at Rickmers-Linie, where she held various key positions including Key Account & Project Manager, and a tenure as Manager of Global Business Development at SAL Heavy Lift. From Germany, Melanie was also previously based in New Orleans, LA for a few years, and further on, had opened the Rickmers Japan office in 2006 and was actively responsible for the office until 2010. Her professional breadth and expertise have made her adept in breakbulk carrier business in Europe, in the United States, as well as in Asia.
Melanie holds a global leadership role, fostering collaboration with all chartering and commercial leadership and staff for dship. Alongside Lars, she further develops dship’s vision for growth, steadfast with the mind-set of keeping the best talent for dship and promoting mentorship to develop future leaders.
Main Stage Agenda Sessions
Fleet Capacity: Planning for the Future
There is growing concern that the industry will be unable to keep up with shipper demand within just a few years. This session will cover the current breakbulk and heavy lift fleet, as well as reasons for and solutions to the lack of new builds. Panelists will then explore expected future investment and short- to long-term industry challenges.
Wednesday 16 October 11:10 - 11:50 Main Stage
Fleet Update
There is growing concern that the industry will be unable to keep up with shipper demand within just a few years. This session will cover the current breakbulk and heavy lift fleet, as well as reasons for and solutions to the lack of new builds. Panelists will then explore expected future investment and short- to long-term industry challenges.
Main Stage America/Chicago
